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Samara Karoo Lodge, South Africa
Home Hotels Samara Karoo Lodge

Samara Karoo Lodge

B Corp
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This lovingly restored farmhouse, Samara Karoo Lodge combines modern comforts with safari. Karoo Lodge offers a warm and inviting space with candlelit dinners on the verandah, a cosy bar area and antiques, family heirlooms and vintage books throughout.

Comprising 10 suites across two room types, sleeping up to 24 guests. The eight Karoo suites are a short distance from the main lodge; ideal for couples, each suite has a four poster bed, large separate bath and shower and a private covered patio overlooking the waterhole. Two family suites are set within the lodge garden. Dine on the lodge verandah or in the boma by the campfire and take a picnic on a riverbed in the summer or up a mountain.

Why we like Samara Karoo Lodge

Samara Karoo Reserve’s rewilding journey is one to be inspired by. What was once 67,000 acres of agricultural land is now beginning to recover with an ambitious programme of land rehabilitation and wildlife reintroduction. Samara are working towards creating a self-sustaining ecosystem that would support wildlife.

Another option: Plains Camp at Samara

Plains Camp offers a rare chance to slow down and reconnect, set in one of Africa’s lowest guest-to-land ratios. Hidden in a remote corner of the Karoo reserve, this intimate off-grid camp blends old-world safari charm with comfort and style. Take in sweeping mountain views, open plains and wild rivers, home to lion, elephant and black and white rhino. Enjoy guided walks, cheetah tracking, wilderness picnics and ancient rock art, before evenings of storytelling under the stars with intuitive guides.

Activities

Gain hands-on conservation experience, understanding how Samara Karoo Reserve operates, with personalised tours of the rewilding project. Track cheetahs on foot for unforgettable memories; learn the signs of their presence from tracks to dung to scratch marks on a tree trunk. Spend a night under the stars on a starbed on the Milk River, arriving at sunset for a picnic dinner while watching wildlife descend to the water to quench their thirst.

To truly experience the smells, sounds and Africa wilderness, embark on a guided walking safari and enter the space of the resident wildlife, witnessing them living wild and free. Add on fly camping and sleep out in this exquisite wilderness, listening to jackals, nightingales and the occasional roar of a lion as you drift to sleep.

Sustainability

A pride of lions has been translocated from Kwandwe Game Reserve and mimics the natural migration patterns that would take place in open systems. The reintroduction of lions to Samara has been critical in conservation efforts. This is the latest milestone in Samara’s journey to restoring a fully-functioning Great Karoo ecosystem with all historically-occurring species. This is in addition to the reintroduction of cheetahs, leopards, elephants and black rhino.

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Nearby experiences

  • Guides/Guiding
  • Conservation
  • Landscape
  • Safari
  • Wildlife

Price guide

£££££

Location

Samara Karoo Lodge is located in the Eastern Cape province, two and a half hours from Port Elizabeth and seven and a half hours from Cape Town by car. Alternatively, transfer to Port Elizabeth on a local flight from Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban.

Where to stay

Some of the wonderful places to stay that we frequently recommended.

GweGwe Beach Lodge £££££

  • Africa
  • Safari and Wildlife Lodge

Located on the undeveloped shores of South Africa’s wild Eastern Cape, GweGwe sits among the rolling grasslands of the Mkambati Nature Reserve, within a marine protected biodiversity hotspot. 

View Property

Kwandwe Private Game Reserve Collection £££££

  • South Africa
  • Safari and Wildlife Lodge

Kwandwe is a 30,000-hectare private game reserve in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, where seven of the country’s eight biomes converge.

View Property


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