The renowned Sabi Sabi Collection in South Africa is transforming an old hunting reserve back to pristine wilderness. Read more about this ambitious project in their report below.
A long time Sabi Sabi guest and philanthropist had asked us to explore the opportunity of buying a reserve on his and his family’s behalf. The story behind Sandringham attracted our attention as we saw the opportunity of taking what Sabi Sabi has so successfully achieved in the last 45 years and implementing it elsewhere in South Africa. Sandringham seemed wild and untamed. Hidden sections of rivers and areas only mentioned in turn of century history books. We had no idea what to expect, so as soon as travel was permitted amidst the pandemic we went north.
In March 2022 we entered the reserve from the northwestern corner where Sandringham, Timbavati and Thornybush game reserves meet. With hardly any roads to follow we hugged the Malewane River and stumbled upon one of 3 magical dams on this most magnificent wild reserve… we fell in love with its ruggedness and importantly its potential!!!!
Knowing it had once been an old hunting reserve, we expected to see skittish wildlife, but what we found was a very different and somewhat haunting experience. Elephant were very relaxed at our presence, but everything else ran a mile long before our audio turned to visual. Though we drove around throughout the day we saw signs of wildlife, with actual sightings being very scarce. The commercial hunting might have stopped many years before, but it was clear that some form of hunting continued.
On the banks of the Timbavati River under huge Acacia albida trees, we stumbled upon a “discontinued abattoir”, clearly still very much in use. Rain started to lightly fall and as we took shelter under these African giants, we were greeted with the grimmest of all sights – an old white lioness in a cage… This is when we all felt that it was our responsibility to restore this neglected piece African paradise back into a pristine wildlife sanctuary.
This reserve, where 4 rivers converge, lies beneath the majestic Drakensberg mountains, gazing quietly back over a piece of land steeped in history, with generations of stories both good and bad.
We, as the custodians of Sabi Sabi, wanted to transform this story and give it the best possible ending by using our 45 years of experience to rehabilitate the bush and all its inhabitants; to create a place where we as humans are only here to observe wildlife in their natural habitat and watch them go about their day without any form of human interference. We set out to create a safe haven for wildlife, establish a protected area and open all the previously fenced out bushveld which should form part of the Greater Kruger Open Parks system. We knew this would be a long journey as it required changing wildlife behaviour towards humans, and this we know does not happen overnight.
Sandringham Private Game Reserve was taken over by the current owners in 2022 and the long road of rehabilitation started. With the focus on regenerative tourism, we aimed at opening lodges and/or camps 4 years later, allowing time for wildlife to re-establish trust and view us as non-threatening. As this was an uninhabited reserve, our primary focus was to eradicate all forms of hunting and poaching. We replaced the reserve management with likeminded individuals who are passionate about the bush and conservation, and see the long-term goals ahead. Working closely with our neighbours (Timbavati Private Nature Reserve and Thornybush) we relocated the small rhino population to an area well patrolled where they would remain protected until we can drop exclusion fences and create an open protected area incorporating all bordering reserves.
A known road network of 160km was mapped, with probably 20km being in a condition we could use. This resulted in major erosion in sensitive areas and the rehabilitation process began to correct much of the irresponsible human impact made on the land in recent years.
Our focus was two-fold – creating a natural habitat for wildlife to thrive and in doing so ensuring that they did not see us as threatening or associate our presence with stress. Rehabilitation included both wildlife and their environment. Within the first 6 months we removed 8 truck loads of wire. We rebuilt old farm dams working closely with authorities to ensure the natural flow of rivers wasn’t impacted. We analysed the road network and isolated those wilderness areas to be used exclusively for walking safaris. We also made sure that the road network we rehabilitated was suitable for safari purposes, and importantly does not add pressure on any one area or territory for species.
We are taking a “blank canvas” (one with a dark history) and re-designing what will ultimately become a world-renowned eco-tourism destination. Therefore, the daily “task” began of driving through the reserve in a game viewing vehicle (so that vehicles used for safari are also seen as non-threatening), looking for wildlife and approaching them from a distance and leaving without anything being shot. Every day we would get closer and closer, eventually to a point where plains game were no longer running away.
Our first lion sighting was of a female in the thicket. She was so spooked by our presence that she hid in the bushes never once taking her eyes off us. We (as is our practice) left to show that we meant no harm and have since then engaged with her almost daily. Now we see the entire pride out in the open undisturbed by our presence. This pride has had two sets of cubs in 2024 of which one is a young healthy white lion – symbolic of the lioness we had to euthanize when we took over.
All wildlife / human encounters require two things: Wildlife and… humans! To ensure rehabilitation is successful, it requires humans who understand the bush and wildlife behaviour. This is the reason we partnered with the Tracker Training Academy in 2023, setting up a training facility – symbolically – on the site of the old abattoir. We offer students from the local communities the opportunity to learn under the Academy’s leadership and guidance to become trackers. This places experts out in the bush and exposes them to wildlife on a daily basis in a non-threatening way. It allows us to build up very necessary research on the species observed, and ensures safety through regular monitoring. Ultimately these will be the experienced rangers in years to come who will share with guests their stories the wildlife they have grown to understand and, very importantly, respect.
Fast forward to October 2024 and we are seeing great game on a daily basis, and the wildlife is more relaxed with each encounter. We now have 3 safari game viewing vehicles on the reserve and rangers from Sabi Sabi Game Reserve are visiting during their off- time to assist in our next phase, which is nocturnal habituation; following the same routine as our diurnal approach but focusing on species most (almost exclusively) active at night.
This practice will continue throughout the building process of what will be a uniquely authentic safari lodge and camp. This will become our safari etiquette from the first guest out on safari and every other wildlife encounter thereafter. As is our number one priority at Sabi Sabi, so too will EMPATHY be our strategy going forward at Sandringham. In a nutshell this means that every encounter we have with any living organism out in the bush – their natural home – will determine HOW they allow us to observe them in any future encounter. This could be 5 months from now or 5 minutes from now. By placing ourselves in their position and ensuring that they never associate our presence with stress, we will earn the privilege of observing these wild inhabitants of this protected area in their natural state. In doing so in a sustainable manner we can ensure that the history of Sandringham never returns to where humans controlled life or death, but rather create a sanctuary where nature and generations of instinct and natural selection ensure survival of the fittest.
For over 45 years Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve has been renowned for their commitment to conservation and community as well as their luxury safari experiences. They recently re-branded as the Sabi Sabi Collection as they move forward with rehabilitating wilderness areas outside of the Sabi Sabi Game Reserve, with Sandringham being the first of these. For more information on their luxury safari lodges click here.
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