Samara

Rooms

Stay at the Karoo Lodge for a homestead feel with typically old colonial decor: living rooms with fireplaces, animal prints and maps on walls, a wrap-around veranda gazing out to the Karoo. Choose between Lodge Suites in the main house, Karoo Suites set down a path in the garden, and Sibella Suites further away by a waterhole. Lodge Suites are spacious, comfortable and open out onto the veranda; you're close to the creature comforts of the homestead bar and living room. Karoo Suites feel closer to the bush; each time we walked along the path, we felt a tinge of excitement at what wildlife we might see. These are self contained houses with corrugated roofs and covered patios with outdoor seating. Bedrooms are large - expect earthy colours, polished concrete floors, netted windows, sofas, fireplaces and plenty of wardrobe space. Limestone bathrooms have walk-in showers and roll top baths, double sinks as well as bathrobes and slippers; but if you want to wash alfresco, there's an outside shower too.

100m from the house, Sibella Suites are the most recent addition: slightly more basic, less spacious than other rooms but with a waterhole right in front, which no doubt attracts its share of wildlife. Unfortunately Sibella Suites do not have mosquito nets, but we didn't see any mossies and they can provide repellent and nets on request.

For somewhere in the heart of the Great Karoo, the Manor House provides oodles of style and luxury. If you didn't look out of the window, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were in any boutique city hotel. But here you get a personal ranger, chef and butler. South African designer John Zwiegelaar has created an impressive home with high ceilings, a swanky bar area and 2 living rooms and lounges. Outside, the 21m infinity pool and watering hole are enough to attract animals and fashion shoots in equal measure. Rates are usually based on exclusive use (min 4 guests) but for a group this works out not much more per person than any other option. Alternatively, if you're not coming as a group, you can book out one of the 4 double ensuite bedrooms individually.

Features include:

• Air conditioning
• Coffee / tea making
• Cots Available
• Extra beds
• Fireplace
• Hairdryer
• Internet access
• Minibar/fridge
• Mosquito net
• Phone
• Safe box
• Terrace
• WiFi

Eating

There's a restaurant in the Karoo Lodge where you can either cosy up inside next to an open fire in winter or cool down in summer along the wrap around veranda. A full breakfast spread followed our morning game drive, includes fresh fruits, yoghurt, muesli, pancakes, muffins, cheeses, peeled plums and passion fruit. And they'll take orders for cooked dishes, putting a South African twist on old classics: the Eggs Benedict on homemade roosterkoek bread was bang on.

Their menu was reassuringly balanced with delicious dishes. For lunch we chose some tasty pasta carbonara, but failed to leave space for afternoon tea and cakes. Sundowners will be brought out on your evening drive. At dinner we kicked off with tomato and red pepper soup and a decent salad (blue cheese, walnut and smoked salmon), then venison or chicken in sherry sauce with roasted veg. We loved their filling apple crumble with ice cream and custard.

In The Manor meals are flexible as to where and when you take them as you have your own staff. They can arrange for sample menus and discuss specific requirements prior to arrival for each individual group. The picnics in the river and up on the mountains looked awe inspiring. Inside, we liked the funky bar area and thought the setting by the long infinity pool was a beautiful spot for alfresco dining.

Features include:

• All meals included
• Bar
• Children's meals
• Coffee / tea making
• Communal dining
• Minibar/fridge
• Organic produce
• Restaurant
• Room service
• Vegetarian menu

Activities

• Game drives tend to leave early in the morning or in the late evening to catch most wildlife. They typically last 3-4 hrs as the landscape is so vast, but you may be able to ask for shorter trips. There are covered jeeps and well trained friendly rangers. Each time you depart, there's no telling what you might see, but of the larger mammals you should expect to spot cheetah, lion, a small herd of elephant, rhino and antelopes on the plains, and rare mountain zebras if you venture up. The joy of this location is not having many other jeeps to bump into and the awesome landscapes
  
• On one of your game drives, try and get to the top of Eagle Rock, where the view is one of the best you could hope for in the whole of Africa
  
• In the middle of the day, you can lounge by the swimming pool, read on your veranda, choose from their massage menu (including Swedish, head and foot), or perhaps take forty winks to recharge your batteries
  
• The night sky in The Karoo is a magnificent sight, so why not sleep under the stars in the Star Bed. This once-in-a-lifetime experience is at no extra cost, so just let us know if you’re interested at the time of booking
  
• Take a walk with the Tracker Academy and learn about conservation awareness and tracking competency. You may not spot a cheetah, but spotting signs of its presence will be a humbling experience
  
• For pure indulgence with an adrenaline-filled twist, you can organise (at an extra cost) a scenic flight in a helicopter over the endless Plains of Camdeboo. Whilst you will not want it to end, the delicious picnic awaiting you on top of the mountain plateau will certainly keep you on cloud nine
  
• Other trips on the reserve include a visit to ancient cave drawings, which require a little more walking than you'd expect on a normal game drive. Bring your mountain bike to follow one of the several cycle tracks, guided or self-guided

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Birdwatching
• Mountain biking
• Plantlife / flora
• Private Vehicle and rangers also available at Karoo Lodge (extra cost and subject to availability)
• Safaris
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Wildlife

Kids

i-escape's Best for Kids Awards 2014
Winner: Best For Wildlife Spotting
Winner: Cool for Kids Award 2016

A great option for families, with an understanding of hungry minds and energetic bodies, there are lots of children's activities on offer, babysitters, and separate game drives for under 8s - look out for the Funny Five (giraffe, warthog, wildebeest, monkey and aardvark). And the reserve, although now well-stocked with wildlife, isn't teeming with predators (there are lions and cheetahs). And there's the excitement of getting to see the many creatures that wander into the camp, from large shiny millipedes to vervet monkeys, buffalo and baboons.

They also put together a personalised pack for children on arrival, containing drawing materials and spotter books; and every night there was a story placed on our daughter's bed ("How the Zebra got its stripes" was a favourite).

Best for:

Children (4-12 years), Teens (over 12)

Family friendly accommodation:

Karoo Suites can take up to 2 kids, whilst Lodge Suites can take 1. Sibella Suites have interconnecting rooms, but for younger children we'd opt to stay in the Lodge Suites (main building).

Distances:

• Airport: 3 hours

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Samara is located in the Eastern Cape, near Graaff-Reinet, and a good 3 hours' drive from Port Elizabeth.

By Air
Port Elizabeth (285km) - internal flights only. For international flights use Cape Town International or Jo'burg. There's also a scheduled 40 min flight 7 days/wk from Plettenberg Bay to Graaff-Reinet. Click on the links below for a list of airlines.
Air charters from Plettenberg Bay to Graaff-Reinet can be arranged on request, as can a 15 minute helicopter ride from Graaff-Reinet to Samara. Samara can arrange air charters from other game reserves too.

From the Airport
Samara can arrange transfers from the airport or hire a car.

By Car
For car hire see our car rental recommendations. The final approach to Samara is along gravel road so it's preferable to have 4-wheel drive.

Detailed directions to Samara will be provided when you confirm your booking through our site.

More on getting to South Africa and getting around.