Samara Karoo Reserve

Rooms

Stay at the Karoo Lodge for a homestead feel with traditional colonial decor: cosy living rooms with fireplaces, antiques, animal prints and maps on walls, a wrap-around veranda gazing out to the Karoo. Choose between Homestead Classic or Luxury Suites in the main house, the standalone luxury Karoo Retreat Suites set down a path in the garden, and the Sibella Family Suite, a little further away by a waterhole. The four Homestead Suites are spacious, comfortable and open out onto the veranda; you're close to the creature comforts of the homestead bar and living room. The three Karoo Retreat 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 cottages with corrugated roofs and covered patios with outdoor seating. Bedrooms are large - expect earthy colours, 4-poster beds, 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 main house, the 2-bedroom Sibella Family Suite is the most recent addition: slightly more basic and less spacious than other rooms but with a waterhole right in front, which no doubt attracts its share of wildlife.

Alternatively, the more contemporary Manor House (a 10-minute drive from the Karoo Lodge), provides oodles of style and luxury for somewhere in the heart of the Great Karoo. If you didn't look out of the window, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were in a boutique city hotel. With 4 double bedrooms, this is an ideal option for families or a group of friends to book exclusively. 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 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 6 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 one of the 4 double or twin ensuite bedrooms individually (with the exception of Christmas and New Year).

Features include:

• Air conditioning
• Airstrip helipad
• Extra beds
• Family friendly
• Fireplace
• Hairdryer
• Internet access
• 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, including 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 a Karoo lamb burger, 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 House 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:

• Airstrip helipad
• All meals included
• Bar
• Children's meals
• Coffee / tea making
• Communal dining
• Family friendly
• 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 giraffe, cheetah, lion, a small herd of elephant, rhino and antelopes on the plains, and rare mountain zebras if you venture up. The joy is not having many other jeeps to bump into and the awesome landscapes
  
• 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, lounge by the swimming pool, read on your veranda, choose from their massage menu (including Swedish, head and foot)
  
• Completely unplug from modern life and go fly camping - this includes a guided bush walk in Big Five territory, a traditional braai cooked on an open fire and a camp-out in breathtaking surroundings
  
• 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 must be reserved at time of booking due to limited availability
  
• Tracking cheetah on foot is a unique experience: some cats have radio collars. This is in conjunction with the Tracker Academy (16 young people are hand-picked to enrol on the programme, to learn the art of tracking and conservation awareness), whose practitioners track wildlife, including cheetahs, through incredibly difficult terrain
  
• Book the Conservation Journey Package for hands-on conservation sessions and personalised tours of Samara's rewilding projects
  
• 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
• Plantlife / flora
• Private Vehicle and rangers also available at Karoo Lodge (extra cost and subject to availability)
• Safaris
• Swimming
• Wildlife

Kids

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). Note that children aged 14 and upwards are considered adults and will need to be booked into their own room at adult rates.

Best for:

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

Family friendly accommodation:

Karoo Retreat Suites can take up to 2 kids, whilst Homestead Suites can take 1. The Sibella Family Suite has interconnecting rooms (1 double, 1 twin), but for younger children we'd opt to stay in the Homestead Suites (in Karoo Lodge). Larger family groups can book the 4-bedroom Manor House on an exclusive use basis and have their own staff, chef and ranger.

Distances:

• Airport: 3 hours

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Samara Karoo Reserve is located in the Eastern Cape, 45 minutes from Graaff-Reinet, a good 3 hours' drive from Port Elizabeth and approx. 7.5 hours' drive from Cape Town via the N1.

By Air
Port Elizabeth (285km) - internal flights only. For international flights use Cape Town International or Jo'burg. Click on the links below for a list of airlines.
Samara can arrange charter flights from cities and 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.