The Sabi Sand is a private reserve bordering the Kruger National Park. It has an exceptional reputation for its resident wildlife sightings, and rightly so. The reserve is renowned for its leopard population and, from experience, it really does live up to its name. The Sabi Sand is home to a collection of luxury lodges, including Dulini, Kirkmans Camp, and Savanna. While these lodges are more expensive, they offer unparalleled luxury accommodation, food, and service, as well as an unforgettable safari experience. As they are sat on the private reserve, the guide can take you off-road to exclusive sightings, as well as offer bush walks and night drives.

Logistics in South Africa makes it very possible to combine destinations, so yes, absolutely. The Kruger National Park has three airports which make it accessible to cities in South Africa like Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and Johannesburg. It also offers flights up to Victoria Falls which is a very popular option. Although this flight is limited to certain days of flying, it makes for a much more direct route to combine a luxury South Africa safari with a visit to Africa’s largest, and most impressive waterfall. We’d recommend two or three nights in Victoria Falls as there is plenty to do, and our travel specialists can organize this for you.

The Kruger National Park is home to the Big Five, which includes elephants, buffalo, rhino, lions, and leopards. Although they have faced an extremely destructive amount of poaching, Kruger National Park and its surrounding reserves still remains one of the most reliable parks in Africa to see rhino. There is plenty of protection for rhinos in South Africa, with anti-poaching ranger teams and constant monitoring working around the clock to ensure the safety of these animals. As the surrounding reserves and concessions are privately owned and run, some are trailing methods like dehorning to ensure their safety and wellbeing.

There is a wealth of accommodation choices when it comes to safari lodges in the Kruger National Park and surrounding areas. There are over 20 private reserves surrounding the national park and these offer a much more exclusive and diverse experience – as you can do night drives, walking safaris, and off-roading for particular sightings. While all of these private reserves offer exceptional wildlife sightings, there are some that are, in our opinion, unrivaled.

Established in 1979, the Sabi Sand Private Reserve is one of our personal favorite reserves bordering the Kruger National Park. The reserve sits within the Greater Kruger and is home to a diverse landscape – bushy scrublands, open plains, sandy riverbanks, and more. As well as being home to the Big Five, it is particularly famous for its leopard sightings – the highest number in South Africa! There are plenty of luxury safari lodges in both the Kruger and private reserves and our specialists can advise which are best for you.