Most romantic destination # 04: Londolozi Private Game Reserve
[Location: Sabi Sand, South Africa]
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Londolozi offers four private camps & one lodge - Bateleur Camp, Tree Camp, Safari Lodge and Bush Camps: Founders and Pioneer. Each has a riverside location. Our choice for the most romantic and luxurious of the four is the Londolozi Tree Camp. Capturing the essence of total relaxation are the private salas [butlers], found in 3 of the suites.
These intimate covered decks extend into the treetops by a short elevated walkway. The deck floors feature inviting chairs and comfortable foot-stools.
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"The story of Londolozi began in the late 1920s at, of all places, a tennis party. On a piece of virgin bushveld on the clear Sand River, the first camfire was lit amid the roar of lions. This is where Londolozi stands today, one of the most sought-after ecotourism destinations in the world."
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Prestigious local/international awards
Relais & Chateaux member
Run by same family for 74 years
4 exclusive Camps, 1 Safari Lodge
Tranquil suites and luxury chalets
Far-sighted ecological rehabilitation
The first game reserve in the world to be awarded Relais & Chateaux membership
Voted #1 in the Top 10 Hotels for Service in Africa and the Middle East in Condé Nast Traveler, July 2000
Association of Southern African Travel Agents (Asata) "Game Lodge of the Year", 1997
Travel Trade Gazette's "Best Game Lodge Award”, 1997
Winner of British Airways’ "Tourism for Tomorrow" Award, 1992
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Visited and praised by Nelson Mandela
"Big five", best leopard viewing in Africa
Day and night game drives
Guided bush walks
Moonlit bush dinners, bush breakfasts.
Voted by readers of Condé Nast Traveller onto the magazine's 2001 annual gold list of the world's best travel destinations.
Londolozi Private Game Reserve was named Top Safari Resort in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2000 Readers’ Choice Awards
Voted #1 by Travel + Leisure magazine’s (USA) annual reader survey on the World’s Best Values, 2000
Featured as #1 in the Top 10 Hotels for Service in Africa and the Middle East in Travel + Leisure magazine, June 2000
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Londolozi Private Game Reserve is an exclusive and luxurious safari destination covering 14 000 hectares (34 580 acres) in the heart of the game-rich 56 000 hectare Sabi Sand Game Reserve. Londolozi is a Zulu word meaning "protector of all living things" - an ambitious conservation ethic that Londolozi embraces in its sensitivity to the natural world. The reserve is internationally recognised for its far-sighted and progressive management of land and wildlife rehabilitation as well as productive community involvement.
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Each of the six air-conditioned luxurious suites has its own cascading plunge pool, outdoor shower and en suite bathroom featuring a huge, inviting tub. The private decks with plunge pools and outdoor shower overlook the lush banks of the Sand River. The tree-shaded teak decks and private outdoor showers lead into sumptuous interiors of soft silks and suede lit by carved Zanzibari lamps. The spacious en suite bathrooms have heated cobblestone floors, inlaid with pebbles from the Sand River.
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Tree Camp takes its name from the ancient Ebony Tree shading the camp. Small and exclusive, Tree Camp is surrounded by large, shady trees and offers wonderful views of the Sand River. The camp has a lounge area with guest library. The main sitting area leads out onto a large wooden deck, raised on stilts and elevated over the river. There is a large swimming pool set in the camp's garden. Guests are welcome to visit Londolozi Bateleur Camp's curio shop and orientation centre.
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Elegant candlelit dinners are enjoyed in the boma (reeded enclosure). You can savour Pan-African cuisine - food for the soul. This melange of traditional African recipes is enhanced by Africa's famous spices - saffron, vanilla, cumin and nutmeg. At Londolozi Tree Camp, you can indulge in moonlit bush dinners and private bush breakfasts. Dinners are served in a clearing in the bush under a star-studded sky. The incredible effort, the surprise, the spectacular settings, visual impact and fairytale-like atmosphere of dining under the stars are an unforgettable African bush experience.
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Activities at Londolozi centre around game viewing drives in open vehicles that traverse an area of some 14 000 hectares (34 580 acres) in search of wildlife, including nocturnal species viewed after sunset. You may request the sole use of a Land Rover for game viewing, (subject to availability.) Armed rangers will lead you on bush walks - the quintessential wilderness experience. The Shangaan are renowned trackers of wildlife - a skill honed to perfection among the many CC Africa trackers and rangers. Shangaan people are in the majority in the southern Lowveld and most of the staff at Londolozi come from this cultural group. Your game viewing experience is complemented by many other memorable activities such as: moonlit bush dinners, private bush breakfasts, guided stargazing trips, bird-watching, port served on the airstrip - usually after dinner on a clear night*, fishing with bamboo rods and "magic bush boxes" for children, visits to the staff village encompassing the crèche, school, adult learning centre, clinic and craft centre (available to guests at Tree, Founders, Pioneer and Bateleur Camp), bush presentations in orientation centre (available to guests at Tree, Founders, Pioneer and Bateleur Camp)
*If you are wondering why we would invite you to sip port on the Londolozi airstrip - all will become clear when you are driven there on a cloudless night. What you will see is a panorama of breathtaking proportions. Since the airstrip is on a slope, the ground seems to slip away from you into a massive sky full of shimmering constellations.
For those cosy winter nights - a collection of wildlife books, magazines and videos are available for you to enhance your enjoyment of Africa. There is also a guest library at Tree Camp.
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Londolozi experiences a warm climate with cool winter nights and summer rain. Rainfall: Rainfall is mostly in summer between October and March, usually in the form of late-afternoon or evening thunderstorms. Annual rainfall ranges between 450 and 600mm. Temperature: Daytime temperatures in the summer are high and may soar above 36°C/97°F; the nights are usually warm. The winter months between May and August are dry, with chilly nights and crisp early mornings (3°C/38°F is the minimum). Winter days are fine and warm. Altitude: Sabi Sand Game Reserve is at an altitude of about 350 metres above sea level.
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Best time to travel:
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All year round. Game viewing is often at its best from the end of March to the end of August because of sparser vegetation and greater animal congregations around waterholes.
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Londolozi is a prime wildlife haven and has been rated the best game experience in Southern Africa. The characteristic species of the Sabi Sand are impala, greater kudu, giraffe, buffalo, lion and leopard. Lions are the only truly social members of the cat family, and sightings of lion prides are the order of the day at Londolozi. Open water channels and pools are favoured by hippo. Reedbeds are favoured by buffalo and elephant. Riverine forest along the river is green all year round, and is the haunt of leopard, greater bush baby (galago) and bushbuck. The dainty-hoofed klipspringer and rock dassie (hyrax) are the only larger mammals restricted to rocky outcrops in the Sabi Sand. Chacma baboons use the outcrops as vantage points.
Bird diversity is high, with over 40 species of raptor including Hooded Vulture, Secretary Bird, African Fish Eagle,Bateleur, Brown Snake Eagle, Dark Chanting Goshawk and Giant Eagle Owl. Cuckoos, Rollers, Kingfishers, Hornbills, Shrikes, Starlings and Weavers are well represented. Some common birds along the Sand River are the Paradise Flycatcher, Heuglin's Robin, Collared Sunbird and Green Pigeon. Open water channels and pools are favoured by Pied Kingfisher and African Black Duck. Reedbeds are populated by Burchell's Coucal, Redfaced Cisticola and various Weavers. Some common savannah birds are the Green Spotted Dove (formerly called the Emerald Spotted Wood Dove), Woodland Kingfisher, Blue Waxbill, White Helmetshrike, Lizard Buzzard, Yellow-billed Hornbill and Lilac-breasted Roller.
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Click here to download the Africa Safaris 2005 Catalogue
Luxury Safari Lodges and Camps in Africa by country:
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