Londolozi Game Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa

The Varty family are back running Londolozi. Read what difference this makes in this review from the book, ‘Exclusive Safari Lodges of South Africa’, written by Carrie Hampton, photographs by Gerald Hoberman.

The words ‘Londolozi’ and ‘leopards’ are often said in the same breath, as there is a high expectation that when you visit Londolozi luxury safari accommodation you will see leopards.

Over the past three decades, a special relationship has developed between wild leopards and the rangers and trackers of Londolozi in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. Documentaries, films and books celebrating this relationship have made Londolozi world famous.

For over eighty years, the Varty family has been associated with Londolozi, even if family members were not always personally running it. But now the family is back, welcoming visitors through the front door. Dave Varty says, ‘Guests get a much better experience if the owners are at the front door.’

This philosophy transfers to the whole guest experience at all of the five Londolozi safari camps: Tree Camp, featuring lanterns, leadwoods and fine linens; Pioneer Camp, hidden deep in a 500-year-old riverine ebony forest; Varty Camp, a return to the original family bushveld experience; Private Granite Suites, a private river affair pinned to granite bedrock over the Sand River; and Founders Camp, situated along the banks of the Sand River.

Each camp has its own personality, like each member of the Varty family, but one common goal is the intention to redefine the essence of safari; to find the right balance between simplicity, elegance, style and service, without compromising the core reason the Vartys and their guests are there – to celebrate African wildlife. But even deeper than that, the Vartys see their role as guardians of the future for the wild animals and local communities.