Londolozi Private Game Reserve

Londolozi Private Game Reserve is a 150 km2 (58 sq mi) large game reserve in South Africa. It is part of the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, situated on the western border of Kruger National Park, which together with some other parks make up the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Londolozi is a Zulu word meaning "protecting it".

Wildlife in this reserve includes the Big Five. The game reserve has five camps situated next to each other along the banks of the Sand River.

History

The land on which Londolozi is situated was purchased in 1926, by two friends, Frank Unger and Charles Boyd Varty. The land, named Sparta Farm, was bought from Transvaal Consolidated Investments (TCI) during an afternoon of tennis in Johannesburg. Sparta was used as a hunting farm until 1971 when Charles Varty's two sons, Dave Varty and John Varty, shifted the focus of the property to ecotourism and photographic safaris instead of hunting. The property was renamed 'Londolozi,' a Zulu word meaning 'Protector of all living things'.[1]

Londolozi is one of South Africa’s original private game reserves. The reserve has been lauded internationally for its far-sighted and progressive land and wildlife management, as well as its productive community involvement. In 1993, Londolozi became the first game reserve in the world to be accorded Relais & Châteaux status. [2]

In 1992, Nelson Mandela visited Londolozi for a period following his release from prison. ‘During my long walk to freedom, I had the rare privilege to visit Londolozi. There I saw people of all races living in harmony amidst the beauty that Mother Nature offers. Londolozi represents a model of the dream I cherish for the future of nature preservation in our country’– Nelson Mandela

References
  1. Varty, Boyd (2014). Cathedral of the Wild. New York: Random House. p. 18. ISBN 1400069858.
  2. http://www.londolozi.com
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