The owners of the Samara Karoo Reserve purchased Apieskloof Farm in 1997, which is now the heart of Samara. Knowing that in earlier times huge herds of springbok, rhino and lion roamed this barren land overgrazed by agriculture, they lived the dream that someday it could be like this again.

Over the years, several adjacent farms were added and today there are a proud 271km² of former farmland that is gradually recovering from agriculture. The five distinct biomes in the Samara area allow for healthy wildlife diversity and several formerly native and locally extinct wildlife species have been successfully reintroduced.

The Samara Karoo Reserve offers three accommodation options. The Samara Karoo Lodge around the former farmhouse, the private Manor House and Samara Plains CampSamara Plains Camp.

The Samara Karoo Reserve is situated near Graaff-Reinet, about 250 km or 2.5 hours drive north of Port Elizabeth in the Great Karoo area, more precisely on the Plains of Camdeboo.

The story of Samara began with a cheetah named Sibella, who was rescued from a life-threatening situation and brought to Samara, where she gave birth to nine cubs during her lifetime. In the meantime, elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, eland antelope, springbok, zebra, giraffe, etc. live again in the vast area of Samara. The scarce Aardvark is relatively often seen – what a hightlight for safari fans!

The game drives lead to the open plains and also up to the beautiful high plateaus. The journey steep up the hills itself is an experience! Here on the high plateaus unfolds a new world, far away from your daily routine, close to the sky and indeed beautiful. Grass plains as far as the eye can see, memories of the Serengeti are awake, a perfect environment for cheetah. Your guide can track some of the cheetahs with an antenna and when found, they can be approached on foot up to 5 meters distance without feeling disturbed. Further there are some well-preserved rock paintings in the area.

SwissAfrican Travel Service
Dammstrasse 27
8702 Zollikon
Zurich, Switzerland


Telephone: +41 (0)44 451 40 51