Sabi Sabi expands with new Greater Kruger safari reserve
Situated along the Timbavati River and bordering the Timbavati and Thornybush game reserves, the property has been transformed from a former hunting reserve into an ecotourism destination focused on conservation, hospitality and community development.
New accommodation offering
Sandringham Private Game Reserve will launch with two safari camps, N’weti Camp and Shisaka Camp, each offering six suites. Shisaka Camp will also feature two villas.
The reserve will further include Sandringham House, a fully serviced four-bedroom villa designed for exclusive-use bookings and multi-generational travel groups.
According to the Sabi Sabi Collection, the accommodation offering combines safari experiences with access to the reserve's natural surroundings.
Sabi Sabi Collection managing director Rod Wyndham says: “It’s probably the last piece of great African bushveld - part of the Greater Kruger - that one could get hold of.”
He adds that significant investment has been made to restore the reserve and reposition it as an ecotourism venture.
“To have watched the wildlife rehabilitate; to understand that their environment is no longer a threat, that’s what we’re all about and that’s what we’ve created our product over the last forty odd years,” he adds.
Community training partnerships
Sandringham Private Game Reserve has partnered with the Tracker Training Academy on an initiative aimed at helping young people from surrounding communities train as wildlife trackers.
“We’ve also opened up to Bushwise, which is our collective training partner with the Ranger Training Academy, as well as Wild Earth,” Wyndham says.
The programme forms part of broader efforts to support skills development and employment opportunities linked to conservation and tourism.
Focus on nature-based experiences
According to Wyndham, the reserve's location along the Timbavati River, combined with views of the Drakensberg, offers a distinctive safari setting.
“When you arrive, you are greeted by this massive expanse of water. We’re very fortunate that we have a large dam on the Timbavati River – one of the main perennial rivers that flow through the Kruger National Park – and the views on that river are spectacular. Especially with the backdrop of the Drakensberg directly behind it. There is a feeling of tranquillity the second you arrive.”
The reserve is expected to offer wildlife viewing, birdwatching and walking safaris, with access to eight major drainage lines, indigenous woodland habitats and breeding vulture colonies.
“I will still maintain that the safari experiences will be equal to what can be had in the Sabi Sands,” Wyndham says.
New chapter for restored reserve
The Sabi Sabi Collection says Sandringham represents a new phase in the restoration of a landscape previously impacted by hunting activities.
Wyndham says the reserve will continue the group's focus on conservation, hospitality and community development.
“We have a very strong ethos around us caring about our environment, about the people who work for us, about the guests we entertain, and the wildlife that we look after.”
The reserve is scheduled to welcome its first guests in August 2026.