A tale that started over 40 years ago
What started as an idea to create a home in the bush grew into so much more than we could ever have imagined.
Hilton & Jacqui Loon
Owners of Sabi Sabi
We realise nature is so much greater than us and we recognise our place and role within her magnificent system.
We treasure our natural wonderland and its abundance of life and lessons.
We don’t “own” Sabi Sabi, we are simply her custodians
We understand that it’s our role to conserve this African wilderness and share it with others through unforgettable safaris that deepen an appreciation for all things great and small.
Alive with stories of the past
The nomadic San people, Mandleve the majestic elephant, and the gold rush railway passengers are just some of the characters to feature in our extensive history.
Mandleve the gentle giant
Approximately 40 years ago, at the inception of Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, a magnificent elephant bull with massive tusks roamed the reserve. He was called Mandleve, which was a local Tsonga nickname for the tear in his ear.
As he grew older he spent most of his days at Sabi Sabi, eating the soft vegetation along the mighty Sabi river. When this gentle giant passed on in 1992, his tusks were recorded as the heaviest ivory on record in the Greater Kruger area.
The Selati Railway line
The Selati Railway line was constructed in the 1920s as a mean of transporting gold, however, this railway line also made possible recreational travel through wilderness areas of the Transvaal and visitors flocked to enjoy the steam train game viewing experience, while indulging in the comfort of the coaches and discovering the natural beauty of the game reserve's abundance of fauna and flora.
Sabi Sabi set out to capture the inspirational spirit of this adventurous era at our five-star, historically themed Selati Camp.
Nelson Mandela visits Sabi Sabi
In the mid-1999s we had the honour and privilege to host South Africa’s first democratically elected leader, Nelson Mandela, as a treasured guest at our reserve while he attended a high-level government conference at Sabi Sabi.
The conference was attended by many high powered economic and financial gurus, with all of South Africa’s political parties being represented.
His visit sparked excitement and jubilations from everyone at Sabi Sabi and will be remembered by those present and future staff members for many years to come.
The Loon Family
Our desire to share our love and passion for the wilderness led to the idea of creating a welcoming home for visitors to the bush. What we didn’t anticipate was the incredible team of people that would help us achieve our dream. It was their fierce loyalty to the company and their care for our guests that helped build Sabi Sabi into what it is now. And it is this rare and deep-seated connection to the land and her people that we want to share with generations to come.
Our journey has been quite an adventure.
Sabi Sabi is the epitome of balancing the needs of conservation, tourism and community to the benefit of all
We understand that for tourism and conservation to thrive, local communities must thrive too. If we can nurture, uplift and promote the wellbeing of our neighbours, we can help them to appreciate the role that conservation has to play in attracting guests to Africa’s pristine wildlife and in turn, generating growth and development for all.
We work as a Community to conserve nature
From the very beginning, we deliberately included everyone in our vision of conserving nature and sharing her beauty with others from all over the world. We began with the upliftment of our employees and our neighbours and now, we are a large yet close-knit community united by mutual trust, respect and the desire to protect the land and build a positive future.
40 years of excellence in the making
From welcoming families the world over to working with neighbouring communities and conserving our pristine piece of Africa, we are privileged to be where we are now.
Our people are at the Heart of everything we do
Our promise for the Future
Committed to safeguarding nature for generations to come.
It is by remembering our past that we look to the future. Over the decades, we’ve grown to understand how vital the wilderness is to humankind. Nature helps us strengthen our bonds and find peace within ourselves, which is why we must protect this land and make it a sanctuary for flora, fauna and for our guests. We promise to continue to create stable employment for local communities through ecotourism and continue to share our respect and love for the wilderness with all – so that the magic of Sabi Sabi will forever live on.
The Sabi Sabi Team
