Londolozi Varty Camp
Sabi Sand Game Reserve,
South Africa
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LONDOLOZI
VARTY CAMP - SABI SAND GAME RESERVE
Londolozi
Private Game Reserve is unashamedly the most
exclusive and luxurious south African safari
destination. This South African safari covers
14,000 hectares (34,580 acres) in the heart of
the game-rich 56,000 hectare Sabi Sand Game
Reserve. Londolozi is a Zulu word meaning "protector
of all living things" - an ambitious conservation
ethic that Londolozi embraces in its sensitivity
to the natural world and in this African wildlife
safari.
Londolozi has
at its core, a sense of universal responsibility,
not just to the animals and the land that sustains
them, but also to the people who call South Africa
home and to those who are drawn there from far
off lands.
Londolozi, the ultimate in South African
Safaris, offers four small, elegant camps (Varty
Camp - previously known as Bateleur Camp, Tree
Camp, Pioneer Camp, and Founders
Camp) and a
very private Granite Suite camp, all nestled
on the banks of the Sand River, but hidden from
view in the dense riverine forest.
The dream of escaping the bell-jar of everyday existence,
of shifting into a full appreciation of the moment,
awakening the senses and the experiencing balm of
solitude – this dream is made real at Londolozi.
This is the true and cherished value of time spent
at Londolozi.
It waits, unchanging,
endlessly offering its wondrous powers of rejuvenation
to all who venture in. Here anything is possible;
experience the sense of energy, spiritual and
emotional upliftment, renewal and revitalization – in
a journey of discovery in the wildlands of southern
Africa.
“The Protector of All Living Things”
Each camp is totally
private and self-contained. The central reception and
curio shop are at Varty Camp.
Accolades
• Voted by readers
of Condé Nast
Traveller onto the magazine's 2001 annual gold list
of the
world's best travel destinations.
• Londolozi Private Game Reserve was named Top Safari
Resort in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2000
Readers’ Choice Awards.
• Voted #1 by Travel + Leisure magazine’s
(USA) annual reader survey on the World’s Best
Values, 2000.
• Featured as #1 in the Top 10 Hotels for Service
in Africa and the Middle East in Travel + Leisure
magazine,
June 2000.
• The first game reserve in the world to be
awarded Relais & Chateaux membership.
• Voted #1 in the Top 10 Hotels for Service in Africa
and the Middle East in Condé Nast Traveler,
July 2000.
Accommodation For
images of Varty Camp, click Varty
Images
In
the center of Londolozi burns a fire in the very
spot where the Varty forefathers set up their tents
80 years ago. This fire has been lit every night
on the same spot through generations and embodies
the significance of this camp and the continuity
of the Varty custodianship.
Chalets
and Suites: Varty
Camp has eight luxurious chalets and two gracious
suites. The camp was built on the site
of the original hunting camp, in remembrance of
Londolozi's pioneering days. All the chalets and
suites have a plunge pool and wooden decks, with
air-conditioning and en-suite bathrooms with bath
and separate shower.
The focal point of each luxurious bathroom is a
capacious tub. The essence of relaxation is to gaze
from your bath over uninterrupted views of the surrounding
bush. Also, the suites have underfloor heating and
an outdoor shower as additional features. Underfloor
heating takes the edge off chilly winter nights,
or rising for dawn game drives.
Interiors: Striking African
designs offset the opulent hues of teak and velvet
in the eight
private rooms. The handsome
suites with billowing drapes, canopied beds and inlaid
mosaic floors recreate a bygone world of tactile pleasure.
The shared living
spaces exude the warmth and hospitality of the
Londolozi legacy. Historical photographs of
the Sabi Sand Game Reserve add to the congenial
atmosphere. Sepia family portraits on the walls
speak of the
adventure and hardships that laid the foundation
for the present-day luxury.
Living Spaces: The lounge
area at Varty Camp has magnificent views over the
Sand River. Four rondavels dating back to the the original
Sparta Hunting camp are a special feature of the camp.
One has been turned into a traditional bedroom and
the others are now a museum, a well stocked wine cellar
and an Internet centre. The camp also offers a swimming
pool and a curio shop/gallery.
Leafy tranquility
pervades the camp. The enormous boughs of an
ancient Ebony Tree
emerge through the
main deck, towering above the thatch roof. This organic
compilation of deck and living wood epitomizes CC
Africa's concern for "treading lightly" and
building around natural features.
Cuisine
You can savor
Pan-African cuisine in the dining area overlooking
the flowing Sand River, or in the large
boma (enclosed reeded area). Food for the soul, this
melange of traditional African recipes is enhanced
by Africa's famous spices - saffron, vanilla, cumin
and nutmeg.
Breakfast and
lunch are served in the dining area or on your
private deck. Dinner may be savoured buffet
style in the boma or in a clearing in the bush. Our
well stocked wine cellar is an ideal complement to
our delicious dishes.
Bush Banquets: At Londolozi
Varty Camp, you can indulge in moonlit bush dinners
and private bush
breakfasts.
Dinners
are served in a clearing in the bush under a star-studded
sky. The incredible effort, the surprise, the spectacular
settings, visual impact and fairytale-like atmosphere
of dining under the stars are an unforgettable African
bush experience.
Activities
Game
Drives: Activities
at Londolozi center around game viewing drives in
open vehicles
that traverse an area of some 14,000 hectares (34,580
acres) in search of wildlife, including nocturnal
species viewed after sunset. You may request the
sole use of a Land Rover for game viewing (subject
to availability).
Interpretive Walks: Armed
rangers will lead you on bush walks - the quintessential
wilderness experience. The
Shangaan are renowned trackers of wildlife - a skill
honed to perfection among the many CC Africa
trackers and rangers. Shangaan people are in the
majority in the southern Lowveld and most of the
staff at Londolozi come from this cultural group.
Adventures: Your
game viewing experience is complemented by many other
memorable activities such as:
moonlit
bush dinners
private bush breakfasts
guided stargazing trips
bird-watching
port served on the airstrip - usually after dinner
on a clear night*
fishing with bamboo rods and "magic bush boxes" for
children
visits to the staff village encompassing the
crèche,
school, adult learning centre, clinic and craft center
bush presentations in orientation centre
*If you are wondering why we would invite you
to sip port on our airstrip - all will become clear
when you are driven there on a cloudless night. What
you will see is a panorama of breathtaking proportions.
Since the airstrip is on a slope, the ground seems
to slip away from you into a massive sky full of
shimmering constellations.
Library: For
those cozy winter nights - a collection of wildlife
books, magazines and videos are available for you
to enhance your enjoyment of Africa.
Wildlife
The Sabi Sand Game Reserve
is a mostly flat landscape of undulating crests
with some rocky outcrops, bisected
by the Sand River.
Londolozi is a prime wildlife
haven and has been rated the best game experience
in Southern Africa.
The characteristic species of the Sabi Sand are
impala, greater kudu, giraffe, buffalo, lion and
leopard. Lions are the only truly social members
of the cat family, and sightings of lion prides
are the order of the day at Londolozi.
Open water channels and pools are favoured by hippo.
Reedbeds are favoured by buffalo and elephant. Riverine
forest along the river is green all year round, and
is the haunt of leopard, greater bush baby (galago)
and bushbuck.
The dainty-hoofed klipspringer and rock dassie (hyrax)
are the only larger mammals restricted to rocky outcrops
in the Sabi Sand. Chacma baboons use the outcrops
as vantage points.
Bird diversity is
high, with over 40 species of raptor including
Hooded Vulture, Secretary Bird, African Fish Eagle,
Bateleur, Brown Snake Eagle, Dark Chanting Goshawk
and Giant Eagle Owl. Cuckoos, Rollers, Kingfishers,
Hornbills, Shrikes, Starlings and Weavers are well
represented. Some common birds along the Sand River
are the Paradise Flycatcher, Heuglin's Robin, Collared
Sunbird and Green Pigeon.
Open water
channels and pools are favoured by Pied Kingfisher
and African Black Duck. Reedbeds are populated
by Burchell's Coucal, Redfaced Cisticola and various
Weavers. Some common savannah birds are the Green
Spotted Dove (formerly called the Emerald Spotted
Wood Dove), Woodland Kingfisher, Blue Waxbill, White
Helmet shrike, Lizard Buzzard, Yellow-billed Hornbill
and Lilac-breasted Roller.
About Londolozi
The
history of the Varty and Taylor families – the
conservation dynasties who have dedicated their
lives to saving a small part of Africa’s
Eden – is the history of Londolozi. The
first stirrings of Londolozi were felt over eighty
years ago when two friends and the great grandfathers
of the Varty and Taylor clans, Charles Varty
and Frank Unger, stood for the first time on
the banks of the Sand River. The vision they
saw in the virgin bush turned out to be as solid
and enduring as the granite rocks anchored in
the river.
True
to its name Londolozi has become fertile ground
for enkindling aspirations for a better future
for all, for a planet abounding in open spaces,
wild animals and people living together in dignity
and harmony. Socially, economically and environmentally
responsible; Londolozi is a privately owned game
reserve built on solid foundations and almost
a century of family history; welcoming to all,
exploring new frontiers and exceeding all expectations.
The
Varty family values are everywhere in evidence;
in the personalised service, the ambience of
simplicity and elegance, and naturally in the
welcome received on arrival.
Visiting a
Londolozi camp is an extraordinary experience,
pleasing to every sense and yet unfettered by
the materialism that can inhibit a deep interaction
with nature. Here guests bask in a sense of belonging
and intimacy, seduced by the serenity of the
bushveld and vistas of swaying grass, thorn trees,
grazing kudus and bright birds in the sky.
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