Singita Castleton Camp
Sabi Sand Game
Reserve, South Africa
UPDATE:
Castleton Camp will close as a commercial
camp from June 30, 2007
and
revert to a private facility for the
owner
(see
more below).
|
SINGITA
CASTLETON CAMP -
SABI SAND GAME RESERVE
| SINGITA UPDATE: Castleton
Camp will close as a commercial lodge on
June 30, 2007 and will revert to being a
private facility for the sole use of the
owner. The 6 rooms at Castleton have been
replaced with 3 additional family suites
at Boulders and
3 family suites at Ebony. |
There has always
been a pride of lions at Castleton. Emerging
onto the wide verandah with a cup of strong coffee
in the early morning, you might see the lionesses
and cubs of the Castleton pride, in the tall
grass just beyond the lawn, cleaning themselves
and playing under a spreading acacia, lazy and
full after the night's hunt.
James Fawcett Bailes acquired
Castleton and Ravenscourt, two farms in the area
between the Sabi and Sand Rivers, in 1925, as a Private
Game Reserve. The Sabi Sand region was a remote corner
of the lowveld, three days hard driving from the
coast, teeming with game, a raw and beautiful landscape.
In 1994, as South Africa was opening itself to the
rest of the world, the Bailes family decided that
the time had come to open Singita, their piece of
Africa, to discerning visitors.
Singita Private Game Reserve,
located in the game-rich Sabi Sand Private Game
Reserve, offers exquisite luxury, rare
solitude and perfect tranquility. Singita, which
means “The Miracle” in the local Shangaan
language, has four distinctive properties, all
of which are members of
Relais & Chateaux.
The Cape Town based Singita group is regarded
internationally as a forerunner in the luxury
ecotourism market, constantly setting new standards
for the ultimate African bush and wildlife experience.
Singita is well known for its world class hospitality,
stunning décor and excellent game viewing.
It is regarded by many to be the most luxurious
lodge collection in Africa.
Accolades
The
Singita Private Game Reserve scored the first-ever
flawless score of 100 in the 2001 Condé Nast
Readers' Choice poll. For 2002, Singita once again
finished
on top of the poll for African Resorts and received
the highest score overall with
a 96. Singita shares the World No
1. position this year as The Best of the Best 2002
with the French luxury hotel, Boyer Les Crayères
in Reims.
The Condé Nast award was Singita's third major international
achievement last year. In September 2002, the highly
regarded connoisseur's international travel guide, Andrew
Harper's Hideaway Report, rated Singita as World
No. 1 in the category International Resort Hideaway
with less than 50 rooms. Singita also
took top honors in the annual travel awards listing,
rated by Forbes Magazines as the definitive international
travel survey. This achievement followed shortly
after the prestigious Relais & Chateaux group
awarded Singita their highest accolade, the Purple
Shield, as a property featuring the highest level
of service, amenities and furnishings. Only a
small select group of properties have been awarded
the Purple Shield around the world and Singita
is only the third property in Africa and the
Indian Ocean region to be honored in this way.
Accommodation  For
images of Castleton Camp, click Castleton
Images
Castleton
Camp, once the private home of the Bailes family,
has recently become available for groups of up
to twelve guests at a time. Surrounding the classic
stone farmhouse with its wide verandah, the six
chalets at Castleton are luxuriously appointed
in a comfortable
colonial style, and enjoy one of the most beautiful
views in the Sabi Sand Reserve.
Parties of guests at Castleton are attended by their
own personal tracker and game ranger, and an open
Land Rover is placed at their disposal. Dinner may
be taken in the sumptuous colonial dining room of
the farmhouse, or around the fire in the small private
boma. Long relaxing days between game drives may
be spent around the cool, dark waters of Castleton's
pool.
Each chalet sleeps two and has en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning. A large,
new filtered swimming pool provides the perfect means of cooling off during the
heat of a Lowveld summer. Early morning or evening, choose from game drives in
open Land Rovers or guided bush walks with a personal tracker. Castleton caters
for the discerning traveller wanting personalized service together with a homey
bush atmosphere. It has world class comfort, style, food and rare vintage wines.
Activities
Your
time at Singita is your own. While the camp offers
game drives and walks, and the finest big five game
viewing
in Southern Africa, Singita is distinguished by the
wide range of activities its guests are free to enjoy
at the lodges and camps. Clay pigeon shooting is
available on request, or guests may try some seasonal
fishing
in the rivers. You may ask your ranger to requisition
a private Land Rover, or you may choose to join one
of the daily drives or group walks. Bush breakfasts
and sunset cocktails may be arranged for you in some
of the most scenic spots in the reserve, or you may
dine on the privacy of your deck.
A guided visit
to Justitia Village, just outside the boundary of
the reserve, will provide you with fascinating insights
into the life of the local Shangaan community. In
the reserve, highly trained and experienced rangers
and trackers will introduce you to an Africa few
have been privileged to see, while the lodge staff,
headed up by internationally trained management and
a highly sought-after executive chef will ensure
that your stay is not simply pleasant but truly memorable.
Wildlife
The Sabi-Sand Game Reserve
borders the world-renowned Kruger National Park,
but
no fences intrude here
- wildlife moves and migrates freely throughout
the region, providing fantastic game-viewing
opportunities from open, four-wheel drive vehicles. Singita
offers wonderful opportunities for big five
sightings; Elephant, Lion, Leopard,
Buffalo and Rhinoceros. The Sabi Sand Reserve
has a higher bio-mass of animals per hectare
than the internationally
renowned
Kruger
National Park, which borders the Sabi Sand
Reserve.
The reserve is on the migration routes of many
prey species, and sightings of lion, leopard
and even the elusive African Painted Dog are
common. Time spent at Singita is time spent
at the very
heart of the African wilderness, in a place
that grew out of the bushveld. With
no restricting fences between Sabi Sand and
Kruger National Park, magical wildlife encounters
in the open veld and the romantic ambience
of the truly superb lodges of the Sabi Sand conspire
to steal you away to a timelessness that will
stay
with
you
forever.
 Top  Return to Map of Sabi Sand Game Reserve Return
to Map
of Lowveld Game Reserves Return
to Map
of Limpopo Province
For
tourist information and activities in the
Limpopo Province, click More
Limpopo
For further information about Kruger National Park, click More
Kruger
For further information about South Africa, click More
South Africa
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