Majestically laid out over 70 000 acres of the Great Karoo, just 2,5 hours from Port Elizabeth, lies the Serengeti of the South known to locals as the Samara Mara. Samara Private Game Reserve, a project overflowing with the passion of owners Sarah and Mark Tompkins, seeks to restore indigenous wildlife, vegetation and biodiversity to this collection of now 11 former goat and sheep farms, thereby recreating a fully functional Great Karoo ecosystem. The Tompkins have been purchasing farms in the area since 1997 as they support the SANParks initiative to link the Camdeboo and Mountain Zebra national parks, with an estimated 1,3 million acres under conservation, which will make the initiative South Africa's third-largest protected area.

Our lodgings for the first evening were to be at the luxurious The Manor House, with four exclusive double suites and a 21m infinity pool reflecting the stunning Karoo landscape we found ourselves in. Our guide Julius joined us for supper and continued his stories of Samara, bringing home for me the fact that Samara was truly a passion project on so many levels. Everyone has a story at Samara, from the cheetah's to Julius and even Bennie, the once Bloemfontein-based DJ now turned tracker, thanks to the Tracker Academy at Samara. This one year course into the dying science of tracking, the first of its kind in Southern Africa, was founded and is hosted at Samara.

The next morning the trackers put their well-honed skills to the test and were able to locate Chilli and her cubs. So, a short drive into the bush followed by a stint on foot took us to a spot where we located the new family as they spent their Saturday morning under a tree. The experience was truly once in a lifetime for me, as we stood less than 10 meters from Chilli. She was completely relaxed with us at this distance and we spent a good half hour taking in a most remarkable experience.

Another highlight of the Samara trip was spending an evening on the star bed, under the Karoo night sky on a custom-made four-poster bed, draped in a mosquito net and thick mohair blanket. The air is something else in this part of the world and the experience of being away from all forms of modernity and its light pollution was a recharge to the soul.

Samara is a true gem in our collective South African crown, a space in the Karoo that I am proud to call mine as I share my South Africa with the world. She will talk deeply to you, as she shares her many stories and hopes for the future.


A big task and a big, beautiful piece of South Africa in which it is being done. During 2004 cheetah's were re-introduced to Samara after an absence of 130 years from the area. There was talk during our trip that we may spot Chilli, daughter of the famed Sibella, a female cheetah rescued from captivity, with her newly born cubs. But this may require a walk through the bush which was something that I had not yet done in the bush.

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