The Samara story

Founded in 1997 by Sarah and Mark Tompkins, Samara was born of a dream to revive a long-lost wilderness.

A landscape the size of Germany, South Africa’s Karoo is a vast semi-desert of low human density characterised by extensive open plains bordered by dolerite-capped mountains. The Karoo was once the site of the largest land-based migration in Africa, which saw herds of springbok traverse the landscape in their millions.

By the 20th century however the region had been stripped of its biodiversity – which had once included elephant, lion, black rhinoceros and wild dog – as a result of hunting, agricultural expansion and other human activities.

A chance encounter with a farm for sale inspired the Tompkinses to do their part to restore the land to its former glory.

Consulting expert ecologists, they assembled 11 farms encompassing 5 of South Africa’s 9 vegetation biomes across 67,000 acres – an area larger than 30% of the country’s national parks – in a Global Biodiversity Hotspot.

Little by little, alien invasive plants were eradicated, internal fencing dismantled, and the land rested for almost a decade before beginning an ambitious programme of land rehabilitation and wildlife reintroduction which brought Samara’s valleys, plains and mountains back to life.

A significant milestone was the 2004 reintroduction of the first wild cheetah back in the Great Karoo in 130 years. Alongside these graceful predators, herbivores including eland, red hartebeest, gemsbok, giraffe, white rhinoceros and buffalo were also released onto Samara – taking steps to restore the individual pieces of the ecological puzzle.

Adopting a responsible tourism model to support Samara’s conservation objectives, Karoo Lodge and The Manor were opened during these early years.

This decade saw the reintroduction of several iconic wildlife species. In 2013, Samara became one of only a handful of private reserves in South Africa to reintroduce the desert-adapted sub-species of the Critically Endangered black rhinoceros, of which there are fewer than 5,000 worldwide.

In 2017, the first family herd of elephants was translocated to Samara – returning these ecosystem engineers to the landscape after an estimated absence of 150 years.

Lions followed suit in 2019, restoring the ecological function of apex predators to the ecosystem for the first time in 180 years.

As the COVID-19 pandemic raged, Samara strengthened its commitment to purpose-driven tourism. In June 2020, the reserve became a member of The Long Run – a global membership organisation of tourism businesses striving for positive impact across the 4Cs: Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce.

Meanwhile the fruits of Samara’s rewilding efforts continued with the first sighting of a leopard in Samara’s history, in 2021. Subsequent camera trap monitoring and dedicated tracking has established the return of these elusive cats to the reserve of their own accord.

On the lodge side, off-grid Plains Camp launched and Karoo Lodge underwent a sensitive renovation, both during 2023.

Today, large herds of antelope roam Samara. Elephant and rhinoceros meander across the veld, whilst cheetah, lion and leopard stalk the thickets. Over 60 mammal species, including the Big Five, and 225 bird species have been recorded on the reserve.

As a result of Samara’s sheer size and low-impact tourism model, guests enjoy an uninterrupted wilderness experience without the pressure of other vehicles.
Samara’s ultimate vision extends beyond our borders to the creation of South Africa’s third largest protected area linking three national parks with ecological corridors, providing a winning long-term plan for the people and wild places of the Karoo.

Every Samara guest is invited to become a co-creator of this living legacy.