Samara Private Game Reserve is located within easy reach of arguably the country’s most beautiful and accessible coastline, which stretches along the Garden Route from Mossel Bay to Port Elizabeth.
One particularly popular resort is
Plettenberg Bay, originally named
Bahia Formosa – ‘Beautiful Bay’ – by early Portuguese explorers. Its long sandy beaches, excellent surf, multitude of accommodation options, safe environment for kids and laid-back attitude have earned this small seaside town a well-deserved reputation as a prime holiday destination, particularly for families with children and teens.
Plett, as it’s known, offers a wealth of activities geared towards all age groups. Kids will love the
sunny beaches; adrenaline junkies can get their fix of
bungee jumping and
canopy tours; teenagers will revel in the buzzing
social scene and
nightlife. Several
golf courses offer opportunities to practise your swing, whilst a
boat can be rented for a
cruise up the Keurbooms River. For everyone else, there’s
whale watching, excellent
dining, a local
wine route,
art galleries and
shopping opportunities galore.
…Not to mention luxury safaris! Samara Private Game Reserve is located north-east of Plett in South Africa’s magical heartland, the Great Karoo. Offering a completely different landscape to the greenscapes of the Garden Route, the Karoo is characterised by vast, flat plains leading to distant purple mountains – real Big Sky Country.
At the foot of these mountains lies Samara, a vast private game reserve of astonishing diversity. Four vegetation types, including endangered plateau grasslands on the unique ‘
Samara Mara‘, support a variety of species, from cheetah to elephant, rhino to giraffe, aardvark, zebra and everything in between. Game drives and walks are just some of the activities on offer to explore this breathtaking landscape.
Guests are accommodated in
two luxury lodges sleeping a total of 26 people. Children of all ages are welcome – indeed encouraged! – and there is a
dedicated children’s programme for little ones. For teenagers, Samara offers plenty of Instagrammable moments that are sure to make their friends’ jaws drop – from
tracking wild cheetah on foot to within a few metres, to standing atop Eagle Rock with 180km of rolling wilderness stretching as far as the eye can see, or even spending a night spotting constellations in the
star bed.
How to get there:
- Samara is easily accessible from Plett by road or by air.
- A flight shuttle operated by PlettAirSafaris offers daily transfers from Plett to Graaff-Reinet or directly to Samara’s own airstrip. The journey lasts 45-60 minutes. See here for more info.
- If travelling by car, the journey from Plett to Samara takes 4.5 hours on good roads. Several routes are possible, from exploring the Little Karoo (including Willowmore and a short detour to Oudsthoorn) to hugging the coast (passing Nature’s Valley, Storms River and St Francis) and even making a quick stop at Addo Elephant National Park. In a region of such diversity, a road trip can be a wonderful way to explore the landscape.
Samara Private Game Reserve is a luxury 5-star destination with a passionate conservation mission set within breathtaking wilderness. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus or Instagram, or click here to start planning your stay with us today. A safari for the soul.
