Reviews of Sabi Sands (From 7 Acclaimed Safari Experts)

Expert

Philip Briggs –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

7 people found this review helpful.

Best for a quick Big 5 fix

Overall rating

4/5

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Bush Vibe:

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A cluster of small jointly managed private reserves bordering the immense Kruger Park, Sabi Sands is arguably the best place anywhere in Africa for certain sighting of all the Big Five – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo – in the space of a 2 or 3 night stay. Indeed there is probably no better place in Africa for close-up vies of leopard behavior and interaction. Sabi Sands offers a top-notch guided safari experience, as all game drives are conducted by professional guides working for the various camps in the private reserves. Night drives and guided walks are also on offer at most camps. The one downside, at least for those reserves that share traversing rights, is that guides tend to use the radio rather than innate tracking skills to locate wildlife, so that queues of expectant vehicles can end up waiting for their for one sighting (a maximum of three vehicles per sighting is allowed), which can start to feel a bit contrived, especially when you are asked to move on mid-sighting to make way for the next vehicle. Still, for first time-safarigoers, it is a small price to pay for the near certainly of seeing the Big Five (along with the likes of cheetah and African wild dog), and the animals – which move freely between here and Kruger – remain truly wild.

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Ariadne van Zandbergen –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Ariadne is a renowned African wildlife photographer whose work is featured in many well-known guidebooks and magazines.

7 people found this review helpful.

Chasing the Big 5 in Sabi Sands

Overall rating

4/5

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Sabi Sands is one of the best places in Africa to see the famous Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo. Sabi Sands consists of a cluster of private Game reserves that are more or less run in the same way. Each one of these reserves offers you a full inclusive package which consists of 2 game drives and all meals. Some even include drinks. Game drives are conducted in open safari vehicles and most guides in Sabi Sands are very knowledgeable and capable. For people, who would like some exciting wildlife encounters on a short safari, Sabi Sands is the right place to come.

Personally I find the whole Big Five hype slightly annoying. All the guides work with car radios and a lot of game drives consists of chasing from one good sighting (picked up by radio), to another. Luckily there are strict regulations about how many vehicles are allowed to approach any given animal, but this results in vehicles cueing for particular sightings. To give everybody a chance to get to any of these good sightings, the time you are allowed to spend on any particular sighting is regulated as well. In Sabi Sands, all predators and other high profile animals are very habituated which makes for some exceptionally good sightings on a par with what you get to see on wildlife documentaries. My highlight must be the fantastic leopard sightings. You won’t see anything like that anywhere else. The leopards are extremely relaxed and the guides are experts in following them through the bush.

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Expert

Harriet Nimmo –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Harriet is a zoologist with more than 20 years’ experience. She has the privilege of working with the world’s top wildlife photographers and photo-guides.

2 people found this review helpful.

Leopard City

Overall rating

4/5

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Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve is one of the best places in Africa to see leopard. The guides know the individual leopards and their territories, and I have never been here and not seen at least one leopard per day.

Sabi Sands is a classic Big Five game reserve, and an ideal location for your first ever safari. You stand a good chance of seeing rhino here, despite their numbers plummeting in the adjacent Kruger National Park due to poaching. You may also be lucky and see wild dogs, especially during the dry winter season.

There is a variety of lodges, all offering the same wildlife experience, but varying in degrees of luxury (my first experience of being offered a ‘pillow menu’!).

The reason I’ve not scored Sabi Sands a 5 is because the reserve is not particularly scenic. It has thick bush rather than open vistas, which can make photography tricky. It is also perpetually popular, so you may have to wait in line for some wildlife sightings, although these are strictly controlled, with only three vehicles at a time actually allowed at each sighting. Sabi Sands delivers!

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Expert

Heather Richardson –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Heather is a British travel / conservation journalist, and has written for publications and broadcasters such as the BBC, Departures, the Telegraph and the Sunday Times.

Big Five, (almost) guaranteed

Overall rating

4/5

Wildlife:

Bush Vibe:

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The Sabi Sands is the easiest place to see leopards in Africa – these cats are so habituated they’ll even crawl under the vehicle or stroll right past without a care. The Sands has dense wildlife and it’s rare you won’t see the full Big Five (though obviously there are ‘quiet’ days). This is a private reserve attached to Kruger National Park and it’s home to the most luxurious lodges in the country. It’s not a cheap place to visit, but tourism here is seriously polished. You’ll see other vehicles around, but there is a policy of only three cars at one sighting, which helps it to feel less crowded.

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