Top Safari Guides In The Sabi Sands Game Reserve

About Sabi Sands

Animals Icon

Wildlife & Birds

The privately managed Sabi Sands Game Reserve is situated to the west of the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga and in 1993 the decision was made to drop the fences that separated the two parks.

What this effectively means is that the wildlife is free to move between the reserves so all the species that can found in the Kruger can be seen in Sabi Sands too.

An added advantage here for animal spotting is that vehicles are allowed to go off-road so the 'big 5' species can be tracked. Finding cats is a specialty in this reserve.

Characteristic wildlife found is lion, leopard, elephant, white rhino, buffalo, hyena, giraffe, hippo, crocodile, cheetah, baboon, kudu and much more. There are also around 500 species of bird to be seen depending on the season.

Accommodation Icon

Accommodation

There are more than 23 camps and lodges to be found within the Sabi Sands game reserve so accommodation is plentiful in the mid range, luxury and ultra luxury category.

Places to stay vary from sumptuous thatched chalets to ornate rondavels, private deck and swimming pool suites to spacious coarse stone bedrooms and bathrooms , with all the modern conveniences included.

All the lodges blend into their savanna environment as unobtrusively as possible and provide visitors with an exclusive and unforgettable experience.

Weather Icon

Weather

This is definitely the right place to be for sun seekers as the average number of sunshine hours per year is amongst the highest in the world.

Most of the rainfall occurs during the late spring, summer and early Autumn months from October to April and often occurs in the form of thunderstorms that are reasonably short in duration. The rest of the year is dry with little rain falling.

Summer temperatures are high, averaging 31 °C maximum and 21 °C. In winter the days can be warm (average 26 °C) but the nights cool down substantially, averaging 11.5 °C.

Size Icon

Size And Distance

The Sabie Sands Reserve is a reasonably small tract of land measuring 14 km (8.6 mi) at its widest point east to west and 11 km (6.8 mi) from north to south.

The reserve is divided into smaller portions that are privately owned but no property may be subdivided into portions less than 857 hectares.

Two entrance gates, Shaw and Newington are 5.5 hours drive from Johannesburg and the roads inside the property are all gravel. Off-road driving is allowed in special circumstances so roads can be kept to a minimum to lesson the impact on the environment.

Flights Icon

Flights

There are three options when it comes flying to the reserve. You can fly directly within South Africa as most of the properties have their own facilities or use a neighboring airfield. Airlink, Federal Air and Nelair are the airlines that fly direct.

Option two is to fly to the Skukuza airport in the Kruger National Park from Johannesburg or Cape Town using Airlink and then do a road transfer to Sabi Sands which is close by.

Lastly, you can fly to the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport situated just outside of Nelspruit which is able to handle flights from outside of South Africa.

It takes approximately one hour to get to the Sabi Sands by air from Johannesburg and two and a half hours from Cape Town.

MOST MEMORABLE SIGHTINGS?

One day we were driving around and the next thing, a leopard caught an aardvark and it was in a tree with it, feeding. In Sabie Sands we're not able to see many aardvark so this was amazing.

And then the pangolin of course, I've seen them many, many times. I've seen baby pangolin and it's incredible how the adult will carry the offspring. I've also seen mating leopard which can be quite rare, but I've never seen mating hyena in all these years, believe it or not.

Whatever the experience is - I learn about animals every day, that's just a sure thing. Any time you go out there they will do something different.

FAVOURITE ANIMAL?

My favourite animal is the elephant. I just find it's one of the animals people need to bear in mind to love because it's got the heart. It's actually going to walk past you and look at you like you're right there and they've got a happiness in their face, for me I think it's the best animal, I love it.

I've come across elephants on walks many times but I always try to keep a distance from them. One day I thought I had to use a rifle but I didn't fortunately, I stayed with my guests. The animals were right behind us, they were not going to leave us for at least fifteen minutes, but eventually we got away from them.

BEST BIRDING EXPERIENCE OF YOUR GUIDING CAREER?

Believe it or not we saw a Pel's Fishing Owl here during easter at the causeway and it had caught a fish, which was amazing,

I've been going to the Kruger Park - I don't know, four times a year in the right places where you could see it, but now I've seen it in the Sabi Sands for the first time. I was born and grew up in Sabi Sands, all my life and career doing this kind of work, I've never seen one before.

GUIDING AREA OF SPECIALIZATION?

I get into photography and take a lot of pictures. My brother does that as well as he's also a guide and has helped me a lot with it. As a guide you do it all, it's never just one area you need to know about. Walking trails is something I really enjoy doing and often see the big five with guests on foot.

Back to the Top

WHY DID YOU BECOME A SAFARI GUIDE:

When I grew up I did not know that you could study wildlife, this was mainly because I grew up as a herder of cattle and only went to school when I was 14. Lucky for me when I was a tracker I started being interested in wildlife and I started to learn more about it.

I have learnt many things from the guides that were my rangers during my time as a tracker in the late 1999 and 2001. I have also have taught myself a lot and keep learning - I love nature.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SAFARI GUIDE?

Firstly, you must love the guiding, love people of different continents and be patient with everyone. And lastly you need to keep on studying and go the extra mile.

YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT AS A GUIDE?

It was during a night drive when I stopped the vehicle under a big tree. I didn't notice that there was a troop of baboons sleeping in the tree. Because I had stopped right under them, they were very nervous and so they started to defecate on our heads, the vehicle was full of guests and everyone was wet with baboon poop!

MOST MEMORABLE SIGHTINGS?

A few years ago I was watching 3 lionesses hunting a buffalo and they chased the female buffalo right into an open area next to one of the dams around here and they killed it.

They had 7 cubs with them. It took awhile, about 20 minutes, and they were still fighting and eventually the buffalo went down. I know it’s a little bit tough for people to watch but I loved it.

FAVOURITE ANIMAL?

Kudu - it is a big antelope, with big lovely, corkscrew horns. It's mane under the neck is like a design by a human, silverfish grey and long, making the kudu a beautiful animal. It is also the South African National Parks official emblem, which includes the Kruger National Park and Sabi Sand Wildtuin.

GUIDING AREA OF SPECIALIZATION?

Birding and insects.

INTERESTING ANIMAL BEHAVIOR YOU'VE WITNESSED?

Leopard hunting behavior, when the leopard is on its own and hunting using its eyes (binocular vision) and lowering itself very low.

YOUR FAVOURITE CAMPFIRE STORY?

It is a story I was taught by my maternal grandfather. The story is of the hyena that has a basket on its back and it uses this basket to carry meat or a goat that it killed in the local village kraal. The local people saw the hyena walking with his back low and the front held up and they thought it was because the goat was so heavy that it was carrying back to them.

But they never got to see the hyena clearly during the day and they only saw it the moonlight at night. And so when they got up the next morning, they didn't see the drag marks, they only saw the tracks and that is why they think that a hyena carries the meat in a basket on this back part of its body.

Back to the Top

WHY DID YOU BECOME A SAFARI GUIDE:

I grew up visiting the bush and was always drawn to the lifestyle. After school I finished a BA Sport Psychology degree and there after attended a guiding course.

I became a guide for the love of people and wildlife. I believe it is my calling to teach people about conserving the African bush.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SAFARI GUIDE?

A good safari guide is one who can explain this complex environment to anyone in a simple and understandable way.

Someone who can adapt to different personalities and someone with a warm, friendly, outgoing character that is fun as well as professional.

YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT AS A GUIDE?

My most embarrassing moment was the time when I had a full compliment of very well know guests.

They were all sitting on the game viewer and as I was about to start my safari intro orientation I step into the vehicle and slipped on the side-step and fell flat on my back in the dust.

It actually broke the ice for what turned out to be the most fun 5 nights I've ever had on safari.

MOST MEMORABLE SIGHTINGS?

My most memorable sighting was seeing all of the big five in a stretch of 400m road, a once in a lifetime moment.

FAVOURITE ANIMAL?

Cheetah are my favorite animals. I just love the elegance they have and the control in their walk captivates me, the true emperors of the African bush.

GUIDING AREA OF SPECIALIZATION?

I specialise in animal behavior, interpretation and tracking and I am also a wildlife photographer.

INTERESTING ANIMAL BEHAVIOR YOU'VE WITNESSED?

I have seen a big male baboon sprint across an open plain through a herd of Impala. He grabbed a new born baby, killed it and ran off with it under his arm.

YOUR FAVOURITE CAMPFIRE STORY?

My favorite camp fire story is of a female Leopard who led me to her den site to show off her two newborn cubs. I don't want to give away the whole story so come and visit me on safari to hear how the story unfolded.

Back to the Top

WHY DID YOU BECOME A SAFARI GUIDE:

I became a safari field guide out of pure love for the bush. My dream was to wake up in the bush everyday and becoming a safari guide was the ideal way for me to make this a reality.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SAFARI GUIDE?

A good safari field guide is someone who understands why his guests have come on safari and he tries to make each individual he takes out into the bushveld feel special.

Also someone who understands that for some people this is a lifelong dream and I can 'make' or 'break' their experience. So I must give 100% everyday I'm out there.

MOST MEMORABLE SIGHTINGS?

I was at Thornybush and it was a heavily overcast day and we had rain the night before.

We came across a termite mound that was releasing Alates (winged termites/flying ants) on both sides of the road. We were surrounded by them and also as about 150-200 birds.

I counted over 30 species and they were in a feeding frenzy grabbing the Alates. We sat amongst this for about 20 minutes till it calmed down, blown away by what we were experiencing.

FAVOURITE ANIMAL?

Large bull Elephant, particularly large bulls. I love their swagger, the way they make me feel when I'm around them.

Elephants were my dads favorite animals and since his passing I feel we still have a connection through them.

GUIDING AREA OF SPECIALIZATION?

I am a very keen birder and I am about to be assessed for my 'Specialist Birding certificate'. Also I love botany and have a very keen interest in Astronomy.

Photography is a strength of mine, not only taking images but also advising guests on equipment and how to use it.

INTERESTING ANIMAL BEHAVIOR YOU'VE WITNESSED?

I have so many, but the one that comes to mind is when I watched a young leopardess of about a year old stalk a huge male giraffe. This carried on for awhile.

The leopard would stalk the giraffe and the giraffe would turn to look at the little predator and then she would lose her nerve and then run away.

Finally the leopard stalked up to about 2 meters (6 feet) behind the giraffe, so close that if the giraffe kicked out it would kill the young leopard.

All of a sudden the giraffe turned to face the leopard but this time she didn't run, she held her nerve and bent over to look down at the young cat.

And so began a stand off, this two foot tall female leopard staring up at this 20 foot giant. This lasted for about a minute till the little leopard lost her nerve and ran off.

YOUR FAVOURITE CAMPFIRE STORY?

One day while out on a safari my tracker and I found a 'drag mark' across the road and tracks of a female Leopard who had killed something quite large.

We decided to track her on foot. We walked in about 80m and I saw a bush where in my mind I thought, 'If I were her I would hide it in there'.

My thought bubble had barely dissipated when the leopard charged at us from the bush making one heck of a noise but fortunately she halted about 10m in front of us.

My tracker was to my left and out the corner of my eye I saw him jump up about three feet into the air. As he landed he pointed his stick at the leopard in the funniest of poses, he looked like a character from Harry Potter putting a spell on something by saying, "Expeliamus" (you had to be there).

She continued to growl and began to back away and so did we. I could barely hold in my laughter as we backed away thinking of my tracker's reaction.

We got back to our vehicle with our 6 guests eyes as large as saucers. They unfortunately couldn't see what had happened as it was behind some thick bushes but they had heard all the commotion.

My tracker arrived back at the vehicle with a blank expression and then said, "I think I need some water." I could not contain my laughter any longer and began to tell the story still laughing my head off.

Back to the best wildlife sightings

Back to the Top