Sabi Sands
The Sabi Sand Wildtuin (Game Reserve) is a 650 square kilometres wildlife sanctuary which forms part of the Greater Kruger National Park area. The Sabi Sand shares a common 50km unfenced eastern boundary with the Kruger National Park. No fences exist within this area and animals are free to roam unhindered through the enormous conservancy with habitat types ranging from riverine thicket to open savannah.
The Sabi Sand is an association of freehold landowners, many of whom manage commercially active photographic safari operations.
There are two perennial rivers which supply the Sabi Sands with water. The Sand River flows through the reserve for 50km from North West to South East, and the Sabie River flows on the southern boundary. This ensures that the Reserve enjoys one of the highest and most bio-diverse wildlife populations of any area in Africa. Over two hundred species occur in abundance whilst the seasonally changing bird life provides even the most experienced ornithologist with rare finds.
The original Sabie Reserve was proclaimed in 1898 and was later incorporated what is today both the Sabi Sand and the Kruger National Park. This changed in 1926 when the National Parks Act of South Africa was passed and many private landowners were excluded from the Sabie Reserve. They then formed the Sabi Private Game Reserve in 1934 – a forerunner to the Sabi Sand. It was in 1926 that the first visitors were allowed into the Kruger National Park – thus starting the era of sustainable wildlife tourism that is the recipe for conservation in Africa today.
The Sabi Sand is an association of freehold landowners, many of whom manage commercially active photographic safari operations.
There are two perennial rivers which supply the Sabi Sands with water. The Sand River flows through the reserve for 50km from North West to South East, and the Sabie River flows on the southern boundary. This ensures that the Reserve enjoys one of the highest and most bio-diverse wildlife populations of any area in Africa. Over two hundred species occur in abundance whilst the seasonally changing bird life provides even the most experienced ornithologist with rare finds.
The original Sabie Reserve was proclaimed in 1898 and was later incorporated what is today both the Sabi Sand and the Kruger National Park. This changed in 1926 when the National Parks Act of South Africa was passed and many private landowners were excluded from the Sabie Reserve. They then formed the Sabi Private Game Reserve in 1934 – a forerunner to the Sabi Sand. It was in 1926 that the first visitors were allowed into the Kruger National Park – thus starting the era of sustainable wildlife tourism that is the recipe for conservation in Africa today.