Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Luxury game reserve for Waterberg
NEWMARK Hotels and Reserves has announced it will launch Qwabi Private Game Reserve, the latest addition to its luxury safari portfolio, in Waterberg in Limpopo.
The newly renovated luxury game reserve will open to the public in December, where guests will get the opportunity to enjoy South Africa’s Big 5 in the Bushveld district of the Limpopo Province.
The area is known as a conservation stronghold and an important Unesco-declared biosphere reserve, which the South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) has named a critical biodiversity area.
Qwabi, meaning African Wild Cat in Sesotho, will offer visitors an authentic and bespoke African bushveld experience on an 11 000-hectare private game reserve that once was agricultural land but has since been thoughtfully rewilded with more species being introduced regularly.
Qwabi Private Game Reserve is set to open following an extensive R120 million renovation and joins the luxury safari portfolio of Newmark Hotels & Reserves.
Newmark Hotels and Reserves CEO Neil Markovitz said Qwabi was an extraordinary slice of the African bushveld.
“My team and I feel very privileged to have been appointed as co-custodians of Qwabi and to turn the reserve into a world-class destination,” said Markovitz.
He also said they would ensure that Qwabi boasts the healthiest of all the African species in conjunction with the comprehensive conservation team already on the ground at the reserve, and they’ve also embarked on an intensely focused genetic management programme, bringing in healthy black-manned lions from a Kalahari bloodline and elephants from bloodlines that carry large tusks in addition to the careful management of the existing wildlife, as well as the reintroduction of species.
Qwabi boasts three standalone lodges, all of which are currently undergoing extensive refurbishment by interior designer, Francois du Plessis.
According to Newmark, Letamo, the largest lodge on the reserve, will be the first to reopen its doors to guests in time for the December 2022 holidays, and guests can expect 58 rooms ideal for families and multi-generational small groups. This includes 10 luxury suites with private plunge pools.
The lodge will include a kids’ club offering explorative adventures alongside a paddle court and two swimming pools, one of which overlooks a waterhole popularly frequented by wildlife.
It will also offer various dining options, ranging from the elegant main restaurant to intimate dining spaces for couples, a vibrant outdoor boma and a rejuvenating spa that will offer multiple treatment rooms and relaxation spaces, adding to the lodge’s appeal as a wilderness wellness retreat.
The game reserve is easily accessible for self-drive visitors, although guests may fly into the reserve via helicopter and accommodation is priced from R6650 per person sharing per night, full board, including game drives.