Samara unveils new-look Karoo Lodge

There are few landscapes in SA quite so enigmatic and divisive as the Karoo. You either fall helplessly in love with the vacant plains, the scouring winds and the silence so deep it rings in your ears. Or, you don’t, and flee from the emptiness as fast as four wheels will carry you.

“It is a country flooded by sun; lonely, sparse, wind-swept, treeless on the flats for many miles,” writes Eve Palmer in The Plains of Camdeboo, her evocative story of a family farm on the open Karoo plains that lie to the south and east of Graff-Reinet. It’s a landscape thrilling in its stark beauty, far removed from the lushness of the Lowveld or grassy slopes of the Drakensberg, but no less beautiful for it.

“Here moves a steenbok, a springbuck, a lark clapping its wings above us; here are the tracks of an ant-bear in the soil;” Palmer writes. “Red dust and a mottled egg upon it; arrowheads; the smell of rain, Karoo bush, wild asparagus; mountains and hills floating in a mirage of water; a white hot sky; the sound of cicadas and wings and wind.”

As they say. If you know, you know.

And it’s here too that a remarkable conservation renaissance has taken hold, as a handful of private reserves look to conserve and restore a vast swathe of the Karoo’s delicate ecosystem.

Since 2000 Sarah and Mark Tompkins have led the charge on the Camdeboo, with more than 27,000ha of landscape under conservation as Samara Karoo Reserve. In that time, they have reintroduced lion, cheetah and elephant, and presided over a dramatic transformation by using nature-based eco-tourism as a tool for protecting wild spaces.

And now, after a seven-month renovation – and rejuvenation – Samara has unveiled a beautiful new look to the original Karoo Lodge, a reimagined farm homestead that is today the flagship accommodation on the reserve.

“The redesign pays homage to this special region we call home,” says Sarah Tompkins. “A great deal of love and hard work have gone into retaining the lodge’s quintessential Karoo character while embracing a modern approach to safari living.”

Imagined as a “love letter to the Karoo”, the new lodge was created by local architect Peter Whitlock, interior designer Amy Kidger of Hinterland Studio and creative director Paul Duncan, who leant heavily into both the pristine natural landscapes and the social history of the Camdeboo in recreating the lodge.

That meant a focus on retaining the timeless charm that has long been a defining feature of Karoo Lodge. So while the renovation was complex and multilayered, the bones of the original space remain. You won’t find a steel-and-glass reinvention here, but rather a more polished, more contemporary, version of what was there before.

This means reimagined living, dining and learning spaces throughout the historic homestead, where guests are encouraged to make themselves at home in the characterful dining room, cosy library and farm-style kitchen. An engaging addition is the interactive Story Room that highlights the origins and evolution of Samara.

A short walk from the main lodge takes guests to the 10 free-standing Karoo suites, settled within the Karoo landscape beneath the shade of thorn trees. Today eight Karoo Suites each sleep two guests, while two Karoo Family Suites can each accommodate four guests.

Here there’s a deft touch with décor drawing on Karoo vernacular, whether it’s in the iron four-poster bedsteads or the artisanal stone walls that frame the private outdoor showers. Throughout each suite subtle touches abound, from bespoke amenities to hand-embroidered scatter cushions that celebrate the reserve’s indigenous flora.

Of course there’s plenty of that in real life too, with lush local gardens laid out by horticulturist and landscaper Arthur Mennigke of The Naked Gardener. Mennigke’s focus on indigenous landscaping – think spekboom, aloes, wild grasses and jacketplum trees – means that the suites blend seamlessly into the natural bushveld, while equally ensuring the lodge appears as a lush oasis amid the sun-drenched Karoo landscape.

“Heat, I suppose, is the most positive and formidable thing on the Karoo,” writes Palmer, “and the beginning and sometimes the end of many a Karoo story.”

Whether summer’s heat or winter’s chill, it’s a harsh place these plains of Camdeboo. And yet it’s quick to capture your imagination, if you give it a chance. While Samara’s offering includes the chance to track cheetah on foot, or admire the surreal sight of an elephant herd amid the emptiness of the Karoo, this winter you’ll be happiest hunkering down to soak up the revamped comforts of Karoo Lodge.