Londolozi: The Safari that Changed Everything

Located in the heart of South Africa’s world-renowned Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Londolozi traces its origins to 1926, when the Varty family became the first arrivals to the area, purchasing a bankrupt cattle farm and beginning an ambitious process of land restoration and reconciliation. In a bold and forward-thinking move for the 1920s, they encouraged neighboring landowners to consolidate their properties for the protection of wildlife—laying the groundwork for what would become the Sabi Sand Game Reserve.

From these pioneering beginnings emerged not only one of the most celebrated conservation areas in the world, but also the foundations of the modern safari industry in South Africa. Known as a “protector of all living things,” Londolozi is famous for its highdensity leopard sightings, pioneering adventure, and five distinct, eco-conscious Relais & Châteaux camps. Marking the reserve’s 100-year anniversary, Londolozi: The Safari That Changed Everything celebrates five generations of Varty family hospitality, multigenerational stewardship, unsurpassed luxury, and a legacy that helped form a safari blueprint—redefining the industry through a conservation development model.

Written by American writer, editor, and photographer Hailey Wist, the title traces how a once degraded cattle farm evolved into one of the most influential safari destinations in the world. Among the first private pioneers of safari in South Africa, Londolozi quickly shifted from a traditional tourism model to a progressive conservation and community development enterprise—creating a ripple effect that reshaped wilderness travel globally. Following the Varty family across five generations, from the property’s early days as a 1920s hunting camp to its evolution as the first safari lodge in the world to be awarded Relais & Châteaux status, the book documents how the reserve redefined the essence of being in wilderness—moving beyond observation toward participation, purpose, and protection. 

Each chapter explores landscape and legacy, wildlife and wellness, community and creativity—revealing how Londolozi operates as a living ecosystem guided by its philosophy of “Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife, and Care of the People.” Home to one of the oldest documented land rewilding projects in the world, the reserve stands as a 100-year case study in regenerative land management. Its renowned leopard sightings are underpinned by the longest-running citizen science project dedicated to wild leopards on the planet, inviting guests to become active participants in conservation. Integrating high-end ecotourism with community upliftment, sustainable land management, and wildlife protection, Londolozi represents a 100 year-old, family-run, for-profit conservation model that continues to influence a new way of doing business.

Londolozi: The Safari That Changed Everything also captures the reserve’s pioneering approach to healing and wellness in wilderness—extending far beyond the traditional spa model to embrace nature as teacher, mirror, and catalyst. Through storytelling, intentional hospitality, and immersive connection to the natural world, the book portrays experiences guests describe as transformative, redefining what luxury in the wild can mean.