Samara is located in the Great Karoo region of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province, 250 km from Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha). Plains Camp, located in a remote part of the Karoo Reserve with enchanting views, offers rich wildlife. Here, the landscape speaks for itself, allowing you to disconnect from your hectic everyday life in soothing surroundings. Enjoy the exclusivity of being one of few people in a vast wilderness, with only three intimate luxury lodges in the 267,000-hectare reserve. No electricity or high-tech distraction, just a grounded and humbling experience in nature.
A slow and thoughtful experience focused on guided walking safaris.
Samara was founded with a vision to restore South Africa’s Great Karoo wilderness. This landscape once witnessed the migrations of springbok, but by the 20th century, the region had been stripped of its biodiversity which once included elephants, lions, black rhinos, and wild dogs as a result of hunting, agricultural expansion, and other human activities. An ambitious program of land restoration and wildlife reintroduction, including the first cheetahs, lions, elephants, and black rhinos to return in over a century has revitalised the landscape. Today, the Karoo Reserve flourishes once again, offering you exceptional wildlife encounters.
This program is a source of inspiration — each trip is unique and tailored to you.
Samara showcases an astonishing combination of topography and habitats. With one of the lowest guest-to-land ratios in Africa, you get the feeling of having the place to yourself. Here, you will experience intimate sightings of charismatic species, including lion, elephant, giraffe, and black and white rhino.
Due to Samara’s vast size and low-impact tourism model, sightings are unlikely to be shared with other guests providing uninterrupted and intimate wildlife viewing. Night drives are offered year-round for a glimpse of the more elusive nocturnal species, including aardvark, porcupine, springhare, and caracal.
Samara’s cheetahs, despite being wild, are accustomed to being approached on foot. This provides opportunities for incredibly intimate sightings as they carry out their natural behaviors, from hunting to raising cubs to simply lounging around as cats do. For keen photographers, there is no better way to capture the magnificence of these graceful predators.
For many of our guests, tracking cheetahs on foot is the highlight of their safari experience. If conditions are right, Samara’s trained guides will lead you off the vehicle and approach these wild animals with the utmost respect and with safety as the highest priority.
Samara is one of the few game reserves where walking forms an integral part of the safari experience. The experienced guides will take you through Samara’s five vegetation biomes. Marvel at hardworking termites going about their daily chores. Every tree, every stone, and every path has a story to tell. During your walking safari, breathe in the silence and space so foreign to our everyday city lives and feel yourself reconnecting with nature. No one can fail to be moved by the thrill and awe of being within a few yards of endangered cheetahs and rhinos.
If conditions are right, you will have the opportunity during your walking safari to track these iconic animals on foot, with safety always in mind. What a privilege to enter their surroundings and witness these animals living wild and free. An unforgettable and humbling experience awaits.
Your very comfortable safari tent has everything you need!
An outdoor shower – luxury in all simplicity. Breathe in the landscape and enjoy!
What is it that makes food taste better when eaten outdoors? We are not sure of the exact recipe, but it probably has something to do with the hunger-inducing fresh air and the pleasant parallel of sipping a G&T on the rocks.
The camp in beautiful surroundings.
For those who want to understand how a game reserve truly works behind the scenes, we offer hands-on conservation sessions and personalized tours of the rewilding projects. Ever since its inception, Samara’s conservation mission has been guided by leading experts and the best available science. Every guest receives a spekboom to plant in the reserve, actively contributing to the restoration initiatives.
Activities depend on the reserve’s needs and may include wildlife monitoring, anti-poaching, camera trapping, land rehabilitation, research support, and community projects. The experience is particularly well suited for those who are curious and willing to get their hands dirty. Children are welcome and catered to with age-appropriate activities.
Guests can also choose to visit some of the community projects supported by Samara, most of which are located in the town of Graaff-Reinet, a 45-minute drive away.
Eco rating: 4.0
Airport: Cape Town International.
Included in the tour price: Full board, selected beverages, 2 safaris per day (or walking safari) with professional guides.
Not included in the tour price: International flights (we can help you book this), insurance, gratuities, activities beyond those described as included in the itinerary.
Good to know about South Africa:
Travel etiquette: None in particular.
Time zone: GMT + 2
Vaccinations: Read more about vaccinations here.
Packing: Sunglasses, sun hat, sunscreen, good walking shoes.
Local currency: South African Rand.
Weather: Cape Town
Cellular network and email: This is an “off-grid camp,” meaning connectivity and Wi-Fi are occasionally unavailable.
Water: Buy bottled water; make sure the bottles are recycled.
Safety: Your safety is our priority, read more under the heading below.
More information at: Travel advice
Travel entry requirements: : As of July 1, 2026, all travellers arriving in or departing from South Africa must complete a digital Traveller Declaration. This must be done no earlier than 24 hours before departure (for arrivals with connecting flights, the time is counted from the departure of the final flight leg directly to South Africa). The declaration can be submitted via their website, the SATMS mobile app, a QR code, or via self-service kiosks at certain locations. Travellers who are only in transit in South Africa, without leaving the designated transit area, do not need to complete the digital traveller declaration.
This product meets our requirements for Ecorating, a product that is good for humans and the environment.
The concept of regenerative tourism was certainly not part of the lingua franca when Samara was founded in 1997. Yet, in many ways, the concept that travel can be a catalyst for social and environmental renewal has permeated the camp’s/Samara’s history since its inception. Samara has always been a purpose-driven enterprise, guided by a deep passion for the wild spaces of the Great Karoo. Their North Star is their unwavering belief in the magic of this special place, a long-term vision for its restoration, and their desire to create exceptional experiences through which they can share the Karoo with others.
To this end, Samara embraces a holistic approach to sustainability guided by the “4 Cs” framework: Conservation, Community, Culture, and Commerce. This is the strategy advocated by The Long Run, a global collective of the world’s most sustainable nature-based tourism enterprises. As an audited member of The Long Run, they continuously monitor impact and progress toward their sustainability goals within each of the 4 Cs.
