Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge is one of four properties located within the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve.

It’s the most exclusive and also the most expensive property here! Its theme is Tomorrow, in contrast to the Yesterday and Today options making up the rest of the collection, and it’s described as Africa’s most environmentally sensitive lodge. Accommodation is booked on a full-board basis, including all meals, a selection of alcoholic and soft drinks, vehicle and walking safaris, transfers between the camp and Sabi Sabi Airstrip, and Wi-Fi. The lodge can be booked for exclusive use, and it’s open all year round. Children are welcome when the lodge is booked for exclusive use.

Permanent lodge

Ultimate

From $2,360 – $2,360 pp

Highly exclusive accommodation in the south-west of the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve

Lounge, dining area, bar, wine cellar, boma, boutique, spa, gym, and gardens

Earth Lodge Wine Cellar 1

Thirteen suites, including a presidential suite, all with private plunge pools

Game drives, walking safaris, birding, photographic safaris, community tours, and stargazing

Earth Lodge Boma View
Our Yellow Zebra Opinion
  • Great all-rounder
Fantastic suites and a level of service to compete with anywhere make Sabi Sabi’s Earth Lodge as good as it gets. The only problem here is the sheer level of Earth’s competition, with lodges like Londolozi taking the majority of our business.
Dewald Botha Senior Safari Specialist

Activities

Earth Lodge provides a thrilling mix of activities.

Game drives

Big Five

Wildlife sightings

Birdlife sightings

Walking safaris

Photographic safaris

Shangaan villages

Stargazing

  • Twice-daily game drives are enjoyed in the presence of very knowledgeable and experienced guides. This activity is ideal for exploring the scenic savanna, woodland, forest, and water sources of the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, and for viewing a wealth of wildlife.

    Earth Lodge Day Bar
  • Highlights include all the Big Five – lion, rhino, leopard, elephant, and buffalo.

    Earth Lodge Day Bar
  • You can look out for lots of smaller predators and herbivores too, among them cheetah, hyenas, jackals, serval, civet, honey badger, wild dog, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, and ample antelopes!

    Earth Lodge Day Bar
  • At last count, almost 350 types of bird were recorded, not least the Big Six – martial eagle, lappet-faced vulture, saddle-billed stork, southern ground hornbill, Kori bustard, and a YZ favorite, the Pel’s fishing owl.

    Earth Lodge Day Bar
  • For closer observation of the reserve’s feathery friends and its plant and insect life, we recommend going on walking safaris – these involve animal tracking too.

    Earth Lodge Day Bar
  • Photographic safaris are available on request, and with advance notice.

    Earth Lodge Day Bar
  • You can also visit local Shangaan villages for tours of homes, schools, and care centers – and the local people often come to the lodge, to perform traditional music and dance.

    Earth Lodge Day Bar
  • Stargazing is another popular thing to do here, and the perfect ending to every day in Sabi Sabi!

    Earth Lodge Day Bar

*This property is unfenced and located in a wildlife area, so large and potentially dangerous animals do pass through. If you opt to stay here, always be alert when walking around the camp and request for a member of staff to escort you if you have any concerns. Any guest is escorted after dark as a matter of course.

Access & Location

The lodge is usually accessed via road transfer from the Sabi Sabi Airstrip. It’s built into a slope of the earth within the bushveld of the private reserve.

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Facilities

Earth’s communal lodge is every inch as impressive as the guest accommodation.

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On arrival, guests approach the wood-and-stick building through a hidden corridor, emerging to enjoy panoramic vistas of bushveld! Within the lodge, there’s the stylish lounge, featuring comfortable sofas and armchairs around coffee tables, occasional tables, shelves filled with books and artefacts, and a cozy fireplace for the chilly months of the year. In the main dining area, chic wooden individual tables are flanked by smart upright chairs, and the décor includes a long timber sideboard and table displays of cacti and succulents. The bar, comprising a large portion of tree trunk, is positioned conveniently close by. Earth has an impressive wine cellar too, which also serves as a more formal dining venue. Al fresco meals often take place in the outside boma. Anyone in need of a little retail therapy can pop to the lodge’s boutique, which sells a good range of curios and essential items, while the spa offers a wide variety of massages, facials, mani-pedis, and more! And keep-fit fans can get a great work-out in the well-equipped gym, as well as beautiful views over the gardens and bushveld.

Amenities

There are 13 guest suites.

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Each is housed within a structure made out of earth mixed with twigs. Since the launch of Earth Lodge, this building material has split opinions – for some it lends the look of an underground parking lot, whereas others praise the unusual style. The structures have glass windows, to let in plenty of light. Inside the standard suite, you’ll find a spacious bedroom, with double bed, bedside tables and lighting, a writing desk and chair, and a separate seating area featuring sofa, coffee table, and a couple of floor lamps. Room amenities include air conditioning, fans, telephone, mini-bar, tea-and-coffee station, safe, and hairdryer. The en-suite washroom contains flush toilet, twin basins with double-size mirror over, shower, and freestanding bathtub. The palette throughout each suite is white, cream, and, appropriately, earth tones, especially in the undisguised earth-and-stick ceiling and walls. There’s a lot of wood too, sometimes forming part of the décor. The overall look is a sort of rustic luxury! Just outside, there’s a shaded area, another shower, and a private plunge pool – and a couple of sunloungers set up nearby.

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