About This Property
Sandringham Private Game Reserve is the Sabi Sabi Collection’s new Greater Kruger chapter: a rehabilitated former hunting block on the Timbavati River in Limpopo, opened to guests on 1 August 2026. Go2Africa puts the reserve at 4,500 hectares; the Collection’s live pages say almost 5,000, with four rivers and a large dam. It borders Timbavati and Thornybush. The stated conservation aim is an open wildlife corridor towards Kruger.
Two camps share a central main lodge on a riverbend, linked by wooden walkways. N’weti (six canvas-roofed suites, adults-only) sits on a hillside looking at the Drakensberg silhouette that gives the camp its Tsonga name. Shisaka (six suites plus two luxury villas, family-friendly) sits in a tamboti thicket on a tributary; each suite has a nest-like rooftop sala — shisaka means nest. Upstream, exclusive-use Sandringham House sleeps eight in four en-suite bedrooms with a chef, butler and private safari team.
Every suite has a private infinity pool, indoor and outdoor showers and a freestanding bath. The main lodge holds a bar and walk-around fireplace, an all-weather dining deck, a wine cellar, boma and sunken firepit, gym, Amani spa, a museum in original stone, a library and a boutique. Day and night drives run with a published cap of 10 vehicles on about 160 km of road. Walking safaris and birding are part of the card; spa treatments are extra.
Go2Africa’s published stay is fully inclusive (meals and selected drinks) from USD 2,185 per person sharing. The Collection’s live ZAR rack is R38,500 pps for a luxury suite, plus a conservation levy. N’weti is not the family camp — that is Shisaka’s villas, or the House. Hoedspruit is about 45 minutes; the private airstrip transfer is included.
Why We Love It
We love Sandringham because it is not another lodge dropped onto Sabi Sand. It is a Sabi Sabi Collection project to turn a hunted block on the Timbavati into a low-density reserve — four rivers, a dam, a published cap of 10 vehicles, and two small camps instead of a hotel.
The split is useful. N’weti is actually adults-only, with canvas roofs and a Drakensberg view. Shisaka has the nest salas and the family villas (Diopi and Passanwarri on Go2Africa). If you need a house, Sandringham House is the four-bedroom exclusive-use card with a chef and a private vehicle, not a bolted-on family room.
We would book the Go2Africa fully inclusive USD rate so drinks and night drives are not a surprise, and we would add the conservation levy in our heads (R450 a night on the current card). We would not pretend this already watches like a 45-year-old Sabi Sabi concession. The operator’s own line is second chances and animals re-learning trust. That is the stay.
Come for the water, the private pools and a quieter Greater Kruger corner. Stay at Bush Lodge or Selati if you want the proven Sabi Sand leopard circuit. This is the new chapter, opened 1 August 2026.
Rooms & Details
N’weti Luxury Suite (6)
Six hillside suites under canvas roofs beside the water, looking at the Drakensberg (Sabi Sabi Collection). Occupancy is two adults. This is the adults-only camp; children only if the whole camp is taken exclusively.
King or twin 3/4 beds, a half-moon lounge nook, dressing room, and an en-suite with freestanding bath, double vanities, indoor rain shower and outdoor shower. Curved timber deck, sunken deck-lounge and a stone-clad private infinity pool. Minibar and snacks, tea and coffee, hairdryer, safe, telephone and gowns.
Shisaka Luxury Suite (6)
Six semi-circular suites in a tamboti thicket on a Timbavati tributary. Occupancy two adults; partner child cards accept children 6–12 in these suites. King or twin 3/4, lounge, freestanding bath, rain shower and outdoor shower.
A shaded timber deck has an outdoor lounge, dining table and private infinity pool. A nest-like rooftop sala is reached by a staircase from the deck — naps, birding, stargazing. Same in-suite kit as N’weti.
Shisaka Luxury Villa (2)
Two family villas, named Diopi and Passanwarri on Go2Africa and launch PR. Official: two en-suite bedrooms (one with circular bathroom and shower; the larger with dressing room, bath and dual-access indoor/outdoor shower), a lounge that can take extra beds, pergola deck, sunken lounge and a large infinity pool.
A private game-drive vehicle is included. Collection rack is a unit rate for a maximum of four guests. A Wetu rate card also published a maximum of six with extra-person charges — confirm occupancy. Children of all ages; under-sixes on drive only because the vehicle is private.
Sandringham House
One exclusive-use house, four en-suite bedrooms, up to eight guests, about 1,100 m², upstream of the main lodge on the Timbavati. Rim-flow pool, sunken fire pit, indoor and outdoor living, dedicated chef, butler, host and a private vehicle and guide team on the Collection rack. No dedicated House photo sits in this listing’s gallery.
Main lodge
Shared by both camps: bar and walk-around fireplace, timber deck, restaurant and all-weather dining deck, wine cellar, outdoor boma, sunken firepit, gym, Amani spa, museum, library and boutique (Go2Africa and Collection). Wi-Fi. Unfenced walkways link the camps.
The reserve borders Timbavati Private Nature Reserve and Thornybush Game Reserve, with a stated corridor towards Kruger National Park. Thornybush Game Lodge is the neighbouring Thornybush stay on this site.
Amenities & Features
Photo Gallery
Rates
Prices start from $2,185 per night. Final pricing depends on season, room type, and availability. Check current rates on our booking partner's site for the most accurate pricing.
What's Included
- Breakfast (Go2Africa: private nooks; Collection: restaurant and all-weather dining deck)
- Lunch (Go2Africa: terraced lawns with bushveld views)
- Dinner (fireside outdoor boma; wine cellar for private dinners; N’weti guests can dine privately in a designated area)
- All drinks excluding French Champagne and Private Collection cellar wines; safari sundowners
- Open-vehicle game drives by day and at night (ranger and tracker; maximum of 10 vehicles on about 160 km of mapped roads)
- Environmental awareness walking safaris (no children under 12; typically extra booking / age rules as published)
- Bird watching (operator: abundant water and varied vegetation; news coverage notes breeding vulture colonies)
- Sundowners and sunset drives (Go2Africa)
- Transfers to and from the private Sandringham airstrip (included on official rack)
- Museum and library in original stone buildings (conservation and reserve history)
- Amani Spa & Wellness treatments (extra)
- Armchair safari from suite decks, private plunge pools and the sunken firepit / boma
Official fully inclusive rack: accommodation, breakfast, lunch, boma dinner, all drinks excluding French Champagne and Private Collection cellar wines, open-vehicle safaris by day and at night, environmental awareness walking safaris, limited laundry, Wi-Fi, transfers to and from the Sandringham airstrip, VAT. Not included: conservation levy (R450 pp/night Aug 2026–Feb 2027; R495 from Mar 2027), Amani Spa treatments, boutique, telephone, French Champagne, private-collection wines, gratuities. Shisaka villas include a private safari vehicle. Sandringham House includes butler, chef, host and a private vehicle and guide team for 8 adults.
Location
How to Get There
By air — Sandringham airstrip
The reserve has a private gravel airstrip. Transfers between the airstrip and the camps are included on the official rack. Charter and scheduled hopper flights can be arranged through Sabi Sabi Collection reservations.
From Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport (HDS)
Official Sabi Sabi page: a scenic drive of about 45 minutes from Hoedspruit. African Travel Inc. puts it at about 40 minutes. Airlink and CemAir serve Hoedspruit from Johannesburg and Cape Town. Road transfers are priced separately unless wrapped into a package.
From Kruger Mpumalanga International (MQP / KMIA) or self-drive
KMIA is a longer road transfer (typical Greater Kruger timing is about two hours to the Hoedspruit / Orpen corridor — confirm the current Sandringham transfer time). A partner listing gives the address as Orpen Road. Do not rely on consumer GPS for the final reserve roads; ask reservations for the current gate and airstrip notes. Johannesburg by road is the usual six-hour Greater Kruger drive to Hoedspruit, then the reserve transfer.
Nearby Attractions
Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, Thornybush Game Reserve, Timbavati River and tributaries, Drakensberg escarpment views, Hoedspruit, Kruger National Park (corridor vision; not an unfenced Kruger border in the Sabi Sand sense), Panorama Route / Blyde River Canyon as a longer outing
Things to Do
At the property
Watch the river from a suite plunge pool, a rooftop sala (Shisaka) or the main-lodge deck. Gym and Amani spa (treatments extra). Museum in an original stone building and a library. Wine-cellar dinners. Boma and sunken firepit. Boutique. Wi-Fi. Unfenced — use the walkways; ask for an escort after dark if you are unsure.
In the reserve
Day and night open-vehicle safaris (published cap of 10 vehicles). Walking safaris (not for under-12s). Birding on a water-rich block of about 4,500–5,000 hectares. Tracking is part of the published story: the animals are still re-learning that vehicles are not a hunting threat. Villas and the House include a private vehicle.
Day trips
Most guests stay on Sandringham. Hoedspruit is about 45 minutes. Timbavati and Thornybush are neighbours; Kruger corridor access is the conservation aim, not a same-day public-park outing. The Panorama Route is a longer road day if you have a spare transfer, not a standard inclusion.
Good to Know
Children: N’weti Camp is adults-only (official suite occupancy: 2 adults; children only if the whole camp is taken exclusively — rates on request). Shisaka Luxury Suites: children 6–12 (Africa Tailor Made / Wetu-sourced child card). Shisaka Luxury Villas (Diopi and Passanwarri in Go2Africa / launch PR): children of all ages; Collection unit rate is for a maximum of 4 guests and includes a private vehicle. Children under 6 are not on standard game drives unless a Shisaka villa (private vehicle) is booked; ranger may restrict sightings. No children under 12 on environmental walking safaris. Children 4 and under are not allowed in the boma for dinner (Safari Lounge 17:00–19:00 or room service). Child-minders from R350 per child per hour. Go2Africa’s site-wide “children under 12 welcome” tag does not override N’weti’s adults-only rule.
Check-in / check-out: Not printed on the Sandringham product pages. The Sabi Sabi guest form for the original Sabi Sand lodges is 12:30 / 10:30 — that form lists Skukuza and the Sabi Sabi airstrip, not Sandringham. Left blank. Confirm at booking.
What is included: Day and night open-vehicle safaris, walking safaris, breakfast, lunch, boma dinner, all drinks excluding French Champagne and Private Collection wines, limited laundry (no dry cleaning), Wi-Fi, airstrip transfers, VAT. Conservation levy extra. Spa extra.
Vehicles: Collection: maximum of 10 vehicles on about 160 km of mapped road on almost 5,000 hectares.
Malaria: Greater Kruger / Limpopo lowveld is a malaria area. Consult a travel clinic. Unfenced camps.
Power and in-suite kit (official suite cards): minibar and snacks, tea and coffee station, hairdryer, electronic safe, telephone, gowns and slippers, luxury toiletries. Air conditioning is not listed on the N’weti or Shisaka suite cards — do not assume it.
Name clash: Go2Africa’s family villas are Diopi and Passanwarri; the Collection site simply says two Shisaka Luxury Villas plus Sandringham House.
Who It's For
Couples who want an adults-only hillside camp (N’weti) or a riverside suite with a rooftop sala (Shisaka). Families and small groups in the two Shisaka villas or Sandringham House. Honeymooners after a private pool and a bath with a view. Not for guests who need a long-established Sabi Sand leopard circuit — this is a rehabilitated hunting block opened in August 2026, and the operator is honest that trust with wildlife is still being built. Not for families with under-sixes unless they book a villa or the House. Not for anyone who must have published GPS, check-in times or a TripAdvisor score before they book — those are still blank.
Best Time to Visit
Open from 1 August 2026. Year-round water on four rivers, including the Timbavati, is the operator’s reason game viewing is not confined to the dry months. Greater Kruger dry season (roughly May–September) still thins the bush and concentrates animals at water; summer is greener and hotter. Confirm malaria precautions year-round.
