“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

Waking up while it’s still dark to pack the car by torchlight. Egg mayonnaise sandwiches. A whole tub of sweets to keep the travel boredom at bay. Getting lost in the excitement of an airport and the shiny duty-free shops. The exhilaration of paying for something with foreign money. Learning a few words of a foreign language and then watching a local’s face light up when I use them in the perfect context. Playing ‘eye-spy for hours on end. Collecting tiny souvenirs to take home. Long, lazy afternoons playing board games. Perfecting my card-playing tactics. The smell of sunscreen. The sting of a summer sunburn. That feeling of being exquisitely exhausted after a long day of laughing, experiencing new things, and reconnecting with loved ones. These are just a handful of wonderful things that remind me of the unforgettable family holidays that I got to experience as a child.

For me, a family vacation was about experiencing new cultures, different foods, and new sights while spending quality time with my loved ones. It was all about stretching my imagination and feeling the thrill of the unknown – right from when I was a little girl through to traveling as an adult with my family. The memories that I have of long afternoons in Tuscany, wandering the streets of Paris, seeing Big Ben for the first time, flying down a ski slope in Austria, catching Tigerfish off of a tiny fishing boat in the Okavango Delta, and camping out all day on the beaches of South Africa are some that I’ll have my whole life.

The true gift of travelling

In reflection, the greatest gift my parents could have ever given me was the opportunity to travel with them, and to be exposed to new places, cultures – and to not only see some of the great landmarks of history but to experience the varied cultures that surround these countries as well. These are the things that our family will reminisce about forever, and that remain some of the most important experiences of our lives.

In my mind, there is no greater investment of either time nor money than to travel with family. 

Our Luxury Private Family Villas – having it all to yourself

Having lived here at Londolozi for almost 6 years now, I have been lucky enough to witness and spend time with many wonderful families and groups of friends who have come to visit us. By travelling to Londolozi, they have opened up experiences that they – self-proclaimed – will cherish for the rest of their lives as they have been so transformative for their families. A great many of these families have come and visited Londolozi’s Pioneer Homestead   – in my opinion one of the top luxury private family villas in the Kruger Park – looking for privacy and exclusive use of a home in Africa, and have shared some of the things that they loved so much about their stay.

The wonderful thing about Pioneer Homestead is that, because it has only three suites,  private and exclusive use is easy and very popular for groups of friends travelling together and multi-generational families. The feeling of ‘having something all to yourself’ is possibly one of the most luxurious, and I feel that just because you’re traveling with the whole family shouldn’t mean that you have to skimp on luxury if you don’t have to. Pioneer Homestead is considered one of the most luxurious private family villas in Africa… here’s why.

The intimate family lounge area where you can both escape the summer heat or warm up in front of a roaring fire, depending on what time of year you come to visit.

Our Luxury Private Family Villas – Room Features

The homestead has become symbolic with beautifully lit lanterns that cover the deck, old-fashioned and romantic hideaways that tell stories of adventurers, and the luxury of feeling like a private family villa – a home away from home. Ralph Lauren wallpaper paired with antique maps, Kuba cloth, herringbone tweeds, and crystal chandeliers gives this camp a stylish African twist. Still situated under thatch roofs, the camp itself is perfectly laid out (See the Camp layout here) for both inclusion and privacy. Probably one of the most versatile camps in Africa,

It’s three luxury suites – each with its own lounge area, plunge pool, river view, and separate child-friendly room- are perfect for either private use by couples (if you’re traveling just the two of you, and don’t bring the whole family along) as well as multi-generational families of six to twelve people. Suites are linked by glass sky walkways creating interconnected family units, giving everyone the freedom to come and go as they please while remaining connected as a family. View the camp layout here.

180-degree views of the legendary Sand River from each of the private luxury family villas

Simply by changing the daybed into a children’s bed, this separate room becomes a second bedroom for the younger members of the family. If you are travelling as a couple, it’s equally good as another spot to curl up and read a book…

The second bedroom connects with the suite next door via an interleading glass walkway which allows for the suites to feel like a private interconnected home.

The private plunge pools in each suite face the Sand River

Our luxury private family villas – a home away from home 

Pioneer Homestead offers all the creature comforts of a private luxury family villa – I would go so far as to say that it gives the feeling of a private safari home. It is the perfect place to spread out and enjoy time with family. If you need to work remotely, this private homestead is fully equipped with fast fiber internet connections in each suite, allowing you to work, even from the middle of 6 million acres of African Wilderness.

Is there anything better than sipping on a glass of South Africa’s famous and fabulous local wine while looking out into the wilderness in the hopes of spotting a breeding herd of elephant, antelope, a lion, or even a leopard hopping across the rocks in the riverbed?

One of the defining features of this private luxury family villa is the private interactive kitchen, creating an informal, ‘help yourself’, ‘put your feet up’ kind of feeling. While spending time with the Pioneer chefs as they prepare a simple, yet sophisticated meal, watch each dish being prepared especially for you, and then enjoy a family meal around the long table in the kitchen – just like you would at home.

Sunday morning at Londolozi are special

But, this home away from home has a serious twist… At Londolozi, instead of sleeping in as you would normally do on a Sunday morning, you’ll be up at dawn, tracking the big five, and then home in time to get your pictures edited in the Photographic Studio, after a walk around the Londolozi Living Boutique to pick up a gift or two, and then off to yoga or The Healing House for a bit of R & R.

The private homestead kitchen allows for an intimate family dinner feeling every night as you watch your personal chef prepare local African delicacies

Breakfast is served! Enjoy organic produce, grown right in the Londolozi village gardens

On return from the day’s adventures, however, the private indoor and outdoor lounges, as well as the private lap pool and deck area, provide secluded spots to enjoy a good book, to battle it out over a board game, or to perfect your card playing skills. Whether inside, next to a crackling fire in winter, out on the covered outdoor lounge on a hot summer evening, or in the cool water watching elephants amble past, you’ll find a perfect spot in which to reconnect.

Pioneer Camp is a symphony of style, bushveld architecture and nature – Dave Varty

Cub’s Den programme 

Being secluded doesn’t mean you or your family have to be removed from the exciting activities on offer. Children are welcome at Londolozi from the age of six and Pioneer Homestead is often filled with Granny and Grandpa, Mum and Dad, boyfriend and girlfriend, and some grandchildren to round it all off. When we find ourselves with this type of family visiting, one of the best features of the camp is that the Cub’s Den Program kicks in with a variety of adventures for enquiring, energetic young minds. Track molding, arts and crafts, baking, photography, tree climbing, and more… the list is endless.

The Cub’s Den program, with dedicated guides and teachers, will allow our youngest guests to immerse themselves, safely, in the wilderness as they learn about animal tracks, climb trees, photograph tiny creatures, painting, drawing and baking a few treats too!

Set on the far western corner of the lodge, nestled under the shade of 500-year old Ebony trees, and with a 180-degree view of the lush Sand River, this camp carries a feeling of nostalgia and authenticity- like a wonderful safari hat – full of character, charm and the atmosphere of tradition all around you. I think it is this quality that, when imagining my own family coming to visit and staying at the Pioneer Homestead, makes me drift off… both reliving old memories and dreaming of the possibility of, one day, making new ones for myself in this luxuriously private safari home…