The Invisible Work of Making a Place Visible
When most people think of a South African safari, they think of Kruger National Park - a vast wilderness area established as South Africa’s first National Park in 1926. Today the Kruger National Park represents an enormous conservation success story. What started as an effort to put a small area into conservation in the Sabi Sands, to protect dwindling wildlife numbers has become a vast two million hectare world renowned wildlife area. But it didn’t start there and neither did we.
To curate a conservation area requires vision, patience and an army of people engaging with the mission to protect extraordinary landscapes and the wildlife that lives there. The Soutpansberg mountains, the home of Few & Far Luvhondo is set in 100,000 hectares of extraordinary biodiversity and ancient Baobabs that would have already been ancient when Kruger’s first rangers arrived 100 years ago. A new landscape for tourism and conservation protection but not a ‘new’ wilderness area.
In spite of being an unknown destination in South Africa - we chose to build here because we saw what was possible. Not just for crafting incredible experiences, and unique adventures not possible on a typical safari but for protecting and preserving an area that should have also been designated a National Park a long time ago.
We haven’t just built a lodge, we have seized the opportunity to introduce the world to somewhere extraordinary. To showcase a wilderness area that deserves to be on the map, that needs to be on the map to protect and preserve it for generations to come.
Two Opportunities at Once
Most new lodges have one goal: convince travelers to choose them over established competition. We have two. First, put an incredible wilderness area on your radar. Secondly, show travelers that a safari can be reimagined into something even more meaningful than they expected.
Yes, we take our guests on game drives and on guided walks but in the Soutpansberg Mountains our guests can be fully immersed in the wilderness. There’s no fixed schedule. No checklists to tick off, no rinse-and-repeat days where Tuesday looks exactly like Thursday.
Our experiences follow curiosity, not a clock. We offer cliff walks, gorge swims, nights sleeping out under the stars, days that unfold based on what you want to discover rather than what's printed on an itinerary. Guests have the opportunity to participate in conservation work instead of just observing from a vehicle. Picnics happen in places we scouted last week, not the same clearing we've been using for years.
When we describe this to people, I watch their faces. There's usually a moment of confusion, followed by intrigue. "Wait - that sounds incredible. Is that still a safari?"
The safari industry has done an incredible job of creating a formula. Formulas feel safe. People know what they're getting. Travel advisors know what they're selling. Everyone understands the language.
We're speaking a different language - one that takes more explaining, but ultimately creates deeper connections with the travelers who find us. The ones who realize they were looking for something more all along.
Building Belief
There's an interesting reality to building something new: you have to paint a picture people can't quite see yet.
Every conversation is an invitation. "Imagine a place where..." "Picture a safari where..." "What if travel could..."
Traditional lodges don't need this kind of storytelling. They can say “we are a luxury safari in Kruger National Park" and everyone immediately understands. The mental image forms instantly: game drives, sundowners, the Big Five, the rhythm everyone knows.
We get to create an entirely new picture. We get to invite people to choose ancient baobabs over iconic acacia trees, to discover a mountain they've never heard of which holds experiences they'll never forget.
Yes, we're competing for attention against places that have been on travelers' bucket lists for decades. But that's what makes this work matter. Crafting experiences that will help preserve a landscape for generations to come matters.
Why Recognition Actually Matters
I'll be honest - awards and accolades weren't part of our original plan. We built Few & Far Luvhondo because we believe in this land and in this model, not because we wanted our name on a list but when you're building something different in a place people don't know yet, credibility accelerates belief.
When Travel + Leisure readers vote for the World's Best Awards, they're not just ranking hotels. They're validating what the future of travel can look like. When a place like ours - redefining a safari in an emerging destination - shows up on that list, it does something powerful:
It tells curious travelers: "Yes, this different approach actually works and it's not just different - it's exceptional."
It tells travel advisors: "You can confidently recommend this place. Your clients will return grateful."
It tells our team here in Limpopo: "What you're building matters. The world is paying attention."
It tells the next generation of conservation entrepreneurs: "This model works. You can do this too."
The Stakes Are Bigger Than Us
If we can show travelers that a safari can be reimagined - that it can be deeper, more surprising, more participatory, more conservation-focused than the traditional model - we're not just protecting this place. We're creating a blueprint for protecting other forgotten places around the world.
Our carbon sequestration project in the Soutpansberg Mountains aims to remove over 60,000 tons of CO2 annually. Our rewilding efforts will restore areas that are now considered highly degraded. Our local community gets to build careers in conservation and hospitality rather than extractive industries.
Yet we can only do what we do if our guests become advocates. Advocates for places they didn't know existed and yet return home changed. We need travelers to choose the Soutpansberg alongside Kruger, not instead of it - expanding the map rather than just rearranging it.
This is why visibility matters. Not for validation, but because this work deserves and needs your support. Every person who finds us, understands us, and chooses us is a vote for a different kind of travel. One that protects forgotten places and creates new possibilities.
An Invitation
The Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards voting is open now through February 23, 2026. If you've stayed with us - if you've experienced what it means to break the safari rhythm, if you've walked among ancient baobabs and felt the pull of a place that refuses to be predictable - your vote genuinely helps.
It helps us, yes. More than that, it helps prove that travelers are hungry for something different. That overlooked places deserve their moment. That the Soutpansberg can stand alongside its famous neighbors - not by copying them, but by being unapologetically unique.
You can vote here
Look for us under Africa / Middle East in the 'Hotels' category for 'South Africa'.
The Work Continues
Whether we make any list or not, we'll keep doing what we do: protecting this land, creating experiences that surprise rather than repeat, and proving that safari’s doesn't have to follow the old script to be extraordinary.
If you've been part of our journey - if you've trusted us with your time and curiosity - we are so grateful for your voice. Every vote is a signal. To other travelers considering the unknown. To other destinations hoping to emerge. To anyone who believes that the best places are sometimes the ones you have to search a little harder to find.
If you haven’t yet stayed with us, please consider adding us to your travel bucket list, join our mailing list to learn more about what staying with us means and looks like. Please become part of the army of travellers helping us protect the Soutpansberg Mountains and creating the Kruger’s of the future.
That's what we're building toward. That’s what we are protecting. That is why we exist.
Thank you for believing in places and experiences that ask for a little more faith - and reward it with so much more. We can’t wait to keep surprising you.
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