Our history with Lion Sands dates back decades and this month we’d like to salute Rob More and the late Britt More, whose memory lives on in this masterpiece.
Click on the below for the wonderful story of Lion Sands. This video certainly speaks for itself but just in case, we’ve also unpacked for you… how Lion Sands really is steeped in history and what makes it so special for us.
“You have to know your roots in order to find your wings.” Guy Aubrey Chalkley – founder of Lion Sands Game Reserve.
Guy Chalkley’s personal mantra but has become part of a beloved heritage belonging to Lion Sands Game Reserve and its people. By protecting and harnessing the roots of both the More and Chalkley families, Lion Sands has certainly found its wings within the luxury safari industry. In 2014 Lion Sands was awarded third place in Condé Nast Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Resort in Africa, and in 2010 the extraordinarily luxurious Ivory Lodge was named third best hotel in the world by Tatler.
The Lion Sands Pride
Lions Sands’ pride of four ultra-luxury lodges, all perched along the Sabie River, are a testament to a family’s passion and admiration for their pristine piece of wild Africa. It is nurtured as a gift passed down over four generations and each lodge endeavours to share its story and its beauty with everyone that visits. Built at different times, the collection of lodges includes Ivory lodge, River Lodge, Narina Lodge and Tinga Lodge, each one offering a unique, intimate and spectacular safari experience.
Wedding Bells and Raging Waters
Guy Chalkley’s granddaughter, Louise, was swept off her feet and wedded by John More, who in 1978 built two camps on what had for the previous sixty years been a serene family retreat. River Lodge and Bush Lodge stole the hearts of all who visited them until a devastating flood in February 2000 washed away the camps along with all their heritage and history.
However, Nicholas and Robert More, fourth-generation owners of the land, set about reconstructing River Lodge, and in later years introduced the extraordinarily luxurious Ivory Lodge, Narina Lodge and Tinga Lodge. Under the umbrella name of Lion Sands Game Reserve, the lodges and 4000 hectares of pristine wilderness have come to earn impressive accolades driven predominantly by the passion instilled by the brothers-in-arms.
Falling in love with Africa
When Guy Aubrey Chalkley witnessed the beauty of a newfound land on the border of the Kruger National Park in 1933, it transformed him from an avid hunter into a passionate naturalist. It completely changed his life and the lives of all his bloodline in years to come.
So when you stand on the banks of the Sabi River for the first time and here the call of the majestic African Fish Eagle, the More family’s iconic bird, remember Guy Chalkley’s mantra and celebrate his dream that today, soars high above the African wilderness.
