Ulusaba Private Game Reserve

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Ulusaba Private Game Reserve logo

Ulusaba Private Game Reserve, owned by Sir Richard Branson as part of the Virgin Limited Edition luxury property portfolio, consists of about 13,500 ha of land set in the heart of the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve. This private game reserve borders on the sprawling Kruger National Park in South Africa's Mpumalanga province and is home to an abundance of wildlife. Ulusaba means fearful in the local Tsonga Shangaan language and it was a name given to the Sabie River by the Shangaan people. The Sabie River was originally called Ulusaba (fearful river) by the Shangaan simply because there was once a large concentration of dangerous Nile crocodile in the river, hence Ulusaba. Before the establishment of the Kruger National Park, Ulusaba was once a proud home of Tsonga Shangaan people, the Shangaan were evicted from this land when the Kruger National Park was established and were relocated in nearby villages adjacent Ulusaba Private Game Reserve.

One of a handful of private game lodges in the Sabi Sand area, it benefits from the recent removal of fences between private reserves and the greater Kruger National Park. This creates a much larger contiguous body of land available to wildlife in the area. Other than the obvious conservation benefits, this is beneficial to the private lodges which can now boast full access to a much larger variety of scarce wildlife.

In 2007, the Nxumalo community made a land restitution claim involving 700 km² of nature reserve land. The claimants hope to settle the claim with a joint venture between Virgin Limited Edition and the newly registered Nxumalo Conservation Trust.

Wildlife

Including the 'Big Five', the Transvaal lion, African bush elephant, Cape buffalo, African leopard, and southern white rhinoceros.

Accommodation

There are 2 lodges in the park.

• Ulusaba Rock Lodge
• Ulusaba Safari Lodge

See also

• Associated Private Nature Reserves

External links

• Ulusaba Private Game Lodge
• Ulusaba Game Reserve on Sabi Sands website