The History of Nambiti Hills
The Recent History of the Nambiti Reserve
A STORY OF TWO FRIENDS, THE LOVE OF THE WILD, AND THE BIRTH OF A GAME RESERVE
When I take guests out into the Nambiti Game Reserve, either on a game drive or game walk, many of them ask the same question - how did this reserve come into existence? It's an interesting story.
Whilst the land of Nambiti is, I'm sure, as beautiful today as when time began, the reserve has a much more recent history. It begins with two friends, Rob le Sueur and Gordon Howard. Whilst trout fishing together back in the late 1998, Rob spoke of his dream to create a Big Five game reserve that was relatively close to Durban. The only problem was, he hadn't come across a suitable property. A year later, quite by chance, Gordon heard of a number of cattle farms for sale 23 km east of Ladysmith. He immediately thought of his buddy, Rob, and got in touch with him. Early one winter morning, the two friends set out on a horseback and toured the properties. They were struck by the immense beauty of the area and set about acquiring the land. In 2000, Nambiti Private Game Reserve was born.
We are preserving a piece of heaven for future generations. Areas of outstanding natural beauty combined with rich history and diverse wildlife are rare in the world and Nambiti is
one of those places.- Rob le Sueur
Rob worked closely with conservationists and wildlife experts over the next five years. They removed farm fences, cleared out alien vegetation, fenced the outer perimeter of the entire conservancy and restocked it with game. Together with many other types of game, Rob introduced the Big Five (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino and buffalo). Nambiti Game Reserve is the only reserve in the area that has the Big Five. It also currently has over forty other species of game including cheetah, giraffe, hippo, hyena, impala, springbok and zebra.
The reserve now has 10 superb game lodges on it, some of them renovations of the existing farm houses, and the most exclusive of which is the five-star Nambiti Hills.
I think I speak for all of us here when I say that it is a rare privilege to be a part of Nambiti where we witness the daily activities of animals in the wild. We are dedicated to the preservation and regeneration of our wildlife and ecosystems through partnerships with neighbouring communities and conservationists.
Nambiti Game Reserve is one of the few private reserves in Africa where species have the space and habitat to display their natural tendencies. The size of the reserve allows herbivores to roam in large herds, as they would have done centuries ago.
- Ross Cairns, Nambiti Hills Game Ranger
The Nambiti Reserve and The Anglo-Boer War
When the Boers invaded Natal, a force under General Kock occupied the railway station at Elandslaagte on 19 October 1899, thereby cutting the communications between the main British force at Ladysmith and a detachment at Dundee. The British retaliated and came face to face with the barbed wire that bordered the farm now known as the Nambiti Game Reserve. Several men were entangled and shot but the British broke through to suppress the Boer uprising and retain command of the region. Should you wish to visit the site where The Battle of Elandslaagte was fought and where the original hospital still stands within its boundaries, we will make all the necessary arrangements.
