Few & Far Luvhondo

Soaring over the Soutpansberg Mountains in a solar-powered aerial tram, tracking elusive leopards on foot, sleeping under the stars on a mountainside platform, and driving through a flutter of electric blue large striped swordtail butterflies en route to a hot bush breakfast—these are some of the incredible experiences guests can look forward to at the new six-suite Few & Far Luvhondo, which soft opened in late December in South Africa’s Vhembe Biosphere Reserve. The nature retreat was founded by Jacob and Sarah Dusek, the couple behind the U.S. National Park–centric glamping resort brand Under Canvas, which they sold in 2018. Sprawling across 62,000 traversing acres, it caters to those who crave wide open spaces. With the eco-camp, the Duseks aim to protect this biodiverse corner of Africa. Their registered carbon project plans to rehabilitate highly degraded grasslands and replant indigenous trees, which, in several years, aims to sequester 100,000 tons of carbon annually. In a decade, they expect to have protected and restored more than 2.4 million acres of the Soutpansberg and reached 1 million tons of carbon sequestered per year. Additionally, by 2035, they plan to reintroduce key large endangered species such as black rhino to the area. For guests, the lodge, with its locally sourced, processed, and built eucalyptus timber suites plus plunge pools, spa, and fine dining, is an immersion into “a pristine, unexplored territory where few have gone before,” says Sarah. “Where it’s possible to discover new species of both plants and insects, see enormous baobab trees, [come across] endangered species of Samango monkeys, walk the mountain on foot, [and] swim in waterfalls. There is nowhere else in Africa where I think it’s possible to feel so free, relaxed, or active in the bush.”