A Day on the Bush Trail

Every day the group will set out on a new bush hiking adventure. You’ll be walking for the better part of the day through varying terrain, so a good level of fitness is helpful to be enjoyable.

These are considered luxury trails, in the sense that most days will return you back to the main camp for rest and relaxation – alluring for those who like hot showers and dislike heavy backpacks. However, we do plan a 2-day, overnight hike every week as camping wild in remote places is a privilege and incredibly fulfilling experience.

Many of our bush trails are adorned with a sublime array of gorgeous waterfalls and rock pools, offering hikers welcome respite from the sun. The sweeping views from atop the mountains of Sekhukuneland are incredible.

We also have trails to bushman paintings. The longer mountain range that Lapolosa overlaps (Drakensberg) boasts the greatest concentration of San Bushman rock art in South Africa, much of it in remote, supremely beautiful surroundings such as Lapolosa!

*Itinerary suggestion: 1-2 weeks at Lapolosa followed by 1-2 weeks at Siyafunda is fantastic for mixing spectacular bush hiking trails with a Big 5 safari experience*

Other Activities

One day a week, the group will participant in activities that support reserve management at Lapolosa Wilderness, such as anti-poaching, bush encroachment, construction/maintenance, community and more. The work can be unglamorous at times, but the camaraderie, team spirit and beautiful surroundings make it a rewarding experience.

We can also organize a 2 day, 1 night camping safari to Kruger National Park for an additional $295 USD per person (minimum of 4 participants needed to run).

Flora and Fauna

The beauty of Lapolosa is underpinned by the meeting of two eco-zones: the Highveld and the Lowveld. The topography ranges from wetland to savannah and from forested gorges to dry rocky outcrops. This gives rise to a biodiversity of flora that will have the botanist in you avidly looking out for Combretum, Acacia, Weeping Wattle and Cabbage trees. We have limited areas of Fynbos, with Protea bushes brightening up the veld, and the sweetveld and sourveld are home to many beautiful grasses and wild flowers.

Lapolosa is a birdlover’s paradise. Over 300 species of have been identified on Lapolosa so far and many migratory birds are also attracted to the forests, wetlands and bushveld. Bring your binoculars and a good birding book and you’ll be able to spot 8 species of Kingfisher, 5 species of Woodpecker, and the amazing weaver birds with their elaborate nests. Raptors such as the African Fish Eagle are regularly seen hunting over the Buffelskloof Dam and any carcasses quickly attract the White Backed Vultures.

On your hikes, you’re likely to run into a wide variety of plains game such as giraffe, zebra, kudu, waterbuck, black wildebeest, red hartebeest, duiker, bushbuck, mountain reedbuck, steenbok, klipspringer and impala. Other oft-seen wildlife include baboon, warthog, bush pig, ostrich, serval, genet, caracal, civet, honey badger, African wildcat, mongoose, porcupine, pangolin, aardwolf, aardvark, otter and more. If you’re lucky, perhaps you’ll see an elusive leopard or brown hyena. You’ll certainly get up close and personal with the vervet monkeys at camp. And of course, a night is never complete without the howls of the resident jackals.

Lapolosa is not a Big 5 reserve, therefore the bush hiking trails can be enjoyed without fear of dangerous game.

History of Lapolosa (la-puh-lo-sah)

Steeped in history and beauty, Lapolosa is a spectacular 20,000 acre preserve located on a magnificent escarpment of rolling mountains and plains in South Africa. It is home to a myriad of indigenous wildlife, birdlife and flora, and the atmosphere provides an antidote to the stresses of everyday living. Coming away from Lapolosa, one is left with a feeling of true intimacy with Africa.

Lapolosa Wilderness was formed in 2001 to protect and preserve Africa's wildlife and habitat. Lapolosa (derived from the Sepedi word meaning “place of rest") was established as a conservancy, by joining together large South African farms with the aim of restoring the environment back to its natural state and establishing a larger preserve for the benefit of African wildlife.

The area Lapolosa encompasses was hunted clean in the late 1800s to feed the inrush of miners when gold was discovered. South Africa has the highest gold producing ore-reserves in the world, and the first discovery occurred in the Lydenburg area. Later Lapolosa was home to as many as 11 cattle ranches.

Lapolosa is a unique conservation initiative to restore the land to its original state as wilderness. Lapolosa is re-introducing indigenous wildlife onto the land they once naturally roamed, ultimately re-establishing all of the original flora and fauna to the area. Lapolosa will also continue to acquire habitat to expand the wilderness as funds allow.