Conservation
Restoration
Having spent a decade buying up overgrazed and degraded farmland in the Karoo at a cost of more than R200-million, it has become owners Erik and Alexandra’s dream to restore the Magic Hills Game Reserve land to its former glory as a protected area.
Extensive veld rehabilitation is already in progress, with 2020 being the year wherein active reintroduction of Karoo grasses and native succulents to the most degraded areas will be a priority project. While the full extent of land under the management of Magic Hills is not currently accessible to all the wildlife inhabiting our reserve, over time and once rehabilitation has been completed to a satisfactory level, more and more fences will be dropped to expand the great reserve. Further land acquisitions are under way, with plans to expand the reserve to a vast 42 000 hectares, which both visitors and wildlife will be given the freedom to roam.
Working hand in hand with the Tourism Division and Executive Management, Magic Hills’ ecological goals, including veld rehabilitation and species diversification, are managed alongside tourism developments, community needs and income-generating strategies.
These departments and strategies are aligned and goal-driven with the ultimate objective to restore our piece of the Great Karoo back to what Jan Smuts saw when he sought refuge in the area during the Second Anglo-Boer War, or when the Khoenkhoen people, South Africa’s first nation, followed the migrating herds of springbok, quagga and blue buck up from the coast during the summers.
A project still in motion, but a project with infinite potential, Magic Hills Private Collection is set to become the destination of choice in the Great Karoo for discerning guests with a deep love for nature and for local South African culture and history.Find out more about Magic Hills' History
Read the origin story of the Magic Hills land and lodges along with the owners’ goals and prospects for this beautiful area of the Karoo.
