Owners Erik and Alexandra Kovacs have a very special connection to the magical Karoo. Years ago, a long way from his home country of Slovakia, Erik visited the Eastern Cape on holiday – and the irresistible beckoning of the area has kept him returning. Although he went on to travel the world, he never again experienced the beguiling energy of the Great Karoo, with its harsh beauty and hidden secrets.

After many serendipitous coincidences, spanning 25 years, Erik became the sole owner of what is now the 21 100-hectare Magic Hills Private Game Reserve. Together with his extraordinary wife Alexandra, the couple have spent more than a decade acquiring the overgrazed and degraded farmland in the Great Karoo at a cost of more than R200 million, with the goal to restore the landscape to its former splendour as a protected area.

The story comes full circle – what was once a hunting concession, and then a borderline farming area, will now become an example to others of landscape restoration and wildlife rehabilitation. In helping nature to return to her authentic state of balance, the Magic Hills team facilitates the rebirth of a thriving and sustainable ecosystem.

The owners’ investment and personal commitment to conservation is admirable. While this venture started with the objective to one day offer a unique and one-of-a-kind hospitality experience in breath-taking surrounds, Erik and Alexandra’s core purpose has evolved to place conservation at the forefront of everything that they do. Magic Hills is first and foremost dedicated to the rehabilitation of the land that Erik and Alexandra have acquired.