Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge.

October 15, 2021

2471

"Earth Lodge is a sanctuary symbolising a new era in luxury South African safari lodges. Sculpted into a slope of the earth, almost invisible in the landscape, the lodge uses texture, light and space to present a lodge like no other. Taking its cue from the surrounding environment, it has been described as the most environmentally sensitive lodge in Africa". From official company website

Our arrival at the main door that is below ground level and totally invisible from the car park. New visitors might find it a tad disconcerting to arrive at what is advertised as guest parking only to find…nothing! I have to say we got there ahead of our field guide and the management team were caught on the back foot. But as soon as a head literally popped out of the ground, all was it should have been. Because of the way that the entire lodge has been designed, none of it is visible to arriving guests.

For new arrivals, this is the first experience of a building that almost defies description. The scale is vast and makes the ‘outside-in’ theory work exceedingly well. The furniture, all carved out of HUGE logs is almost dwarfed by the size of the spaces that they are placed in.

And as for the gardens…lots of succulents and water-wise plants. But much as I would have liked to spend time exploring the camp and investigating the renovations at length, our overnight stay was not conducive to an extended site inspection. However, what we did see was most impressive.

In any other setting, this reception desk would look oversized and out of place. Here however it fits into the space and does not overwhelm either the space or the guests.

The brought texture of the walls in all the public spaces adds to the subterranean feel of Earth Lodge. The minimalistic wall decoration adds to rather than distracts from the overall intent of the interior designer.

The bar area, where once the guests gathered before and after dinner, now bears testament to the results of what COVID-19 has done to the tourism industry. I was told that the tourists are slowly returning and that with the lifting of restrictions by Britain, there might be a plethora of international guests ready to come for New Year.