Aardvark Bioreserve
KLEIN KAROO, WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA
Aardvark Bioreserve
Eco cottages and farmhouse
Since FEBRUARY 2026
Aardvark Bioreserve started as a dustbowl in one of the planet's oldest landscapes.
The Klein Karoo is one of the world’s most biodiverse arid regions, but when the Marais family first bought this land, the ground itself was spent. So they set about restoring it, one targeted project at a time: greywater recycling, on-site composting and replacing grass with drought-resistant succulents. They underestimated everything, by their own admission. But the Karoo taught them that patience and consistency matter more than grand plans.
Aardvark Bioreserve is not your conventional safari property.
It is a long-term agreement with the land, built on the question: what if a place is more luxurious because it is protected, not despite it?
Here, the answer looks like stargazing under some of the darkest skies in the southern hemisphere, guided walks through succulents found almost nowhere else, meals built from what the organic garden gave up that morning, and a contemporary art gallery sitting at the heart of a 4,900-hectare private game reserve.
There's no six o'clock game drive, no regimented schedule, no high tea. The earth underfoot, the sun on skin, the night sky overhead. Those are the luxuries. Guests often call it a place of healing. The family behind it would say they just got out of the way and let the Karoo do what it does.
Aardvark Bioreserve 4C Commitments
CONSERVATION
Restoring degraded land through erosion control, vegetation recovery and soil stabilisation through on-site composting as well as no-chemical and circular growing methods.
Protecting and restoring the Succulent Karoo biome, a biodiversity hotspot with one of the highest concentrations of endemic succulent species on the planet.
COMMUNITY
Growing fresh produce on-site and sharing it, along with sustainably sourced meat, with local schools, charities and old-age homes in the Klein Karoo.
Creating jobs in the Klein Karoo through local hiring, skills development and training in a region where work is scarce.
CULTURE
Architecture and interiors shaped by the Karoo itself: local materials and a design language that feels like it grew out of the landscape rather than landed on it.
Guests can understand the landscape on a deeper level: a contemporary art gallery, guided walks through endemic succulents, and meals grown from the soil beneath their feet.
COMMERCE
Running a low-impact tourism model where revenue goes back into the land: conservation, restoration, and keeping the reserve going for the long term.
Buying local wherever possible and making sure tourism money stays in the Klein Karoo.
Aardvark Bioreserve Highlights
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Design-led cottages sit between Karoo heritage and modern living, where the architecture borrows from the landscape rather than competing with it.
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Guests can explore 100km of private mountain biking trails, hike, trail run, or join guided nature walks and game drives. Karoo cooking weekends are hosted in Spirit of the Karoo, the reserve's contemporary art gallery.
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At Aardvark, a farm-to-table approach reshapes self-catering into a more thoughtful and self-directed experience. Guests can harvest from organic vegetable and fruit gardens, enjoy wines from the Klein Karoo, and cook with locally sourced lamb and game.
