Kapama's history is one of passion for endangered species and ecotourism. In 1986 Johann Roode bought the farm formerly called Moria to be used as grazing for his Bonsmara cattle. As Johan began to shift his focus to ecotourism, he acquired a second portion of land, called Drakensig, and so Kapama Game Reserve was born. Johann began to develop Kapama into an ecotourism destination dedicated to the celebration and preservation of this breath-taking region with construction starting in 1989. Buffalo Camp was the first of Kapama's camps to open amd now stands on the land that used to be called Moria.
Today, Kapama is still owner-managed by Johann Roode’s son, Bernard Roode, making it the largest family-owned reserve in the area. Following Johann’s tragic passing in 2002, Kapama really started to take shape with the development of Kapama River Lodge in 2006.
Kapama has since further expanded through the acquisition of additional land, the most significant being Gwala Gwala and Hongonyi. These two portions of land are now the sites of the modern Southern Camp and the luxurious flag-ship Kapama Karula.