Wondering where to stay while on safari in South Africa? Cathy O’Clery hunts down four of the best game reserves with luxury accommodation attached
1 Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, 65,000 hectares, sabisands.co.za
You don’t need a private jet to fly in but many guests do. This is where the luxury safari was invented and the super wealthy, from pop stars to princes, come to embrace nature.
Sabi Sands is along the southwest edge of Kruger National Park and is made up of a group of private reserves and pioneer farms with no fences between each other and the national park. It is home to some of the world’s most luxurious lodges. Average prices start around €800 per person per night full board and the staff/guest ratio is about four to one. There are more affordable lodges with family packages at about €350 per person per night. If you can afford it don’t miss it!
PROS Superb game viewing, especially for the big cats. Geared to the best guest experience, often with memorable luxury extras thrown in, such as candlelight dinners in the bush.
CONS None that a healthy wallet can’t fix. Low risk for malaria.
ACCOMMODATION Singita Castleton Camp, the original pioneering farmstead, now done up as a luxury villa with majestic veranda and accommodation for 12 people. A true Out of Africa experience and my first port of call if I ever win the lottery. See singita.com.
Londolozi Tree Camp: graciously set on a high river bank nestled under a canopy of trees, and beautifully decorated by Irish-born Yvonne O’ Brien. See londolozi.com.
2 Madikwe National Park, 75,000 hectares, madikwegamereserve.net
One of South Africa’s best kept secrets, this reserve, only three hours drive from Johannesburg on the Botswana border, is a national park which is not open to day visitors. Instead you stay in one of the many privately operated lodges.
The reserve offers all the big game experience plus some special extras, like the recently reintroduced wild dog. The big bonus is that the reserve is malaria-free and is a great place to take younger children. Many of the lodges, like Jaci’s Safari Lodge, have family and children’s safaris. There is a great choice of luxury lodges here at better rates than Sabi Sands. Average price €400 per person per night but can go lower.
PROS Big game, affordable luxury, great for kids, malaria-free.
CONS Can get quite busy so you are more likely to encounter other vehicles. Not as glamorous as the more cosmopolitan Sabi Sands. Nights are chilly in winter, especially July/August resulting in freezing game drives.
ACCOMMODATION Impodimo Game Lodge – great luxury for less. See impodimo.com.
3 Addo Elephant Park, 164,000 hectares (to expand to 360,000 hectares in the coming years). See addoelephantpark.com
Addo has lots of elephants and is home to about 45 endangered black rhino. The park is along the southern coast of South Africa and offers the chance to see the big seven – lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard, elephant, and then whale and shark. Addo is a popular safari destination for people who want to combine it with a holiday in Cape Town and the nearby wine lands. Visit in September/October when you are more likely to see the whales.
PROS Close to beach holiday resorts, a day’s drive from Cape Town and the Cape wine lands, malaria-free.
CONS If your image of a safari holiday is on sweeping grasslands with the odd acacia tree on the horizon this often densely thicketed terrain is not for you.
ACCOMMODATION Elephant House is a stylish farm-style lodge where you can sip a GT in the comfiest armchairs on elegant terraces. Elephant House is just outside Addo but offers morning and evening game drives into the elephant park. Visit elephanthouse.co.za.
4 Phinda Private Game Reserve, 23,000 hectares. Visit phinda.com
Delightful and beautifully verdant, this small reserve in KwaZulu Natal offers various types of accommodation at the upper end of the market.
With seven ecosystems, the abundance and variety of animals is superb and, with 415 species of bird, a great one for twitchers.
PROS Very quiet and under populated (that is by people). Close to the Indian Ocean and Zulu battlefields.
CONS Not malaria-free.
ACCOMMODATION Phinda Forest Lodge – stunning glass chalets set in an outstandingly beautiful and unique sand forest. See phinda.com.