I have been going on safari in Africa every year for 15 years, yet it was at Samara Private Game Reserve, in the middle of nowhere in the Graaff-Reinet Karoo, that I found two elements of a safari that had so far eluded me; a yoga mat and an aardvark.

A strange duo I agree, but a pairing that makes Samara a special safari venue in the absence of Africa’s really big game….. I regretted that line as soon as I wrote it, because it shows what a spoilt safari tart I have become!

You don’t find anything taller than giraffe, any stronger than rhino, any faster than cheetah, or any meaner than buffalo and Samara has them all, as well as antelopes and of course aardvark (which I will speak more of later).  

Read the rest of this entry »

‘Number One Hotel in the World’ 

according to 2009 US Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards reader’s survey.

Crikey, what an accolade!  Read my review of Bushman’s Kloof Wilderness Reserve http://www.safaritart.com/?p=119 on this site and find out why it won this award. Who does the voting and how many people who voted have actually been there I wonder, but this exclusive 5-star wilderness retreat at the foothills of the Cederberg Mountains (about 270m north of Cape Town), is certainly one of my favourite places.

I have fond memories of when my friend fell into the ice cold mountain dam after trying to extricate himself from a canoe that he could not control. And mountain biking with zebra and antelopes grazing on the plain and sitting by a remote spot where the strangely shaped yellow and ochre rocks created a landscape of natural sculptures. And then there was a press visit when I was forced to eat a ten-course taster menu - each nibble was more delicious than the last and I ended up with a stomach twice the size of my body but still wanted more.

This day ended with a massage from hands that knew how to unlock the tension.

Oh for that day to be right now!

And whaddyaknow, Bushman’s Kloof also took pole position as the Number 1 Lodge/Resort in Africa and the Middle East and their sister property, The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, in CapeTown, was voted the Best City Hotel in Africa & Middle East, as well as Best Hotel Spa in Africa & the Middle East.

Enough now!  If you want to know more you’d better look on www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest

Or see www.bushmanskloof.co.za, email: safaritart@wydahtours.com

If you want to buy into ‘Green Tourism’, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, about an hour and a half from Cape Town, should be on your list. It has been winning Responsible and Environmental Tourism awards since 2000.

When the exuberant owner of Grootbos, Michael Lutzeyer, told me the story of how he slowly but surely acquired pieces of land he couldn’t afford, to create his own spectacular, ocean-facing, private nature reserve, I was inspired. It made me wonder if I too could kick-start my dream in the same way and find my own piece of paradise. Then I realised I would never have sufficient hyperactive energy, such a driven work ethic, or the ability to talk my way into or out of anything, in the way that Lutzeyer can and does.
Read the rest of this entry »

I wouldn’t mind going to Heaven if it was like Singita Lebombo. I have been here once before (Lebombo, not Heaven) but this visit had a more profound effect on me. The subtle change in décor, from touches of lime green and grey amongst a sea of white, to a palate of ripening corn through straw to old oak, sang to my soul. What can I say? There are things that can dramatically influence the way you feel and Singita Lebombo cosseted me in waves of harmony and tranquillity.

In a previously pubished review, I said that Singita Lebombo is like existing inside a magazine photo shoot. It’s cool contemporary design would not look out of place if were situated by palm-lined beach or in a sun-drenched city, but here it is in the heart of the African bush looking perfectly comfortable.

Read the rest of this entry »

Singita Ebony Lodge is the well loved original lodge of Singita’s small and exclusive stable of safari lodges in South Africa, with other, more exclusive safari vacation properties recently acquired in Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Ebony Lodge retains the nostalgia of its beginnings by keeping the same look and feel that it always had. It’s had regular refurbishments but never a complete makeover.  The décor is hard to describe and has strong colonial elements from well waxed dark furniture, heavily varnished woods, historic prints and leather-bound volumes in darkened corners, while never feeling stuffy.

There are also aspects of a Scottish castle, with a huge brick fireplace and bright tartan fabrics. Throw in some African artefacts and a myriad of red and yellow upholstery and cushions in plaids and stripes and you are probably wondering how this eclectic mix actually works together and who would have been bold enough to create this. I think it was an act of committed inspiration when it was first created more than ten years ago. 

Read the rest of this entry »

You are treated at Tintswalo in the same way the owners treat their staff, like family. It’s like being a guest at a luxury villa of an old family acquaintance, except that it is deep in the African bush.

I woke up in a glow, remembering yesterday as if it were a special birthday. Without trying very hard, we saw Africa’s Big 5 animals in just two game drives, even though an encounter with eleven lions was not expected. Nobody had ever seen this pride before - they had come up from the south, killed a buffalo and gorged until their stomachs looked like they would burst (especially the young males who snatch as much meat as they can before the older females snarl them into submission and send them packing). The Tintswalo rangers and trackers are hoping this pride will settle here as it’ll make their life a lot easier when there are forty-four paw prints to track to the source.

 My tracker and ranger team at Tintswalo Safari Lodge of Alfie and Omega (where do they get these names?), swear that with this many lions in the Manyaleti Game Reserve of 23,000 hectares, not a single day will go by without them finding the lions.

Read the rest of this entry »

Decor: Eclectic unresolved mix of Afro, European, Bali, Persian and the smart home décor shop in the mall.

Food:  Refined, inventive and very tasty.

Staff: Hosts and rangers treat you like family, while the African staff tend to stay behind the scenes.

Position: Perhaps one of the best placed in Welgevonden for access to all areas of the park.

Game Experience: Thick bush and rocky terrain means this is a genuine seek and find safari for the Big Five, lots of antelopes, baboons, warthog, rhino, wildebeest, ele’s and lots more.

The old cliché about a place being a home away from home, relates perfectly to Shibula Lodge. It’s got your cosy lounge with sofas of brown leather softened over time and splashes of colour from newly upholstered chairs that co-ordinate with the blinds and the throw and scatter cushions of shiny sateen. It’s got your hosts waiting to greet you like long lost friends and a logs blazing in the fireplace on cold winter nights.

Shibula feels like home, except that my loved ones don’t welcome me back with a moist face towel on arrival (refreshingly cold in summer and piping hot in winter), nor do I have a Jacuzzi or splash pool sunk into the terrace outside my bedroom, or elephants in my back yard. I don’t have a resident leopard either, which stalks around on the rocky escarpment opposite the lodge, or lions padding along the path to the man-made waterhole in front of the deck. Perhaps it’s not that much like home after all.

Read the rest of this entry »

Game Experience: Play hide and seek with the Big Five in this bushy, hilly reserve.

Rangers: Ask for Justinus by name and you will get a top guide who’s funny too.

Decor: Mediaeval heavy metal with 21^st century twist - very masculine but very luxurious with private Jacuzzi sunk into each deck.

Food: Fabulous in look and taste. Lots of game meat and yummy veggie options too.

Staff: Stunning staff, all amazingly helpful with meal room service that had Frans trotting up and down the long paths delivering a 4-course meal (one course at a time), with a big smile.

Sediba was conceived through an overabundance of testosterone. It is a bastion of a place, built with huge burnished rocks that litter the surface of the hillsides in the Welgevonden Game Reserve, just 3 hours north of Johannesburg.

Sediba is a man’s world. It’s like a mediaeval fortress with a giant double doorway that creaks open to reveal a huge dark bedroom. The metal-studded doors close behind you with a ‘Hummer’ of a clunk. Iron wheel-shaped chandeliers criss-crossed with beaten metal, hang from the rafters on monster chains, and cast-iron holders for flaming torches are fixed on exterior walls.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ka’Ingo Overview

Game Experience: See lots of game like lion, rhino, buffalo and elephant, giraffe, lots of buck and snuffling warthog.
Decor: Inviting beds and a bright refurbishment in progress as I left.
Food: Malawian’s are renowned for being great chefs and there are two at Ka’Ingo. Taste some of the best meat in SA, especially game like kudu, eland and wildebeest from the local butcher.
Staff: Staff at Ka’Ingo are a really happy bunch - it seems they really like working here and it shows.
Spa: Ask for Elizabeth and you will experience an unforgettable massage.
Kids: They are welcome here. One extended family of 35 take over the whole place once a year, but bringing that many isn’t a pre-requisite. 

Spafari is the latest buzz word in African safari travel and it refers to a holiday where you can combine spa and safari. If both elements can provide pleasure in an equal measures, then I reckon you’ve hit the jackpot. That’s how I felt at Ka’Ingo.

First thing to happen was a hand massage - this was just a ‘welcome to Ka’Ingo’ reminder that safari is no longer just about watching animals. This spa offers the lot, but if they have a lot of guests book quickly ‘cause you really don’t want to miss a massage from Lizzie. She has magic hands that seek out all those knots then firmly makes them a thing of the past.

Can you imagine lying on the massage bed then hearing lions roar just a few hundred metres away? That’s what happened this morning, except I wasn’t on the massage bed, I was still under my duvet. The pair of male lions that I’d seen on yesterday’s afternoon game drive, were giving it all they had. For over an hour they took turns to roar in a way that only lions know how. It’s the kind of noise that makes the ground vibrate and your heart miss a beat.

Read the rest of this entry »

You may think that a safari lodge decorated in no other colours than black and white (and variations from rich creams to deep brown), could be monotone. But it’s not. Lion Sands Ivory Lodge in the Lion Sands Private Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park, uses shades and textures to create a truly unique look. The contrasts of ebony and ivory combine creatively to create a strong Afro-European statement.

Ivory Lodge suites are huge - 165 square metres - which is bigger then my little cottage by the sea in Cape Town. And talk about ‘wow’ factor. Walking through the huge wooden doors to the suite was one of those few moments that rendered me almost speechless. It’s amazing how design and décor based on the KISS principle - Keep It Simple Stupid - can be so profound. Read the rest of this entry »