Elephant Plains Game Lodge, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Elephant Plains Game Safari Lodge offers a family-owned South African safari holiday experience where you depart as friends. Read what a day in the life of an Elephant Plains safari is like in this extract from Carrie Hampton’s and Gerald Hoberman’s book; ‘Exclusive Safari Lodges of South Africa’.

Located along a dry riverbed in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Elephant Plains Game Lodge is one of several family-owned and run safari lodges in this prestigious private South African game reserve.

Upon arrival you will be warmly welcomed. The homely atmosphere at Elephant Plains will work its magic in taking the edge off the stress that brought you to this African savanna and hilly woodlands in the first place. A typical day at Elephant Plains starts with coffee or tea and fresh rusks at the crack of dawn. By now slightly more alert, you will be whisked off in an open Land Rover for your morning game drive. No doubt, all your senses will be awakened at the thrill of your first sight of game: perhaps lions still feasting on a kill or a leopard dozing in a tree.

By 9 a.m. it is your turn to feast on a spectacular buffet breakfast. Then it is time to recharge the camera batteries in preparation for the afternoon game drive that departs a little while just before sunset. You might imagine there is a whole day of rest in between game drives, but when there are so many activities to fit in – a guided morning walk, a massage at the health spa, a swim in one of two pools, a buffet lunch and afternoon tea and cakes – the day never seems long enough.

Halfway through the evening game drive the vehicle stops at a viewpoint where you indulge in sundowner drinks and snacks, while watching the orb of the African sun perform its daily ritual. Then the spotlight comes on for a night game drive back to the lodge, and in its glare the eyes of night creatures shine – bushbabies, owls, lions and other predators of the darkness.

Elephant Plains is a favourite destination for South Africans and international visitors alike. The experience that brings them back time and again is summed up by one guest: ‘Big Five many times over, tracking and knowledge excellent, great service, wonderful with kids, best friends.’