Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Leopard Hills is a popular safari destination for its combination of luxury accommodation and good game viewing. This is what safari expert Carrie Hampton has to say in her latest coffee table book; ‘Exclusive Safari Lodges of South Africa’, full of Gerald Hoberman’s stunning photographs.

Elevated on a hill above a natural waterhole, close to the perennial Sand River, Leopard Hills has an enviable position in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve in the South African province of Mpumalanga. There is nothing but wilderness in each direction, inhabited, of course, by the big game animals that make this ecosystem adjacent to the Kruger National Park so famous.

Named after the shy, exquisite predator that everyone wants to glimpse at least once in the wild, Leopard Hills keeps a log that speaks of almost daily leopard sightings. Add to this the presence of lion, buffalo, elephant and rhino in the reserve, and you are almost guaranteed to encounter the Big Five during your stay.

Well satisfied by the game-watching aspect of Leopard Hills, you can now turn your attention to its other luxuries, of which food is most definitely a top priority. At Leopard Hills four-course dinners are the norm.

Vegetarian dishes stand their ground as a serious option, but meat, like tender beef fillet or loin of springbok, is at the heart of the fine South African cuisine served at this luxury safari lodge.

The opulent decor, too, has Africa at its heart and features Zanzibari carved doors, river stones embedded in the floors and high, thatched ceilings. However appealing the interiors, it is the views across the game reserve and beyond that beckon. These can be enjoyed from one of eight luxurious glass-fronted suites, each with its own sundeck and heated rock plunge pool.

It stands its own as a romantic getaway destination with special treats in store for those who have chosen a honeymoon in Africa.