Lion Sands Ivory Lodge, Lion Sands Private Game Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Ivory Lodge is one luxury safari lodge that travel writer Carrie Hampton can’t stop talking about. Since she has visited more than 150 safari lodges in Africa, read on to find out why this one is so special. This is extracted from her latest book, ‘Exclusive Safari Lodges of South Africa’ with photographs by renowned photographer Gerald Hoberman.

Lion Sands Ivory Lodge is all creams and deep browns – even the enormous tree whose boughs sprawl over the riverside dining deck is mahogany. Shades of ebony and ivory are the only colours that feature here, and unsuspectingly, they create a warm and captivating contrast for the contemporary Afro-European design and decor of this exclusive safari lodge in the Lion Sands Private Game Reserve near to Kruger National Park.

There is such a ‘wow’ factor to the architectural and interior design of Ivory Lodge that the simple act of entering your luxury safari lodge suite for the first time can literally render you speechless. Behind huge wooden double doors is the accommodation, all 165 square metres of it.

A central courtyard, with a square plunge pool, is flanked by the living room on one side and a dual-level open-plan bedroom and bathroom on the other. All rooms have full glass frontage, permitting expansive views across the flowing Sabi River and beyond, into the adjoining Kruger National Park.

The suites alone may give you a good indication of what to expect from your stay, but you will soon learn that style, creativity and unfaltering attention to detail come in many forms at Lion Sands: specialist treatments in the health spa, expert rangers and trackers with only six passengers per specially adapted 4x4 Land Rover, an executive chef who creates food that appears looking like a work of art, and a world-class wine cellar.

Luxury and safari can go hand in hand and need not be separated, as evidenced by the fact that, if you stay long enough on your sun lounger, the wildlife will come to you. But if you have a strong desire to feel the African bush around you and beneath your feet, Lion Sands’ highly skilled trackers, rangers and ecologist are at your service.

Interestingly, Lion Sands is the only safari estate in this part of Mpumalanga to employ a full-time ecologist, there to ensure the preservation and maintenance of the natural environment.

Being on the ground in big-game country is almost as good as being up a tree, and Lion Sands Private Game Reserve has two tree houses in which you can overnight – a very popular choice if what you are looking for is a night of romance, a honeymoon safari or simply an experience like no other.

These freestanding platforms each feature a large bed with mosquito netting swaying in the breeze and a picnic basket containing everything you might want for an extraordinary night under the stars.