Madikwe Hills Private Game Lodge, Madikwe Game Reserve, North West Province, South Africa

Travel writer Carrie Hampton goes on safari for a living, so if she is impressed you know it must be good. Read what she has to say about Madikwe Hills game lodge in her book ‘Exclusive Safari Lodges of South Africa’, with stunning lodge and wildlife photographs by Gerald Hoberman.

Operation Phoenix in 1991 introduced 8,200 animals of twenty-seven species into the newly formed Madikwe Game Reserve, turning this area of degraded cattle farms into a reserve filled with Africa’s big game. Madikwe has thrived and boasts cheetah and wild dog on top of the traditional Big Five most dangerous animals of Africa.

Many of these animals can be seen without even moving from your bed or private dip pool in your suite at Madikwe Hills Private Game Lodge, as there are several waterholes around the lodge. Elephants have turned the waterhole in front of the dining terrace into a giant mudbath and regularly entertain guests with their antics.

All of this activity is seen from above, since the lodge and rooms are cleverly concealed among the rocks of a steeply inclined hillside. Stone in many forms is used to good effect throughout the lodge.

In places, natural granite boulders intrude politely into the rooms, creating a synergy between the refined interior and the rugged outdoors. This gives Madikwe Hills a feeling of solidity and of connectedness with its natural surroundings.

Madikwe Hills is arguably one of the most sophisticated safari lodges in the reserve. Top-class cuisine comes out of the kitchen of executive chef Marita Pelser, whose passion for food is evident in the rich flavours and immaculate presentation of her culinary creations.

Another elaborate touch at Madikwe Hills is the freshly drawn, candlelit bubble bath, complete with rose petals floating on the surface, that awaits you when you return from your final evening game drive. It is this exquisite attention to detail that puts Madikwe Hills in a class of its own in the field of luxury safari lodges.