Makanyane Safari Lodge, Madikwe Game Reserve, North West Province, South Africa

Safari writer Carrie Hampton came face to face with elephants in this extract about Makanyane Safari Lodge in her latest book ‘Exclusive Safari Lodges of South Africa’, with stunning wildlife and lodge photographs by Gerald Hoberman.

On a piece of land between the Groot Marico River and one of its lazy tributaries lies Makanyane Safari Lodge. The privately owned, 1 800-hectare property is tucked into the north-eastern corner of Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa’s North West province.

The size of the terrain allows rangers to take guests for exclusive game drives without the possibility of seeing another vehicle and to take them on game walks across the grass plains, where zebra, wildebeest and rhino graze.

Elephant abound in this area and are particularly fond of eating the branches, leaves and fruit from the trees that give shade to each of the eight luxury safari suites. Makanyane is unfenced and it is not uncommon for elephant to wander past the glass front of your bedroom or bathroom, filling up the entire view.

Even though the river is just metres away, one elephant heard the sound of tinkling water, ambled towards it and reached his trunk over the wall into the outdoor shower where a guest was having her morning wash. Both were equally startled and ran in different directions!

Another Makanyane treat is to spend a night in the lodge’s tree house – a simple double-storey wooden construction adjacent to a waterhole and accessible only to roosting birds.

It has all the amenities of a good camp-out: a soft mattress, snacks prepared by the talented Makanyane chef, a spotlight, an emergency radio, a hammock to swing in and solitude. From the time the ranger drops you off until you are fetched in the morning, it is just you, the animals and the stars.

A few days at Makanyane and you become completely relaxed; lazing around the swimming pool, feasting on tasty morsels and making friends with camp staff and visiting elephants. Contact our Siyabona Africa Travel consultants for Enquiries and Reservations about this exclusive South African lodge.