River Lodge, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Did you know that your manhood can be judged by the fruit of the sausage tree? Find out how in this extract from ‘Exclusive Safari Lodges of South Africa’ - a beautiful coffee table book written by Carrie Hampton and photographed and published by Gerald Hoberman.

Shaded by tall ebony trees, the eight luxury suites of River Lodge spread out along the riverbank and become one with the African bush.

River Lodge is so close to the Sand River, that while you are submersing in your private plunge pool, the hippos are doing the very same just a few metres away. Herds of elephant seem to enjoy the water most and they can be seen and heard splashing and trumpeting with excitement.

The communal lounge of River Lodge is equally well positioned for animal viewing, and is filled with deep sofas perfect for whiling away the time between guided game drives. As is common in the Sabi Sand reserve in the north-east of South Africa, game vehicles are fitted with a “jump seat” where a Shangaan tracker usually sits.

The tracker is a master at reading the signs of the bush like, spoor (footprints), dung, scratches on trees and even flat patches of grass where a lion might have been resting. It is he that directs the ranger to drive in the right direction to find the animals you so desire to see.

While you are out game driving, the kitchen is busy preparing the Pan African cuisine served at River Lodge. This means taking the best food of Africa, and preparing it for an international audience. Long lazy lunches are eaten under the shade of a giant sausage tree, whose grey-green dangling fruit resemble enormous salami. Sometimes regarded as a holy tree, any event occurring in the shade of a sausage tree is considered important.

Story goes that a boy going through the initiation to become a man, selects a sausage from this tree to represent his manhood. If the sausage falls off the tree before he has completed his initiation, he is ridiculed and his prowess and manhood are in question.