Savanna Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Savanna has a tasty corner of land in the east of the renowned Sabi Sand Game Reserve, which in turn backs onto Kruger National Park. This gives animals an area the size of a many countries in which to roam, and such is their prevalence that many are seen in the Savanna Private Game Reserve.

A waterhole just beyond this safari lodge attracts lots of game, and since there is no fence around Savanna’s suites, it is not unheard of to find an elephant wandering past your room. This waterhole creates an ever-present attraction, even at night when animals are caught in its spotlight. Known as the ‘Land of the Leopard’, a visit to Savanna safari lodge without seeing a leopard is an unlikely occurrence.

Rangers and trackers make sure of that and are pretty confident that most guests will go home with photographs of resident females Mkwela and Shangwa, and images of the Sand River lions. Game drives are therefore a highlight in this part of the lowveld, and with a maximum of only fourteen guests, the service is personal.

Guests often congregate at the high thatched, open-to-the-elements main entertainment area and boma, or at the swimming pool (except those in the two thatched Savanna Suites, who have their own private bijou plunge pool).

In the other seven rooms, Savanna have cleverly mixed two safari styles to create their own blend of architecture, with solid walls, glass doors that open up the entire front of the suite and a ceiling billowing with drapes under a canvas roof. It is neither solid safari lodge or entirely tented, but gives atmospheric elements of both these genres of luxury safari accommodation.