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

The author and the photographer of ‘Exclusive Safari Lodges of South Africa’ have visited over 150 safari lodges. Read on to see words and pictures from this book, which explain why Tuningi Safari Lodge gives every member of the family a splendidly satisfying safari holiday.

The recipe for a successful African safari holiday is when each member of the family has a uniquely enjoyable time. This is what Tuningi Safari Lodge in Madikwe Game Reserve in North West province manages to do with apparent ease. Here, five-star bush luxury is combined with all the comforts of a child-friendly environment, without compromising either style or service.

The lodge’s exclusive villas have been designed to reflect the sense of spaciousness evoked by the surrounding environment. Generously proportioned suites, high vaulted thatched ceilings, retractable doors and windows, and wooden decks from where you can view the wildlife, create an organic flow between sumptuous interiors and the wild outdoors.

Guests can expect to be pampered, and a certain intimacy arises from warm relationships with staff and from sharing experiences with a maximum of only sixteen other guests on this luxury safari getaway. Seeing children enjoying their animal-tracking lessons or roasting marshmallows over a fire adds to the sense of wellbeing.

Meals follow the rhythm of life in the African bush and begin with a hearty mid-morning brunch after the early-morning game drive. This is followed by a period of rest, only to be interrupted by mid-afternoon high tea served with delectable finger food and enticing gateaux.

Switch to fine dining at dinnertime or a surprise barbecue in the circular wooden boma, with tables arranged around a central blazing fire under the protective canopy of an ancient Ficus tuningii – the giant fig tree after which the lodge is named.

It takes only a few hours of relaxation at Tuningi for you to be convinced that this desirous place should be your second home. In the words of one guest in a post-safari vacation thankyou note: ‘My trip was a 10 on all levels. Some moments I actually thought I’d died and gone to heaven! Now back in California in body and mind but with some of my soul left behind...’