Private Game Reserve · 4 star
Thanda Safari's Tented Camp
We headed three hours north of Durban to spend a weekend under canvas in Zululand, and this beautiful bit of the world got well and truly under our skin.
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Every place we've written up
Each of these comes from a visit we made ourselves, scored the same way every time. We are still busy carrying our older reviews across from the previous site, so do check back.
Private Game Reserve · 4 star
Nambiti Springbok Lodge
Our best sightings yet on Nambiti, at a lodge the local community owns a share of — and a spa treatment that was just what the doctor ordered.
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Country Lodge
Lythwood Lodge
We chased a rumour of snow into the Midlands on a whim, and found a hot chocolate by a log fire that still tops our list of welcomes.
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Desert Lodge · 5 star
Sossusvlei Desert Safari
A special treat from across the border — we fell asleep watching the stars through a skylight above the bed, high on a ridge over the oldest desert on earth.
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Private Game Reserve · 4 star
Nambiti Cheetah Ridge Lodge
An unexpected gem outside Ladysmith that came very close to topping our list for 2016 — and the food alone is almost worth the trip.
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Mountain Hotel · 3 star
Cathedral Peak Hotel
A Berg institution in a magnificent setting, but a return visit left us feeling the rooms and the arrival no longer match what is being charged.
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Private Game Reserve · 5 star
Nambiti Plains Private Game Reserve
A true five star destination on the Nambiti plains, where the attention to detail in the room is matched by the food coming out of the kitchen.
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Coastal Resort
Umngazi River Bungalows
Seven days on the Wild Coast where you kick off your shoes at reception — a place of returns, as everyone who goes there finds out.
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Boutique Guest House
Botha House
A 1919 prime minister's holiday home above the Umdoni golf course — one night was all it took for the place to steal our hearts.
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Mountain Lodge · 4 star
Montusi Mountain Lodge
Ten garden suites looking straight at the Amphitheatre, in a corner of the Northern Berg that puts us at ease the moment we turn off the road.
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Private Game Reserve · 5 star
Phinda Forest Lodge
Glass-walled suites standing in the sand forest, and a reserve whose name means “the return” — which we would, given half a chance.
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Lakeside Chalets
Lake Naverone
A chalet on the lake shore in the southern berg, with uninterrupted water views and nobody else in sight.
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Private Game Reserve
Tala Private Game Reserve
Forty-five minutes from Durban, no big cats and all the better for it — a hidden gem everyone has heard of but few seem to have visited lately.
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Winelands Hotel · 4 star
Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa
Drive into the Franschhoek valley and you could be in France — a thatched hotel under the mountains, with the winelands on the doorstep.
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Mountain Lodge
Qambahti Mountain Lodge
A beautiful setting in the Kamberg valley let down by cramped suites and a kitchen that never lived up to its own menu.
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Private Game Reserve · 5 star
Kirkman's Kamp
Four nights on the Sand River over New Year, with a ranger who put us in the right place for every shot — and wild dogs waking up to hunt.
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Country Lodge
St Ives
A night in the Midlands at the start of the Meander, with a lamb curry by the fire and a misty lake to wake up to.
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