If the 11km safari trail leading to reception doesn’t suggest to you that this is no ordinary luxury lodge, the lack of mini bar, television and cellphone signal surely will. Now you’re really in the bush.
Roughly 80km from Tzaneen, Makalali Private Game Lodge offers superb game-viewing opportunities — with accommodation on the side.
I was greeted at reception by ranger Lynette Fourie, who remarked on how lightly I was travelling — with just one bag of clothing — and then drove me to my chalet.
The glorious view of a nearby gorge and lush trees was a refreshing start to this bush experience. My bed was adorned with a large white mosquito net and the large Victorian bathtub and all the accompanying bath salts and candles looked inviting, as did the outdoor shower. The chalet’s dark wood deck extended to a small thatched lapa covered in pillows.
Edward Khumalo, the camp’s manager, was quick to warn me about walking from my room at night without phoning for an escort. “It’s because of the hippos,” he said. “The area is not fenced.”
The lodge has four camps — Thandane, Mkhiwa, Phiva and Emtomeni, which is where I stayed. Each camp has six chalets of similar design adapted to the lie of the land and the indigenous trees.
Wood and stone from the area have been beautifully incorporated into the architecture — a panel between the bedroom and bathroom is made from wrought iron, for instance, as are the taps.
I had hardly put my bag down when Fourie told me a game drive was about to start. There are two game drives every day, each about three hours long.
Game viewing here is an obvious obsession of the staff and it is conducted more like a hunting expedition. Rangers plough their Land Cruisers into the thick Limpopo bush as they track game, particularly the elusive leopard, all the while slamming acacia trees to the ground and mangling the webs of several nasty golden orb spiders.
The Swiss tourists on the drive with me seemed puzzled that the rangers were whizzing us past impala and zebra as they tried to snap photos of these common creatures. But viewing the big five is a priority at Makalali and guests are assigned to the same ranger for their entire stay so that what game they have viewed can be monitored.
On the three game drives I went on during my two-day visit, our group saw a herd of elephants (a frightening three or four metres away from the vehicle), lion, rhinos and a leopard — much to the glee of a German tourist who had been muttering about ‘das leopards” while dunking rusks into his coffee at 5am.
Makalali general manager Chris Daniel says the animals don’t pose a threat on the drives and guests are often more cautious than they need to be.
“The animals have accepted us … you get so close it’s like being submerged in a National Geographic documentary,” he says enthusiastically.
Morning drives are followed by tasty breakfasts consisting of the predictable but much-loved assortment of yoghurts, fruit and cereals, followed by the traditional hot English menu.
Dinner is served in the dining room or in the boma if weather allows and the menu has an African flair to it. On the first evening I had a choice of pork chops or bobotie, and on the next, fish or fillet. The bobotie and pap certainly excited the taste buds of the British couple with whom I dined, but to my palate the food was nothing special.
What does make the dining experience unique, however, is the company. Guests are placed at 16-seater tables. Initially it was slightly uncomfortable to sit down for a meal with complete strangers, but it encouraged conversation and a few good laughs.
Soon guests became friends and this enhanced the carefree and sociable atmosphere Makalali embodies.
Makalali offers “a basic bush experience but with no airs and graces”, says Daniel, expanding on the lodge’s theme of “rustic but luxurious”.
“The reserve is 26 000ha, 160km2, 64 000 acres and 65 000 football fields. That one’s for the football fans,” he says.
But I prefer to describe it as high-end accommodation with backpacker-style hospitality.
The rangers and managers attend to your every need, but you soon get to know them as friends rather than staff, making for an entirely pleasant experience.
Lisa Steyn was a guest of the Makalali Private Game Lodge