Jamala Wildlife Lodge Canberra, Australia

A close encounter with wildlife while living in the lap of luxury doesn’t get any better than this.

Sip on a glass of shiraz while you feed a giraffe from your balcony, or bathe in your egg-shaped, deep soaking tub while a bear roams within metres – albeit behind a very strong pane of glass.

Jamala Wildlife Lodge is a luxury safari experience just 10 minutes’ drive from the centre of Australia’s capital, Canberra. A stay here will have you about as close as you can get – and would want to be – to some of the world’s most dangerous and endangered wildlife.

There are 18 African-lodgeinspired rooms across three themed accommodation ‘precincts’: uShaka Lodge,

Giraffe Treehouses and Jungle Bungalows. Opened eight years ago, the concept of the familyowned and -operated lodge is all about conservation. Funds from Jamala are funnelled directly into protecting endangered animals in the wild, think national and international breeding and education programs.

Set inside the National Zoo and Aquarium, your day starts with a morning safari and ends with an indulgent Africaninspired dinner.

There are also even closer wildlife encounters, where you can meet a white rhino, a sun bear, lion or a cheetah, among other animals.

uShaka Lodge has seven rooms and suites, its own shark tank, pool, spa and tropical gardens. If marine life, rather than mammals, is more your thing, opt for the Reef Room where the window looks into a five-metre-deep ocean aquarium.