SAFARI SUITED
HEAD TO MADIKWE FOR THE ULTIMATE SOUTH AFRICAN WILDLIFE EXPERIENCE
During the hour-long scenic flight from Johannesburg to Madikwe, I get a fleeting feeling of being in a ‘parallel universe’. Because at first glance the patchwork of red earth, rocky outcrops and khaki shrubs below looks exactly like outback Australia … well, until you notice it’s garnished with giraffes and zebras.
Landing at the Madikwe East Air Strip, I’m greeted by the smiley Mitchell Huggins, my Madikwe Safari Lodge field guide, who reveals that the lodge is sprawled across three different sites – Kopano, Dithaba and Lelapa, where I’ll be staying in one of 12 plush, standalone suites overlooking the bushveld.
On the short drive to Lelapa, we pass a herd of impala. It’s rutting season so the males are frisky; and even though they look Bambi-cute, their agro grunts sound about as cuddly as a velociraptor. Nope, definitely not in Oz now!
Madikwe Game Reserve sprawls some 76,000ha along the Botswana border in South Africa’s North West Province, where the terrain is a mixture of hills, outcrops, Kalahari plains, savannah and wooded glades. This varied landscape is home to nearly 70 different types of mammal – including the Big Five – and nearly 350 species of bird.
Here, Lelapa’s understated luxury seamlessly blends into the environment, its tastefully decorated main lodge consisting of open-air lounge and dining areas, as well as a rustic bar with an enviable gin collection. It’s a great place to sip a Springbok (a local shooter made from Crème De Menthe and Amarula) and swap stories with fellow guests at the end of the day.
When it’s time to kick back, Lelapa’s standalone suites offer five-star comfort with epic views over the bushveld. Each features its own deck (where you can cool off in your own private plunge pool or spy on plains animals from your outdoor shower), along with comfy indoor lounge areas. Crisp textiles, gigantic bathtubs, rain showers and king-size beds take comfort to the next level – and the supplied Africology beauty products ensure you feel head-to-toe glowy. And if you really want to max out the bliss factor, book in for a massage at the lodge’s spa (or have the masseuse come to your suite). Our pick of the treatments on offer is the Intonga Amasatchi – a 75-minute deep tissue massage that uses wooden sticks to help stretch out tight muscles. Heaven!
The lodge’s personalised service continues right through to its safari drives, where our super-knowledgeable field guide Huggins points out the reserve’s various wild highlights, and over four game drives we get comfortably close to spitting cobras, white rhinos, lions, cheetahs, painted wolves,
elephants, and countless giraffes, zebras, wildebeests and impalas. We set off on our morning drives at 6am so we could see the animals kickstarting their day; our evening drives left the lodge at 4pm to coincide with the wildlife’s dinner time. And in between safaris, there was plenty of time to tuck into breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and relax beside the lodge’s lush pool. Here, the sunlounges are positioned to view a waterhole, where elephants, warthogs, giraffes, zebras and impala all visit to cool off.
On my last day, I’m alone by the pool, watching the waterhole, when a lone elephant strolls to within metres of my sunlounge; he stops to stare with idle curiosity, then wanders away. It’s a humbling moment, especially when you think there’s less than 400,000 of these giants left in the wild across Africa. It’s utterly unforgettable – just like Madikwe.