With three outstanding accommodations to choose from, you’ll find the right one for you on your next adventure into the bush.
mFulaWozi Wilderness Private Game Reserve
Located in the heart of Zululand in KwaZulu Natal, just two and a half hours drive from Durban; it is the home to sister-lodges Biyela and Mthembu. Carefully built by hand by members of the local Mthembu and Biyela Zulu clans, allowing the guests to immerse themselves in nature and the area’s rich history.
Biyela Lodge is named after local chief Biyela, a descendant of King Shaka, and consists of 12 standalone luxury suites, complete with private viewing decks and plunge pools. The suites are styled on a modern apothecary theme, an oasis of privacy and eco-luxury. The lodge is built into the hillside of this piece of untouched wilderness, perfectly positioned to maximise the sweeping views of the imposing flood plains of the White iMfolozi River below.
Warm and welcoming Mthembu Lodge is set on the embankment of the White iMfolozi River, where it commands magnificent views complete with game watching from the comfort of its seven luxury one-bedroom suites and two-family villas. Aimed at the discerning traveller, Mthembu is the perfect family destination, welcoming children from the age of 10 and offering a sensual, quiet, and naturally elegant definition of space. It combines fresh, innovative design and stylish African touches.
The mFulaWozi Wilderness Private Game Reserve stretches across 16 000 hectares of untouched African bushveld bordering the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park, the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa. With the dropping of fences between the parks, it is now one of the last havens where large numbers of animals, including the Big 5, can roam freely.
mFulaWozi is championing a sustainable model for socio-economic development within the local communities. The upliftment of these disadvantaged communities has now allowed the communities to run various initiatives, creating a resilient economic environment. Not only is it a blueprint for a future where humans and wildlife can live and thrive together, but it is also mFulaWozi’s legacy to commit to preserving and conserving the Zulu culture.
SA Residents Special
R4 500.00 per person sharing per night at Mthembu Lodge
R5 950.00 at Biyela Lodge
Includes all meals, local drinks and game drives. Valid until 31 October 2022.
www.mfulawoziwilderness.com
Hluhluwe Bush Camp
Take the hack out of camping and ‘glamp’ at Hluhluwe Bushcamp. The Bush Camp provides an authentic Safari camping experience without compromising the splendours of present-day living. Watch the setting sun glisten off the surrounding wild grasslands as you sip a sundowner on the patio of their luxury tented camps. On sweltering summer days, lounge by the pool and snack on pizza and other refreshments at the Camp’s very own rustic café. Be sure to walk along their beguiling forest trail and become acquainted with the local birds, bugs, and bushbuck.
Hluhluwe Bush Camp boasts diversified accommodation options. Whether you are looking for a romantic getaway for two, a tranquil retreat for one, or an adventurous family vacation, your ideal holiday awaits at Hluhluwe Bush Camp. From splendid and spacious Teepee Tents to reworked cutesy Camper Vans, the newly Glamping Village offers an array of unique, bohemian stays. All Glamping Tents are entirely equipped for self-catering. They have been purposefully built and eclectically designed.
Those who feel like being active have a bush trail through the forest of 2.2km with a beautiful picnic site. There are lots of activities to be enjoyed in and around the Camp, including biking, hiking, and fishing in bordering iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Guests can also visit Mkhuze Park, the Cheetah Farm, Rhino Mountain bike trails, the Zulu Village, or experience a pineapple tour.
www.hluhluwebushcamp.com
Xigera Lodge
Situated in Botswana’s unspoilt wilderness on the western side of the Moremi Game Reserve, Xigera (‘Kee-jera’) is a boutique safari lodge inspired by the hospitality and design to reinvent what it means to experience the African bush.
Heralding a new design direction for Red Carnation Hotels, Xigera is the first purpose-built safari lodge developed by the Tollman family, the renowned South African-born hoteliers. Guided by their deep love of the Delta and its wildlife, Xigera will offer just 24 guests an extraordinary opportunity to explore the richness of this UNESCO World Heritage Site to the tune of their imagination.
Touching the earth lightly, the lodge’s 12 individually designed air-conditioned suites include one two-bedroom family suite that extends over two islands. Architect Anton de Kock designed the buildings in complete synergy with their surroundings, using torched timber cladding and soft undulating rooves inspired by the wingspan of the region’s rare Pel’s Fishing Owl.
The lodge’s interiors have been conceptualised by Toni Tollman and Philip Fourie, who collaborated with Southern Guide gallery in a ground-breaking project that spanned over two years. They commissioned work from more than 80 artists and artisans from Botswana, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, and Eswatini, including Andile Dyalvane, Peter Mabeo, Cheick Diallo, Dokter and Misses, Dylan Lewis, Porky Hafer, Ardmore Ceramics and others.
Every object and surface guests encounter will celebrate African craftsmanship, featuring bespoke items made exclusively for the property. Surprising touches will be everywhere, from woven jacquard bedspreads and handblown glassware to wooden seats carved on site by Cape Town sculptor Adam Birch and Porky Hefer’s famed human-sized nests to lounge in. Standout features include an outdoor pavilion with an extraordinary bronze lily sculpture and a boma with a difference centred around a monumental firepit sculpture by Cape Town blacksmith Conrad Hicks.
Xigera Safari Lodge offers guests a truly restorative experience, where nature provides both the setting and the therapy, taking guests on a journey of wellness in the heart of the African bush. The tranquil spa, overlooking expansive floodplains, will offer treatments and therapies by Tata Harper, exclusively in Africa. Those seeking an even closer encounter with nature can experience a life-changing sleep-out under the stars in a three-story steel baobab tree located 1km from the Camp.
www.xigera.com
Words: Kai Coates