With coastal properties, city hotels, battlefield camps, and safari lodges, South Africa offers the widest range of experiences in all the countries we offer. Among these options are a number of places small enough for a single family or big enough for a group of friends or multi-generational group.

 Nare Suite and Safari Suite at Jaci’s, and the Grootbos villas.

Jaci’s Safari Lodge is located in the malaria free Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa’s North West Province, bordering Botswana. The reserve’s grassland, forest and rocky Tshwene Tshwene hills are home to a variety of wildlife such as elephants, lions, leopards and rhinos, plus endangered wild dogs. Jaci’s Safari Lodge offers two exclusive use villas, perfectly suited for families or groups of friends.

The Nare Suite has two double ensuite rooms and an upstairs loft and accommodates a family of up to six. The suite has a beautiful, thatched roof and its walls are partly made of canvas, giving a true safari feel whilst maintaining complete comfort and luxury. Alongside a magnificent four poster bed there is an inviting stone bath as well as a private swimming pool. With its own hosts and guide, activities and dining are bespoke; guests can choose when to dine and enjoy wildlife drives.

Lion sighting at Jaci’s.

Jaci’s Safari Lodge also offers the exclusive use Safari Suite, sleeping up to eight guests. This safari hideaway offers a master bedroom and adjoining children’s room sharing an outdoor shower and open-plan bathroom. There is also a lounge with a guest room and upstairs loft area.  The spacious rooms offer beautiful views over a small stream and are tastefully decorated.

Wildlife drives and walking safaris in the early morning and evening are the highlight of a stay at Jaci’s. During the middle of the day guests can relax by the pool or sit in the hide and watch the wildlife and birds as they come to drink. A separate shorter ‘jungle’ drive goes out later in the day for very small children which their parents can join if they wish.

The safari suite at Jaci’s.

Further south on the southern tip of the continent is Grootbos Private Nature Reserve home to two exclusive use luxury private villas. Secluded and surrounded by pristine natural beauty and panoramic views, both villas offer peace and tranquility and are ideal for families or groups of friends.

Villa One can accommodate up to 12 guests and has two master suites and four additional en-suite bedrooms. The villa has a private chef, an interactive kitchen, two lounges and two outside barbecue places, a large pool, a gym, and a cinema. Every bedroom or communal space has a view of the reserve and the ocean, and most open out onto to spacious decks outside.

Built in 2016 and designed to maximise the magnificent views of Walker Bay, Stanford and Gansbaai beyond, Villa Two can accommodate up to eight guests. Set apart from the rest of the estate, this four-bedroom villa comprises a master suite and three luxury suites, all with their own bathroom facilities.  In addition there is a fully equipped kitchen (with chef), BBQ area, extensive outdoor decks with swimming pool and sweeping views, gym, wine cellar and a landing strip for small planes and helicopters. A private butler, chef and guide with vehicle all provide a seamless stay with intuitive service.

Grootbos Reserve offers guided walks, nature drives, horse riding for all abilities, beach visits, community project visits, and land-based whale watching. Guests at either villa can enjoy the service of their own private guide and vehicle, allowing them complete freedom with activities on the reserve as well as further afield. Additional activities available in the locality include boat trips to Dyer Island, shark cage diving, whale watching by boat, scenic flights, golf, and quad biking. Grootbos also has a well-equipped spa.

The view from the bedroom at Grootbos Villa.

Marataba Explorer’s camp. 

Marataba Explorer’s Camp sits within spacious, shaded and fenced gardens overlooking a well-used waterhole in the privately managed 52,000 acre Marataba section of the Marakele National Park. The park is located at the foot of the Waterberg Mountains in the malaria free northwest of South Africa, an easy four hour drive from Johannesburg.

Marataba Explorer’s Camp has five standard safari tents and one family tent with two bedrooms, a camp small enough to fill with a big family or group of friends looking to catch up in the heart of the South African wilderness.

The spacious tents are built on raised timber decks and have ensuite bathrooms with showers and flushing loos. The main lodge is built from stone and thatch, and has inside and outside eating and seating, a lounge and a bar. There’s a fireplace on the lawn, and a large pool.

Marataba has excellent wildlife including lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino, but the main focus of a stay here is assisting with and learning about conservation. The specialised activities on offer include assisting the rangers with rhino ear notching, elephant monitoring, predator tracking, patrolling the reserve to check for snares and look for broken fencing, analysing images captured by camera traps, and wildlife interventions such as relocations.

Around the fire at Marataba Explorer’s camp.

Lion Sands Treehouse

Add something truly special to your South African adventure by spending the night in one of the three treehouses at Lion Sands Safari Lodge. Each treehouse has its own character and design but all with far reaching views and offer the chance to spend the night under the stars, surrounded by the sounds of the South African bush. Guests are taken to the treehouse to enjoy a mouth watering picnic dinner before admiring the beautiful sunset over the vast landscape and taking in the sights and sounds of the wildlife, from a safe and comfortable distance.

Lion Sands Treehouse.

Pafuri Camp private walking safari.

Pafuri Walking Trails offers fantastic access to the 24,000 hectare Makuleke Community Concession in the far north of the Kruger National Park. Walking Trails is based in a seasonal mobile safari camp which can be located in various parts of the concession, in accordance with guests’ interests and length of stay. Walks can be taken on an exclusive basis and are a perfect way for families or groups of friends to explore the diverse landscape.

The camp has just four tents which are of a mini-Meru design, with open air en-suite bathrooms featuring traditional safari showers. There is an open sided dining tent, and a fireplace. Meals are often eaten outside in the shade of the big trees under which the camp is positioned.

The diverse habitats in the Pafuri region include riparian forest, extensive fever tree forests, groves of towering baobabs, stands of large palms, mountains, floodplains, grassland, and mopane woodland. The area is famous for the large herds of elephant and buffalo that are resident most of the year round. Predators are also regularly seen here, and the varied habitat offers superb bird watching, particularly in summer.

Pafuri walking trails scenery.

What next?

We would be delighted to help you plan a safari encompassing any of the exclusive stays and trips mentioned here. Our team of experts has travelled widely throughout Africa and can offer expert advice on every type of safari from family and beach holidays to riding and primate safaris. Do get in touch – chatting to people by phone or email is what we do best. We listen, we explain, we answer all sorts of questions even those you didn’t know to ask, and finally we make suggestions. If this is your first time to Africa or your twenty first, we have a team standing by to help make the planning easy and the journey the best ever. Please get in touch whatever stage you’re at.

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