Singita Lebombo Lodge

Lebombo is set into a ridge above the N'wanetsi River in the eastern Kruger, on Singita's private concession inside the national park. The concession covers 33,000 acres. There are 13 suites and a villa, and the glass suites hang over the river, so the first thing you see when you wake is the water below and whatever has come down to drink.

This is not the Sabi Sand, and that is the reason to come. The country is open, the Lebombo hills are close by, and the lodge itself is modern. People who have been on safari before and want something that looks and feels different tend to like it best.

Two evenings stand out. At the show kitchen the chef cooks eight courses in front of you and talks you through where every ingredient comes from. On the wine studio rooftop the sommelier pours library wines from a 2,500-bottle cellar while the bush goes dark below you.

Getting here is quick. On The Wilderness South Africa a Pilatus PC-12 meets your international flight in Johannesburg, and by lunchtime your pilot is dropping low over the concession's private strip to clear the zebra and impala, sometimes buffalo. On The Great Rift the same aircraft class brings you east from Tswalu.

Good to know

• Malaria area. Take your doctor's advice on prophylaxis before you travel.
• The dry winter months, roughly May to September, give the easiest game viewing; summer brings the rain and the green.

Country: South Africa