Hotel Makweti Safari Lodge (Vaalwater, South Africa)

Makweti Safari Lodge is an experience for the discerning wildlife aficionado. Timelessly African, it embodies the eras of Livingstone and Hemingway, while standing as a model of modern, environmentally sensitive taste. The Lodge caters to no more than 10 guests, with five luxury suites that blend seductively into an ideal safari landscape. This landscape is a natural home for Africa’s “Big Five” – elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, lion and leopard. Makweti has no fences, so the Big Five, zebra, wildebeest, and a host of other iconic species wander freely through the Lodge’s surrounds. Often, these wild “owners of the terrain” come for refreshment to the stream-fed waterhole just 80 yards from the open lounge and viewing deck. Beyond the waterhole, Makweti’s luxury suites and dining room command panoramic views across a gorge-defined valley, toward infinite blue hills beyond. These views, and many other enchanting vistas, extend across one of Southern Africa’s largest private game reserves – a wilderness expanse of some 40,000 hectares. For Makweti’s guests, the reserve stands open in its entirety to wonder-filled exploration.