Romantic Kruger & Zimbabwe

Your tour begins at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg where you will fly to the Singita Airstrip via a shared light aircraft. On landing, you will be greeted with a warm welcome and transferred to the immaculate Singita Ebony Lodge – your base for the next three nights.

Ebony Lodge is located in Sabi Sands Game Reserve, which is one of the best private wildlife reserves in the greater Kruger region. Sabi Sands is the birthplace of the luxury safari, and here you are guaranteed no-crowds game viewing, exceptional service and unrivalled pampering. It is not uncommon to spot the Big 5 all in one day, and the reserve is also home to a rich variety of wildlife including hyena, hippo, cheetah, wild dog and plenty of antelope.

Early mornings are reserved for dawn safaris – when animals are at their most active – and romantic picnic breakfasts at scenic locations. Spend the hottest part of the day relaxing at your private plunge pool, getting a massage or hydrotherapy at the beautiful spa, or browsing the boutique and art gallery. Relaxed and rejuvenated, you head out on 4x4 in the cool of the afternoon, or later in the evening as nocturnal wildlife come out of hiding. Back at the lodge, romantic candlelit dinners await your return in the dramatic gold-and-black African-inspired dining room.

Bid farewell to the Kruger and the Sabi Sands, and return to Johannesburg on a shared light aircraft flight to OR Tambo. On landing, an SUV and driver will collect you for private transfer to the very affluent neighborhood of Sandhurst. Here, you will spend the night in total comfort at Saxon Hotel Villas & Spa, arguably the city’s most refined and indulgent accommodation that regularly hosts guests of the calibre of the late former president Nelson Mandela, who ensconced himself here to write Long Walk to Freedom, his autobiography.

Your charming and sophisticated luxury suite offers tranquility in one of Africa’s most dynamic and exciting landscapes. The Saxon is a member of Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, an international association of gastronomy and culinary excellence, and its restaurants are the pinnacle of fine dining in the country. There is a whiskey bar, several enormous swimming pools, an expansive gym and a spa.

The foyer is dominated by a massive ostrich-egg chandelier while rest of The Saxon is dominated by tones of wheat and gold, and is strung with original art and sculpture. It is a welcoming cocoon that allows you to take a breather before the next leg of your safari.

A private SUV returns you to the airport where you will fly directly to Buffalo Range International Airport in Zimbabwe. A road transfer takes you to Singita Pamushana located on the 100 000-acre Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve. Pamushana is a lodge that offers much more than luxury – walking into the main lodge you are greeted with the sight of a beautiful infinity pool overlooking Malilangwe Lake, and venturing onto the viewing deck you will find a breath-taking vista that has not changed for centuries: mountains, rocky outcrops, large baobab trees and thousands of acacia trees fill the landscape and create a sense of serenity and calm throughout the lodge.

The Malilangwe region teems with wildlife, including rare roan and sable antelope, and endangered black rhino. You have an excellent chance of seeing the Big 5, and for birders there are 14 species of African raptors. Safari activities include morning, afternoon and night game drives, and you may even disembark your vehicle to track a white rhino on foot. Exclusivity at this lodge mean that sightings are not rushed or timed, so you can spend the entire afternoon following a leopard as it saunters through the bush.

Other worthwhile activities include a tour of 2 000-year-old San rock art and even expeditions to a nearby 9-hole golf course. After four nights at Pamushana Lodge, your Southern African safari comes to its end. Transfer back to Buffalo Range International Airport for your return flight to Or Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg for onward travel arrangements.