Londolozi's Granite Suites

Outside bath, Londolozi's Granite Suites.

© Londolozi

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Londolozi is a name of legend among South African luxury game lodges.

And with good reason: it was among the 1st pioneering private game reserves to enter the ecotourism industry; its standards for nature interpretation and interaction are among the highest in the industry; and it is still owned by the Varty family – well known for their wildlife documentaries.

Londolozi was also the 1st game reserve in the world to be accredited by the prestigious Relais & Chateaux group.

But it is probably most famous for its leopard sightings – starting in 1979 when John Varty and Elmon Mhlongo began capturing the life of an unusually laid-back leopard mother. Three decades later, the original documentary has sparked an ongoing study off Londolozi's leopards, and the lineages are followed and noted with a genealogist's passion.

Londolozi's 14 000 hectares, part of the Sabi Sand Reserve adjacent to the world-famous Kruger National Park, host 5 lodges with unprecedented levels of luxury, space and privacy – Tree Camp, Pioneer Camp, Varty Camp, Founders Camp, and the crème de la crème, the Granite Suites.

The latter are built on a spectacular outcrop of granite, on the banks of the perennial Sand River.

There are only 3 suites, furnished in shades of silver and charcoal. They are sophisticated but allow for untrammelled contact with nature. Huge picture windows open onto a view of the Sand River.

And then there are the famous river baths.

Aside from a luxurious bathroom, you can also immerse yourself in a large bath on the river's banks. There is no better way to feel at 1 with nature and the riverine ecosystem than to be in warm, scented water with the river rush close by and a bird singing from a sheltering ebony tree.

If you're looking for a different kind of immersion, each suite also has its own heated plunge pool.