A reimagined tented camp in a protected pocket of South Africa’s Kruger National Park offers an unrivalled way to see the Big Five in one of the world’s classic safari destinations.

The thud of paw pounding into zebra flank startles me more than the flash of golden claw on monochrome hide. The panicked zebra’s hyper-extended hind quarters shoot above a thicket as I hear the retaliatory thump of hoof into the lioness and gasps from my safari companions.

Two startled zebras thunder through the bush away from us, the cracking of tree branches and twigs following them as they gallop to safety in another corner of andBeyond Ngala Private Game Reserve, a private concession within South Africa’s world-renowned Kruger National Park.

Moments earlier, our safari truck had turned off the twin tracks that traverse the bush. Approaching two unconcerned zebras, our tracker Ernest Godi’s hand flicked and flitted like a willie wagtail. Marcus Khoza, our guide and safari driver, heeded the silent, urgent instructions and abruptly stopped the Land Cruiser, turning the engine off.

Frustrated that some fellow guests have not read the signals, Ernest turns and urgently holds his index finger to his lips, pre-empting what is about to happen. It is at that moment the lioness appears, eyes narrowed in concentration. She takes three quick steps before breaking into a sprint and making the unsuccessful lunge for zebra breakfast.

Among the wilderness: spotting one of the Big Five

Fifty minutes later, in a glade of soft, green trees and grasses on a ridge above the deceptively dry Timbavati River, Marcus eases the truck to a stop and again turns off the vehicle. No one speaks. After eight drives together, Marcus has imparted so much knowledge and insight that the quiet is not disconcerting but comfortable. No one feels the urge to fill the silence.

A herd of eight elephants is ambling along a well-trodden trail that curves across our track about 10 metres from the truck. The two lead animals pause momentarily to evaluate us before moving on. Their heavy, plodding feet land so softly that the only sound is birdsong and the grass being ripped from the ground.

The elephants’ trunks sway rhythmically up and down, delivering a small portion of the 200 kilograms of feed these gentle beasts need a day. Marcus eventually breaks the silence with a laugh. “Here come the teenagers." About 20 metres behind the lead elephants, two smaller elephants are scrummaging.

From the truck we can only see the sagging backside of the one closest to us. It disengages with its playmate and performs a swift 180-degree turn before hurrying in our direction with all the exuberant head-bobbing one expects from juvenile elephants. Suddenly, the elephant stops again, turns to face its sparring partner, and assumes a challenging stance on the trail, where the playful battle resumes. They play like my two sons when they were toddlers (you get a taste of this in Quentin’s video below).

 

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The morning air has been cooled by heavy showers. It is perfumed with wild African mint, a fresh scent spiked with notes of aniseed, rosemary and citrus. It has been an infrequent yet welcome contrast to the ubiquitous smell of fresh elephant dung and dusty mud wallows. This is the final safari drive of my stay at andBeyond’s Ngala Tented Camp and I sit in wondrous contemplation.

A luxurious stay at the reimagined Ngala Tented Camp

On the banks of the Timbavati The andBeyond Ngala Private Game Reserve, which lends its name to the camp and sister property Ngala Lodge, is a 14,700-hectare private concession that forms a section of the western edge of Kruger National Park.

German businessman Hans Hoheisen donated the entire reserve to the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF SA) in 1992. As part of the agreement, andBeyond leases the land from WWF SA and pays a portion of its profits to conservation. The reserve is centred around the dry Timbavati River that snakes through the property from west to east and onto Kruger.

Ngala Tented Camp was built and opened by andBeyond in 2000 on the banks of the river with just six tents and the main lodge structure. After a once-in-a-century flooding in 2013, the property was reconstructed and additional tents added. To maintain standards and expand amenities for guests, the camp was closed from March to September 2024 for a reimagining. I am here to experience its new incarnation.

Entering the main lodge, the sandy riverbed stretches before me. The lunch deck is shaded by the canopy of the quintessentially African marula tree around which the wooden decking has been carefully constructed. Building around the existing flora is representative of how the entire camp is sympathetic to the environment and animals. The main lodge building is largely invisible to the naked eye, sheltered from view by the surrounding marula, jackalberry and appleleaf trees with buffalo thorn scrub.

My tent is exactly what one imagines a luxury-without-ostentation safari tent to be. The newly added outdoor shower and freestanding bath are delightful; standing under the shower with the sky and tree canopy above is liberating, a small yet powerful back-to-nature indulgence alongside one of the great wilderness experiences of the world.

The interior is contemporary with Art Deco overtones. The indoor shower screen and vanity panels are red, green and clear geometric shapes. The discreet butler’s pantry delivers tea and morning bites, a welcome wake-up call for our early morning game drives at 5am.

There is nothing mini about the complimentary in-room bar and snacks. Chocolate, biscotti, fudge and chips are complemented by bottles of red wine and Amarula (a creamy liqueur made from the marula tree fruit) while the bar fridges (yes, plural) are filled with beer, soft drinks, wine and water. I could request my bar to be stocked with my favourite spirits if needed. But why would I when my butler would gladly bring me any cocktail I fancied?

A private raised deck snakes from my bedroom to a shaded lounge and day bed while nyala and impala mosey around my tent. Every day, at either breakfast or lunch, I spy a family herd of elephants as they saunter in a hip-swinging amble down a steep ravine to the riverbed.

Here, they dig mini wells in the sand to drink and bathe in waters, purified by the river sand just 30 centimetres below the surface. After cooling off, they continue trudging down towards the grasses in front of the pool, coolly observing the humans in their chosen aquatic habitat. It’s unclear who is watching who. But of course, these wildlife encounters that happen every moment of life in the camp are just the beginning of the experience.

andBeyond Ngala Tented Camp has nine air-conditioned tents, a gym, spa pool, bar, restaurant and boutique. Children over 12 are welcome, but the maximum capacity of any tent is two. A stay at the camp is all-inclusive.

Nightly rates for 2025 start at $2200 per person twin share and include all meals and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Every stay includes game drives and bush walks, which are optional. Spa treatments are additional.

Coming face-to-face with Africa’s Big Five

On our initial game drive, vultures do what vultures do: ripping strips of carrion off a buffalo carcass. On our second game drive, the truck comes to a screeching halt when a lion strides confidently out of the bush next to us. It pays us no heed as it passes less than a metre from where I sit.

That evening, Marcus stops the vehicle and points to grasses less than two metres from the side of the truck. A leopard, upon sighting us, has stepped off the road hoping the camouflage of the long grass would have us pass none the wiser. Giving up on us moving on, it breaks cover and tiptoes along the side of the vehicle and under my feet. Two days later, a larger leopard sits in the shade snapping at irritating flies. I am dazzled by her rich, golden coat and brilliant white belly, which shimmer in the heat.

On the third evening, we find a rhino in a mud wallow with her injured calf. Presumably injured by a male rhino with designs on the mother, the slow limping gait of the calf while the mother patiently waits is wilderness at its most raw: protective parents and vulnerable offspring. Later that evening, we trace highly endangered wild dogs back and forth across the Timbavati River.

The next morning, we find the bulk of Bermingham Pride, the resident family of lions. “Everyone says they want to be a lion. But it is a tough life," Marcus comments. The tough life is etched into the hide of these ‘kings of the jungle’. A white lion cub among the pride has a jagged gash on its face that is slowly healing.

The dominant males – who had accompanied the lioness on her failed zebra hunt – still look worse for wear. The eldest has small deep-set eyes, a mane that looks like it has been attacked with blunt shears and a damaged lip that dangles from his bottom jaw, swaying as he walks.

Throughout every game drive we ‘twitch hard’: spotting – among many others – the critically endangered white-headed vulture; neon-coloured woodland kingfishers; bateleurs with their hooked red bills; brown snake eagles with reinforced talons designed to withstand snake bites; and the enormous Verreaux’s eagle owl wearing magnificent eye make-up. We watch lilac-breasted rollers perform their circular acrobatic glides as well as the ‘suicidal’ flight, followed by the rarely seen mating dance, of the red-crested korhaan.

On our final evening, we are surprised with pre-dinner drinks on a wide African grass savannah, surrounded by lanterns. It is the greatest G&T of my life. The morning of our last day – after the lion’s unsuccessful hunt for a zebra breakfast – in the dappled light under a canopy of marula trees, my final game drive is coming to an end. I am lost in deep contemplation.

Those same elephants drift past us towards the river, the teenagers still playing games, and I am overawed by a sense of privilege to be here in a protected pocket of the world’s most celebrated safari landscape.