Providing 7,500 square miles of wilderness and reachable within 45 minutes of flying time from Johannesburg, Kruger is one of the world’s best-known game reserves. To help safari-seekers and well-heeled guests pick the very best of the five-star lodges out there, The Daily Telegraph has listed their top five:
Singita Lebombo – style and design make this lodge the most sought after in Kruger, lying on Lebombo hills, in the game-rich southeast of the reserve.
Parfuri Camp – owned by Wilderness Safaris and not as ostentatious as some of their others, this camp has 20 thatch-covered tented rooms, all facing the Luvuvu River.
Rattray’s Camp – a new addition in exclusive Mala Mala and located in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, this luxurious camp has award-winning chefs and infinity plunge-pools.
Ivory Camp – on the banks of the Sabie River in the Sabi Sand reserve, this camp has a proper spa and an exclusive, seductive location.
Royal Malewane – situated in the private Thornybush reserve where the Big Five can be spotted, this celebrity-sought after lodge is considered one of the most luxurious in Kruger.
Andrea Wren is a freelance journalist and owner of Luxury Worldwide Tours.