andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve

"Offers sleep-outs under the stars with sundowners and fire-cooked dinners, providing a luxurious stargazing experience." - Biénne Huisman

"Where is it?This 70,560-acre private game reserve is in northern KwaZulu-Natal, not far from the Indian Ocean on the east coast of South Africa. It's a 3.5-hour drive from Durban or a flight on Airlink from Johannesburg or Cape Town to Phinda's airstrip; there are daily flights. What’s the starting price per night, per person, and what does it include? Are children allowed?At today's exchange rate, about US$798 a night per person. Included: all food and beverage (including house wine, local spirits, and beer, but not premium liquor or champagne); twice daily game drives; one-hour bush walks. Children ages 12 and older allowed. What's the best season to visit?Dry winter months of May to September, when wildlife viewing is at its best. What’s the vibe?We drove from Durban to Phinda (don't know that I'd recommend it unless you have nerves of steel) with a reservation made at andBeyond Phinda Rock Lodge in September 2015. The "front door," so to speak, is a gravel road winding up to the lodge, and the perks of the jaw-rattling ride are the early animal sightings: There were zebra, warthogs, and giraffe everywhere, before you even begin your safari. I saw two of the Big Five—elephant and buffalo—on the first day alone, and the remaining (lion, leopard, rhino) shortly after. There are multiple andBeyond lodges in this game reserve: Phinda Forest Lodge, Phinda Mountain Lodge, Phinda Rock Lodge, Phinda Vlei Lodge (which reopened in 2018 after a complete renovation), Phinda Zuka Lodge, and Phinda Homestead. We only stayed at Rock Lodge, so will focus on that. Now tell me about the rooms.Phinda Rock Lodge has six suites, built of contoured stone and adobe—our own private pueblo in Zululand. Each comes with an outdoor deck and plunge pool (with visitors—see below), big ensuite bathrooms and outdoor showers, and feels entirely secluded and romantic. If you're celebrating an anniversary or birthday, tell the staff ahead of time, and they may surprise you by prepping a champagne-and-roses bath at night. How's the food?We never stopped eating! Or drinking. From the gin cocktail the moment we arrived, served up and looking all too much like a glass of water, to the multi-course dinners served on the outdoor terrace, to the late-day Amarula and biltong snacks during the game drive—all were well prepped, locally sourced, and very satisfying. Now, about that safari. What did you see? How were the game drives? How was the guiding?Incredible. It was all incredible. Since the reserve is near the water (both lake and ocean) it gets coastal rain, which means things are lush across seven different ecosystems. We spotted the Big Five easily on two-a-day game drive, but there were so many special sightings: a pregnant zebra, an albino giraffe, a cheetah and cubs, white and black rhinos (and their babies!) that looked like they had stumbled out of some prehistoric time warp. We crashed through brush—over shrubs and what looked like small trees—as we followed a lioness on a hunt at dusk. We also watched several young lions learn how to kill their prey, a baby baboon; they played with their food and it was a heartbreaking, circle-of-life moment. Birds are the unexpected co-stars every day. Best of all: During an afternoon break back at our room, we were hanging out by the plunge pool, thinking life is pretty great, when a baby elephant wanders up to our deck. And then a whole herd of elephants comes up for a drink, trunks sneaking up into our pool. We were within feet of this beautiful family, all taking a mid-afternoon break to cool off. Unforgettable. Were there any other cultural or outdoor experiences that were really interesting? Were they well done?We did a walking safari that, to no fault of our guide, didn't turn up much—but we learned a lot about how to track animals by their droppings! Unfortunately, we took home a souvenir from that hour-long nature walk: tick bites, and eventually tick bite fever. We were warned that the area was known for ticks, and though we dressed appropriately and checked ourselves after the hour-long walk, we still got bit. If you had to award a trophy to a member of the staff, who would it be and what did they do to earn it? Our safari guide's passion about what he did—he was a twenty-something city transplant turned outdoorsman—made us want to quit our jobs and be guides right alongside him. We peppered him with questions constantly, and he answered everything knowingly, with humor and detail. Bottom line: Was this property worth the money, time, and effort to get here?1,000 percent." - Laura Dannen Redman

"This 70,560-acre private game reserve sits in northern KwaZulu-Natal, not far from the Indian Ocean on the east coast of South Africa..."

"The reserve is the starting point for the journey of white rhinos to Akagera. It has been fighting poaching with measures like thermal drones and anti-poaching dog units. It also trims rhino horns to deter poachers, and offers this as a guest experience." - Jennifer Flowers

"Phinda's monitoring team offers limited-time conservation experiences focusing on predator research, including cheetah spotting, camera trapping, radio tracking, veterinary work, and data analysis." - Rachel Rebibo