Marataba Safari Lodge

Marataba holds a private concession within Marakele National Park, in the Waterberg range north of Johannesburg. The setting is unusual for a South African safari lodge: broad grassland plains cut by rivers, with red sandstone mountains rising on every side rather than flat bushveld to the horizon.

Fifteen tented suites line a riverbank, built with high canvas ceilings, glass walls and deep verandas. The design is open and pale rather than dark and colonial, and the main deck and pool look directly across the floodplain.

Because the concession is exclusive to the lodge, game drives encounter no other vehicles. Alongside conventional drives there are boat trips on the Matlabas River and, from the sister Marataba Conservation Camps, walking and active conservation experiences. The reserve is malaria-free and reachable by road from Johannesburg in about three and a half hours.