andBeyond Ngala Safari Lodge

andBeyond Ngala Safari Lodge sits inside Ngala Private Game Reserve in Mpumalanga, on an unfenced boundary with Kruger National Park. Because there is no fence, elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, white rhino, giraffe, spotted hyena, and African wild dog move freely through the reserve. Ngala means lion in Shangaan, and the reserve holds several lion prides.

The lodge has twenty-one thatched cottages set under mopane and tamboti trees, each with a private veranda and ensuite bathroom. Three of the cottages are family units: two interlinked suites with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The Family Villa, positioned near a weeping boerbean tree on the banks of the seasonal Mapone River, has three bedrooms, a private pool, and a dedicated vehicle for its guests. The main lodge has a thatched structure housing the bar, dining room, and sitting areas, with a swimming pool that looks out over riverine woodland and a boma used for evening meals.

Breakfast and lunch are served under the weeping boerbean tree beside the lodge. Evening game drives continue after dark. Guided game walks and big-game tracking on foot are included. Additional activities include rhino notching, a photographic safari vehicle fitted with camera mounts for up to four guests, a helicopter flight over Blyde River Canyon, and an overnight at the Ngala Treehouse — a raised sleep-out platform with a king-size bed, hot shower, and no artificial light, set away from the main lodge inside the reserve.

A WILDchild programme runs for younger guests. Spa treatments use Healing Earth products.