andBeyond Phinda Rock Lodge

Phinda Rock Lodge sits on a cliff face inside andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, looking out over the valley below Leopard Rock. Six suites are built into the rock using stone and adobe, each with heavy wooden shutters and doors that open to a private plunge pool and a deck cantilevered over the drop. The outdoor showers face the valley and the open sky. Inside, each suite has a bath, separate shower, twin basins, and a separate WC. A communal sitting area and a game-viewing deck share the same outlook, and evening meals are served under hand-wrought chandeliers in the dining area.

Game drives go out in the early morning and late afternoon, continuing after dark. Guided walks run around the lodge for tracking and flora, and armed ranger-led walks head into the bush to find game on foot. Rhino tracking — following black rhino on foot with a ranger and tracker — is available as a separate activity. The reserve carries the Big Five.

Phinda is also close to the Maputaland coast. From the lodge you can reach Sodwana Bay for scuba diving on coral reef, join turtle-nesting excursions during the southern hemisphere summer when leatherback and loggerhead turtles come ashore, or spend a half-day on the beaches of the Indian Ocean. A Zulu village tour runs to a community just outside the reserve. An airport shuttle is available, and the lodge accepts credit cards.