Mapesu Wilderness Camp

Mapesu Wilderness Camp sits on a hillside inside the 12,500-hectare Mapesu Private Game Reserve in the far north of Limpopo, where the reserve shares a boundary with Mapungubwe National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site, close to the borders of Botswana and Zimbabwe. The camp holds ten tented units — Serengeti-style canvas on raised platforms — each with an en-suite bathroom including a bathtub, an outdoor shower, air conditioning, two twin beds or a double, a coffee and tea station, and a private patio that looks out over mopane woodland in a 180-degree arc. The campsite for those who prefer to sleep under canvas without services is 350 metres away.

Game drives run inside the reserve, where elephant, leopard, cheetah, African wild dog, buffalo, and hippopotamus have been recorded, and in Mapungubwe National Park next door. Night drives go out after dark, when bush babies, hyenas, and genets are active. The camp's conservation team runs endangered-species tracking on foot and by vehicle using telemetry — primarily wild dog and cheetah — and guests can join. Over 430 bird species have been recorded across the reserve and the adjoining park; specialist birding excursions are available.

The Kaoxa Rock Art Shelter, considered one of the ten most significant San rock art sites in South Africa, is reachable on a guided tour, as is Mapungubwe Hill, the site of the first Bantu kingdom in South Africa, with its associated museum. A pool, restaurant, bar, and spa are on site at the camp. Kruger National Park's Pafuri Gate is two and a half hours away by road.