Ultraluxe colonial style, of course, is not the only option in the bush. Exeter Lodge is a comfortable, upscale family place in the nearby Sabi Sand Game Reserve. You might not get a handwritten note on your pillow here, but there's a laid-back quality to this thatch-roofed lodge, and the game excursions tend to take a walk on the slightly wilder side. It is here, for example, that we have the mind-jolting experience of seeing those lionesses make their kill.
It is all enough to make me feel like Sir Richard Burton, the Victorian explorer who spent years in the jungles seeking the source of the Nile. On the other hand, lounging with a cocktail next to my private plunge pool on the deck of a Royal Malewane villa while a pair of impala wander across the meadow below, I can't help feeling like another Richard Burton, the one who might just glance up from the impala to find Liz, stretched on the facing chaise, Pimm's Cup in hand.
Royal Malewane
Six freestanding suites, one two-bedroom Royal suite (011-27-015-79-30-15-0; royalmalewane.com; from $776 per night).
Exeter Game Lodge
15 rooms (011-27-117-83-28-00; exeterlodges.com; from $560 per night).
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