Where to wow your visiting friends on their first safari

Holidays on home soil are always satisfying, but there’s something extra special about a sho’t left with foreign friends, especially ones who have never set foot in Africa. A vicarious first-time safari only underlines what a privilege it is. But the planning does come with pressure – one shot to deliver maximum fireworks.

I’d been friends with American Bart since the advent of the internet, so when he finally booked his first trip to South Africa late last year, a safari side quest was mandatory. But where? For me, a lodge break can be about the fresh air, birdsong and bush views. Whatever wildlife happens to saunter into frame is a bonus. But for Bart’s first — and possibly only — safari, I wanted Lion King-level action, plus the finest hot-towels-and-high-thread-count hospitality that SA has to offer. Enter Babohi at Qwabi Private Game Reserve in the Waterberg.

Location-wise, the Waterberg made sense. Big skies, red earth, malaria-free, close enough to Joburg for a two-nighter but far enough to feel properly in the bush. With Qwabi being a Big Five reserve, and from other successful trips to the area, my hopes were high that the animal-sighting gods would play ball.

Babohi is one of three sister lodges in the 11,000ha reserve. Letamo, the largest one, is child-friendly and reachable by car from the reserve gate. Adults-only Babohi is deeper in, and only accessible by game vehicle. So the first order of business after arrival is to hand over the car keys and hop on a ride with a ranger.

That short transfer is a promising opening act — baboons and a few buck ready for their close-ups — before a gate slides open and the lodge appears up a steep, curving road. Through a set of carved wooden doors lies the main lodge: a vast, open-plan hall of timber beams, stone walls and polished concrete floors. A sunken lounge centres on a long, double-sided fireplace, with dining tables and a bar glowing under black pendants on the other side. Clearly, this is a place for people who like design magazines as much as game drives.

Check-in confirms that Babohi delights in details. Three scents — aloe and cucumber, sandalwood, rooibos and honey — are presented in small bottles, and we are each invited to choose one. Our selections will scent our separate suites for the duration of the stay.

A golf cart carries us to our chalets tucked into the hillside. Mine “deluxe” room is enormous — vaulted thatch ceilings and exposed beams above, cool stone underfoot. There’s a deep bath for post-drive soaks and robes and slippers in the generous closet. Alongside the minibar lies another thoughtful welcome note: a G&T station, complete with a choice of garnish: fresh-cut strawberries, lemons and cucumber.

My job is obvious: mix one and take it out to the pièce de résistance — my private deck, perched high above the valley. From here, the reserve falls away in a long, flat sweep below, a wide bowl of bushveld stretching towards the sandstone ridges at the far edge of the view. With ice clinking in my glass and the late-afternoon light turning the grasses gold, I think if nothing else shows up all weekend, there is already this.

TIME TO DINE

Since landing, Bart has been keen to try local delicacies — particularly “weird meats”. Biltong didn’t impress (“We call this jerky”), but his wild dreams come true at dinner, where one of the choices of mains is “wildebeest loin with quince jus”. He does not hesitate.

This dish (officially “awesome”), alongside my roasted lamb and supporting acts — baked brie with rooibos-and-honey reduction and a dark-chocolate parfait — all technical, creative and meticulously plated, prove a kitchen with high-end clout.

The next morning is the main event. We rise with the sun and sip coffee on the edge of the infinity pool, looking out across the sweep of bush below. There are already lions — pale specks at a distant waterhole. The ranger hands over his binoculars and the shapes solidify into muscle and mane.

The drive itself checks off a stream of animals so steady that it could be a choreographed show. Stage left, a pod of hippos blinking in a pool. Stage right, a chorus line of giraffes, warthogs, wildebeest and elephants. There’s a whimsical duet from a mommy and baby white rhino, and a sad solo from a cheetah pacing the fence line — looking for her injured cub, the ranger explains, presumed dead.

But it’s the lions that apparently think they’re auditioning for Africa’s Got Talent. They loll in the road. They pose on rocks. They pass so close to the vehicle that “seasoned me” feels nervous. At one stop, a frisky male stares up at a lioness on a rock. He’s keen; she’s playing hard to get. At another, we watch a different lioness go full cat and spring into a tree. When we take our break for rusks and Amarula coffee, chatting in a circle, the rave reviews are in. Hakuna matata.

The final dinner unfolds outdoors at tables lit by candles under a sky thick with stars. Around the fireside boma, grills sizzle and cast‑iron pots simmer — a five-star braai. We linger, full and content, with nowhere else to be and nothing left to prove. Babohi understood the assignment – and “knocked it out of the park”.

PLAN YOUR TRIP

WHERE IT IS: Adults‑only Babohi at Qwabi by Newmark is set in the Waterberg, a Unesco‑designated Biosphere Reserve, about 68km from Bela‑Bela, Limpopo. It is roughly 220km from Johannesburg. Transfers can be arranged by road or by helicopter.

WHAT IT HAS: An safari lodge with a wellness spa, gym, swimming pool, restaurant and two bars.

ACCOMMODATION: Babohi has 25 adults‑only rooms, ranging from deluxe rooms to luxury suites. All are generously sized and designed with privacy in mind, each with a patio and modern amenities. Some rooms include private plunge pools. For those wanting maximum space and seclusion, there is also a presidential‑style suite.

RATES: From R18,000 per room per night for two sharing, full board. Includes all meals and two game drives per day. Excludes transfers, spa treatments and conservation levy.

CONTACT: Call 021‑427‑5900, email reservations@newmarkhotels.com or visit the website.

.