Quick glance at the watch… shew, just past midday… a respectable time to indulge in one of the pleasures of hot African days. And it keeps away the malaria of course…

The Timbavati is not what you’d expect from a river. It’s broad, yes, and sweeps through some of the most beautiful bushveld in Southern Africa, sure, but there’s rarely a trickle to be seen. It may look dry, but there’s a reason animals flock here and huge marula trees grow on its banks. Dig away a metre or so of the fine white sand, bleached by the relentless sun, and you’ll soon find water welling up from below.

The river is a lifeline for the elephant that dig down to the hidden water, as well as the myriad species that come after them. It’s also the main attraction of the deck at the exquisite Ngala Tented Camp.

'Pitched' on the banks of the broad Timbavati River as it makes its way eastwards towards the Kruger National Park, it has a style and elegance missing from so any other lodges. Gone are the buffalo heads above the fireplace; in their place a bright African headdress. No zebra skin couch here, rather chic retro chairs in green corduroy. Rough stone walls replace tacky prints of Africa’s Big Five, and you half expect Meryl Streep to come wafting through the colonial screen doors at any moment.

With just six safari tents pitched around the shady garden it’s also one of the more intimate camps around. There are never more than 12 guests at the lodge, so you can be certain that each member of staff will greet you by name in the morning, and remember whether you take your evening G&T as a single or a double.

The perfect spot for a bit of starkers star-gazing

Just don’t have too many and go wandering through the gardens at night… grumpy buffalo bachelors often wander through, along with anything that can duck under the two strands of electrified fence intended to keep the elephant out. Hmmm... anything smaller than an elephant? That doesn’t leave much.

'Tents?'… I hear you say. Well, 'tent' is perhaps a bit of a misnomer. Ngala’s six canvas suites are a far-cry from the sprung camp-bed and paraffin lamp you may remember from school outings and if you’re expecting to rough it you’re going to be disappointed. Ngala’s guests have to make-do with air-conditioning, king-size beds and a stunning outdoor shower with a front-row view of Orion’s Belt. The perfect spot for a bit of starkers star-gazing.

G&Ts aside, it’s the great game-viewing that will have you smiling at Ngala Private Game Reserve. While the reserve itself is a modest 14 000 hectares, the fences have been dropped on both the western border with the Timbavati, and to the east with the Kruger National Park, creating an enormous area for game, and their predators, to migrate through.

This does of course mean that you could see the self-same animals in the Kruger Park for a fraction of the cost, but if you really want to get up close and personal with the wild — and not so wild — life of the bushveld a guided safari is hard to beat. Did you know, for instance, that the bark of the corkwood tree can be used to suck the oxygen out of water (useful if you’re fishing without a rod), or that wood from the poisonous tamboti tree can put a serious damper on your braai? All things you’d probably never guess as you barrel along on a self-drive trip.

It's not (just) about the buffalo

It’s not all about the game though. In between your morning and evening game drives, guests can (and should) take a break from lazing by the pool to experience another side of South Africa’s safari capital.

Most of the staff at Ngala come from the nearby Welverdiend community where CC Africa, through the non-profit Africa Foundation that it funds, is heavily involved in making conservation count for the local people living alongside the reserves.

Do your bit...

Lotus Khoza, who drives the various upliftment projects in the area for the Foundation, leads fascinating tours through the local community to show how conservation can benefit both locals and tourists.

Lotus Khoza is a local hero.

Whether it’s new classrooms at the local primary school, providing water at the High School (which managed an astonishing 87 percent matric pass rate in 2006, despite appalling facilities) or supporting local healthcare initiatives, it’s heart-warming to see how much good work is being done and to remind yourself that there’s more to the Lowveld than big five safaris and luxury lodges.

As Nelson Mandela once observed: "Ultimately conservation is about people. If you don’t have sustainable development around these reserves, then people will have no interest in them and the parks will not survive."

Judging by the smiles on the faces of both tourists and locals, conservation and community upliftment seem to be working hand in hand in this corner of South Africa.

For more info...
• Ngala Private Game Reserve is a five hour drive from Johannesburg, or 2½ hours from Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport in Nelspruit.
• For more information and to book, visit www.ccafrica.com or call +27 11 809 4300.