We had a wonderful trip from Sept-Oct this year to Phinda Forest Lodge in KwaZulu-Natal then to Sabi Sands-Kirkman's & Exeter Dulini. We were very happy with all of the camps we stayed in. We had a extra day before Phinda so we stayed in a B&B -Lodge Afrique in St. Lucia. We loved it. The advice we got on this forum really made a difference to our trip. Especially from christabir & cary999/tom.
We had wonderful weather. Saw the big 5 at every camp + so much more.
I do still need to get a trip report together, but just a quick comment because a lot of what you mention is where we were in decision making back in March. I wish I had added another day or 2 to see Victoria Falls, but I can not imagine that it would have compared in the least to the safari experiences that were our priority. We were not disappointed. It was spectacular! Have a wonderful trip.

cristeen, Is Phinda a must see in your opinion? How would you compare it to Sabi Sands? We are trying to decide if going to Phinda is worth the extra cost since this may be our only opportunity to get to Africa.

We loved Phinda. We were there for 4 nights and were able to see all of the different habitats. We saw lots of elephant, lions, cheetah everything. The only animal we did not see as much was leopard. If you want to see a LOT of leopard, then Sabi Sands is the way to go. Personally, I liked seeing the big 5 but also really enjoyed seeing all the different animals.
In Sabi Sands we had the time to view the animals but did have to move on after a while. Because it was usually another leopard, we did not mind so much. We very often passed another vehicle from another Sabi Sands camp. In Phinda we saw vehicles from our own camp, but no where near as many as we saw at Sabi Sands. We also, were able to stay and view the animals longer but there was often a call for something new.
Either choice is a wonderful option in my opinion.