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You may be in darkest Africa, but you'll be amazed by the very high standards you'll encounter for both service and accommodations. The latter range from fairly basic in the Kruger Park huts to the ultimate in luxury at most of the private camps. You may forget that you are in the bush until an elephant strolls past. The advantage of a private lodge (apart from superb game-viewing) is that often everything is included—lodging, meals, beverages, including excellent house wines, game drives, and other activities. It's essential to note that there are no elevators in any lodging facility in Mpumalanga or in Kruger.
Prices at most guest establishments on the escarpment include a three- to five-course dinner plus a full English breakfast. Most places have at least one vegetarian course on the menu. Many lodges and hotels offer special midweek or winter low-season rates. If you're opting for a private game lodge, find out whether they accept children (many specify only kids over 12), and stay a minimum of two nights, three if you can.
In Kruger National Park you have the choice between budget self-catering huts from R530 per person per night and much more expensive (but worth it) self-catering cottages in the more remote and exclusive bushveld (bushveld is the generic term for the wild indigenous vegetation of the lowveld) camps, which range from R580 to R685 per person. Visit the South African National Parks website (www.sanparks.org) to get information and book accommodations. Make sure you book well in advance and, if possible, avoid July, August, and December, which are South African school vacations.
If you want to make the most of the viewpoints along the Panorama Route (and get the best photographs), this old-school holiday resort with campsites, self-catering chalets, and a restaurant, is your best bet. Don't expect oodles of personality, you're here for the location---epic views all to yourself (ask for directions to World's End). There are also horse rides and mini-golf.
In the center of Kruger, Olifants has the best setting of all the camps: high atop cliffs on a rocky ridge with panoramic views of the distant hills and the Olifants River below. A lovely thatch-sheltered terrace allows you to sit for hours with binoculars and pick out the animals below. Lions often make kills in the river valley, and elephants, buffalo, giraffes, kudu, and other game come to drink and bathe. Try to book one of the thatch rondavels overlooking the river. It's a charming old camp, graced with wonderful indigenous trees. The only drawback, particularly in summer, is there's no pool.
This large, nostalgically old-fashioned camp, close to the Numbi Gate in southwest Kruger, makes a good overnight stop or touring base. The rocky kopjes and steep ridges that characterize the surrounding landscape provide ideal habitat for mountain reedbuck and klipspringers—antelope not always easily seen elsewhere in the park. The area's sourveld—so named because its vegetation is less sweet and attractive to herbivores than other kinds of vegetation—also attracts browsers like giraffes and kudu, as well as white rhinos, lions, and wild dogs. There's not a lot of privacy in the camp—accommodations (rondavels, bungalows, cottages, and guesthouses) tend to overlook each other—but there is some shade, plus a great swimming pool set into the rock. Some great-value accommodation in the huts if you're willing to share communal bathrooms and outdoor kitchen facilities.
Built of local Sabie stone, this charming bed-and-breakfast is the perfect base for exploring Mpumalanga's scenic attractions. The guest rooms (some wheelchair-friendly) are all animal-themed and attractively furnished with comfy beds, colorful bedspreads and soft furnishings, a minibar-refrigerator, and tea and coffee making facilities. A hearty English breakfast, served in the breakfast room or on the patio, is part of the deal. Guests have free use of the garden, guest lounge, swimming pool, and patio. Barbecue facilities are available, and by special arrangement a complete evening braai (barbecue) for guests in the boma (outdoor eating area) can be arranged.
On top of a hill a few minutes' walk from the center of town, these self-catering cottages are very good value. The delightful cottages are all miners' homes dating from 1920. From their verandas are spectacular views of the town and surrounding mountains. Interiors are furnished with period reproductions, complete with wooden floors, brass bedsteads, and claw-foot tubs. Each cottage consists of a small living room, two double bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, and a bathroom. There's also a 3-bedroom cottage and a 4-person house. Phone reservations can be made only weekdays 9–4, and if you arrive after hours, you'll pick up keys from the Royal Hotel.
