I Saw the Big Five Within 24 Hours at This Newly Reopened South African Safari Lodge

"The lodge is in the private Sabi Sands Game Reserve, on the edge of South Africa's Kruger National Park, one of the best places on the continent to see iconic wildlife. (I saw the Big Five within 24 hours, which is relatively common.) A highlight of my stay was finding two fluffy leopard cubs clumsily clambering all over their mother. A female leopard even wandered right through camp one afternoon, such is these animals' level of unbotheredness."

"Sometimes the dynamic has obvious tensions, but on this trip, I was relieved to be with a duo that seemed to genuinely like each other. And then the rest: a white rhino mother grazing with her calf; two old elephant bulls effortlessly uprooting a tree to access the leafy higher branches; a coalition of male lions munching on a recently-killed buffalo; kudus-large antelopes with big ears and spiral horns on the males-barking at a leopard to shoo her out of their space."

Lion Sands Ivory Lodge reopened nearly a year after a fire destroyed its main area, rebuilt with an elevated main area and eight 1,500-square-foot one-bedroom suites along the Sabie River. The lodge sits in the private Sabi Sands Game Reserve on the edge of Kruger National Park, a premier area for Big Five sightings often within 24 hours. Leopard cubs and an unbothered female leopard regularly move through camp. Tracker-and-guide teams operate on drives, spotting snakes and spider nests while showcasing close encounters with rhinos, elephants, lions and kudus. Food and spa treatments complement the wildlife focus.

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