Artfully sandwiched between forest and grassland in a unique wetland you’ll find the intimate Phinda Vlei (that’s ‘vlei’ as in ‘flay’). Just six plantation-shuttered suites, with their thatched roofs and quirky wallpaper, take you back in time to the sprawling turn of the century homesteads of KZN’s well-heeled sugarcane and pineapple barons. If you’re looking for unusual safari experiences, this is it. Harness your inner wildlife vet and lend a hand in the reserve’s many research and conservation programmes. How many people get to say they ear-notched a rhino or gave a pregnant elephant an ultrasound? Exactly.
*That’s short for KwaZulu-Natal. Best pronounced with a “zed” not a “zee”.
