Only the wild will call you

Minutes after I walked into my room at Imbali Safari Lodge, the phone rang.

"There is an elephant at the watering hole. Come quickly," said the lodge manager, Arno du Preez, at the other end of the landline.

Even without such personalised calls, there was no mistaking I was in a luxury lodge.

The secluded place overlooks the N'waswitsontso River in the Kruger National Park, behind which is a watering hole where elephant, rhino and other game appear from the far reaches of the park to drink, unaware of the guests nearby.

The lodge is set behind no entry roads on the private 10000-hectare Mluwati concession.

It feels remote, untouched, and far from traffic and hordes of tourists.

There is no cellphone signal. I found it surprisingly refreshing not to be reaching for my phone to tweet each animal sighting.

After the only call I received, I hurried to the lounge - to find I had missed the elephant by minutes. The animal had wandered off into the distance.

Before disappointment set in, Wesley Cragg, the game ranger, promised us a sunset game drive. These guided game drives made even the inevitable flocks of impala, seen round every corner, riveting spotting. When we stopped to take photographs, Cragg heard a rustling in the trees. It was the sound of an elephant approaching.Of course none of us city dwellers had noticed.

We waited quietly until the elephant appeared.

Cragg offered explanations about animals' behaviour and finally made it clear to me why tourists prefer to be driven around the park rather than sit behind the wheel.

"Do you know why a giraffe is called a kameelperd?" he asked.

"Because it walks like a camel and runs like a horse."

Back at the lodge and frozen after the night drive, with inevitable dust on my face, I was greeted at the entrance with a warm facecloth and a welcome drink before stepping into the luxurious and warm indoors.

The next day, I left Imbali Safari Lodge to stay at Hoyo Hoyo Tsonga Lodge, also on the concession.

Hoyo Hoyo offers thatched accommodation built in the style of the local Tsonga tradition.

We were treated to a large fire, cooked game meat and traditional food under the starry skies.

When an American tourist tapped my shoulder to tell me a rhino was at the watering hole opposite our large fire, I thought she was joking. But there it was - drinking undisturbed under the spotlight hanging from a tree near the water .

It wasn't surprising when later the hosts, fresh from dancing, offered to walk us back to our private bungalows for the night, just in case there was an animal lurking behind a tree.

In the morning, I had an open-air shower and was offered a foot or neck massage.

On our last game drive that evening, we arrived at a wetland in the middle of the dry savannah for surprise sunset drinks and snacks to the sound of lions .

We sat and watched the sun disappear, and then thought it best to get on with the game drive.

After returning to the lodge, and warming my face with a hot scented cloth, I told the guide: "I am not ready to leave."

"We hear those words often," he said, smiling.

FACT BOX

Getting there

• Hoyo Hoyo Tsonga Lodge and Imbali Safari Lodge are in the Kruger National Park, closest entry is Orpen gate.
• It is about a five-hour drive by car from Johannesburg.
• Or you can fly, using Airlink flights from OR Tambo or Cape Town International Airport to Nelspruit. After the brief flight, catch a two-hour transfer from Nelspruit Airport to the lodge. Airlink also flies to Livingstone from Nelspruit - so you can plan a Kruger trip and then fly on to Livingstone.

Readers' offer

The cost per person sharing per night, including three meals and two game drives, is:

• Hoyo Hoyo Tsonga Lodge: R1990. Rates don't apply during the peak period December 21-January 3.
• Imbali Safari Lodge: R2110. Rates don't apply during the peak period December 21-January 3.