1. IT'S THE CLASSIC SAFARI LODGE, ONLY BETTER
Back in the dark ages of the 1970s, bush lodges all had a certain theme - grey walls, thatched roofs and rolling lawns good enough to play golf on, spreading out under a canopy of trees.
The revamped Jock Safari Lodge, in a 6,000ha private concession in the Kruger National Park, takes the best of that style to remake the classic bush lodge.
There is a canopy of trees - a vital cooling aid in this sun-blasted corner of the country - and lots of open thatch, which not only gives the camp that seductive bush-camp feeling but also cools the air further in summer, and yet keeps the rooms warm on cold winter nights.
Its setting at the confluence of the dry Mitomeni and Biyamiti rivers completes the effect, as you gaze across the dry river bed at the greening jackalberry trees on the far bank, and listen to the profound silence that settles on the bush at midday.
2. YOU CAN SLEEP OUTSIDE
Each room has a private deck with some things that many other lodges lack: an outside shower, a claw-foot bath, and a vast sleeper bed, which you can ask to have made up to spend a night outside.
The decks overlook the rivers and they are high enough to deter any inquisitive elephants or predators, but to sleep in the soft night air and listen to the howls and chatters and snufflings and rustlings of creatures great and small is a rare treat.
On one drowsy spring afternoon, my nap was curtailed - not unhappily - by the foliage-stripping racket of a breeding herd of elephants working their way slowly up the Biyamiti River.
The nights are further spiced with the soft calls of fiery-necked nightjars and the faraway wails of jackals and unhinged giggling of hyenas.
3. IT'S ALL ABOUT CONSERVATION
Everything at Jock Safari Lodge is about conservation, beginning with the Niven family - the original owners and descendants of Sir Percy Fitzpatrick - who in 1982 built an elephant-proof fence around the lodge to protect the trees which give the camp much of its character.
Jock's new owners, the Caleo Foundation, are committed to the cause.
The refurbished camp has been built to strict eco-standards and is audited every two years by both Kruger National Park and the environment and tourism department.
And while Jock's trackers are allowed to drive off-road at predator sightings on the concession, it is a guilty pleasure and done with extreme care.
The lodge is also closely involved with efforts to protect rhinos, wild dogs, lions and martial eagles, as well as the highly endangered ground hornbill, numerous of which hang out on the concession.
4. THE ABUNDANT HERDS
This part of Kruger is flush with animals. I haven't seen so many elephants in one place since I was a kid in the Tuli Block in southern Botswana. Add rhinos, buffalo, and decent lion and leopard populations - and at least one pack of wild dogs (we followed them loping down the road on an early morning game drive) - and you understand why Kruger is such a precious jewel.
Lots of glossy impala, kudu, steenbok, zebra and bushbuck keep things nicely balanced, as do the almost suicidal scrub hares that line the roads at night - and which you will see because the concessionaires are allowed to do game drives after dark, when the wild things shake off the day's torpor and go and do stuff like hunting.
Want to see the Big Five in one day? This is the place.
5. IT HAS THE BEST STORY
The camp is intimately tied up with the tale of Jock of the Bushveld, the dog that accompanied Sir Percy Fitzpatrick on his travels up and down the Old Delagoa Road, the traders' route that ran from the Pilgrim's Rest goldfields to what is now Maputo, in the waning years of the 19th century.
Jock's adventures, which Fitzpatrick used to tell as bedtime stories to his children, became a book, on the advice of Rudyard Kipling, whom Sir Percy counted among his friends.
The spirit of Jock is everywhere in the camp, from the memorabilia collected by the owners over the years to the lovely chapters of the book that are printed out every night and left on the pillows in the rooms.
6. THE FOOD IS GREAT
I once worked for a big-deal lodge operator, whose bosses reckoned they could feed their guests any old junk - and charge them the Earth - because the surroundings would make up for any shortcomings in the food.
I'm happy to say that Jock is not like this.
The cooking is done by a two-chef team, who make simple things taste wonderful. As obvious as that sounds, it's a tricky thing to do but they do.
It's been weeks since I was there but I wake every day thinking of the cheese and mushroom omelette, with a dash of chilli, they fed me one morning, a deeply satisfying conclusion to an interesting morning game drive.
7. TALKING OF GAME DRIVES
This is one of the best things about the private concessions: not only do they have their own exclusive areas to go game watching, they also have traversing rights over the Kruger National Park.
And while people in the Kruger rest camps cannot leave them before sunrise, or return after sunset, the private concessionaires are allowed to be out in the bush at the best times to see animals.
Now add the stellar company and ability of Jock's assistant manager and tracker Lazarus Mkhonto, and you'll never want to drive yourself in the bush again.
Plus there was a sundowner session on rocks overlooking the riverbed, where we sipped a few cold ones while a group of male elephants bathed in the sand. Going to the bush doesn't get better than this.
• Ash was a guest of Jock Safari Lodge
PLAN YOUR TRIP
SPECIAL READER OFFER
Rates are R8,960 pps per night, including all meals, game drives and guided walks as well as tea, coffee, water, and drinks on game drives.
The lodge is offering 10% off on all new direct bookings for May and June 2019, plus a R250 on-site credit voucher per person per stay (valid for spa treatments, premium wines and gift-shop purchases).
See jocksafarilodge.com, phone 013-010-0019 or mail reservations@jocksafarilodge.com. T&Cs apply...