Kurisa Moya Forest Lodge Cabins, Magoebaskloof

Where Ents Moot

Picture this view X 360 degrees and you will have some idea of life amongst the trees at Kurisa Moya Forest Lodge Cabins. This is an ancient forest where Ents Moot. At night, if you listen very well, you will hear them move about and speak in their whispery way – though not during the day when they stand tall and dignified.

In a not-so-rustic treehouse raised on stilts, within 422 hectares of indigenous forest, Kurisa Moya is a birders' paradise. Accredited Birdlife SA guide David Letsoalo will reveal the many wonders of this pristine location to you, including a Bat Hawk nesting site. Set between Tzaneen and Polokwane in the spectacular Magoebaskloof in Limpopo, there is plenty to do other than birding, such as hiking, elephant-back safaris, swimming in dams and waterfalls.

At night you can return to your private treehouse, with a fireplace, deck with Weber braai, and kitchen with a gas stove. Double glass doors and surround-windows allow one to feel connected to the forest at all times. The treehouse has a double bed, ensuite bathroom with shower, and mezzanine with twin beds under a glass apex. Everything is wooden, even the cutlery rack, made from a branch with helpful hooks. There is no electricity and the respect for the natural environment is clear in every aspect of the lodge.

Accommodation Experience

I go out at dusk to fetch something from the car. Suddenly the forest feels very much alive – there is movement in the trees and under the bushes right next to my feet. I have a sense that the forest has been waiting for humans to retreat and that my presence is revealing a different life at night. I have to stop myself from running across the little bridge across the stream back to the safety of my treehouse.

I am happy my house is on stilts and I light a fire to create a warm glow. As soon as I am settled in at the fire in the safety of this cosy space I am able to reflect quite happily on the privilege of being in such a pristine world. I feel alive and very much connected to the ancient forest and all the creatures who call this beautiful patch of the earth home.

Waterbessiebos Cottage, Tzaneen

Following the light through the trees

I could happily spend a week in this treehouse style cottage, doing little other than watching the light move through the trees. This is a surprisingly comfortable spot from which to do so, with a spacious open-plan structure and unique architecture. The house on stilts is made up of interesting shapes, with a bow-like deck jutting out into the forest garden. Sitting at the pretty round table and chairs on the deck one may enjoy warm tea and buttery toast as you sink into a simpler way of being.

Inside Waterbessiebos Cottage, there is no treehouse grunge here – the fittings are modern, with a well designed kitchen. Zig-zag cupboard handles in brushed silver contrast with the rich grain of the wood. The floors have a laminate wood finish and the walls all end in glass skylights. An artistic eye has combined grey and red in the corner lounge which makes the most of the forest views with full height windows.

In the en-suite bathroom there is a wide, deep stone bath, with matching basin and tiles. A pair of luscious, thick, soft grey gowns hang behind the door.

Accommodation Experience

It is night and an owl hoots softly outside. It is hard not to feel blessed when and owl chooses your home for the evening, and it is especially hard not to feel blessed when you are retreating in such a calm and beautiful space as this. After the busy excitement and travel of the past few days, this place is like a coming home to myself in silence and solitude. 

There is a satisfying circularity to the idea of leaving home to come home to oneself, and this is the mystery offered by a particularly characterful stay like this treehouse.

I feel a gentle unwinding and I look forward to a long night’s sleep in the soft bed as much as I look forward to watching the morning light move through the trees.

Kosi Forest Lodge, Kosi Bay

Be there hippos

Sometimes glamping is so removed from the natural environment that you may as well stay in a hotel. Not this one. This is the “real deal” in terms of close contact with nature, of course combined with a good dose of plush comfort. Rustic and beautiful tents on raised wooden platforms in a nature reserve, Kosi ForestLodge gives a feeling of being amongst the trees. One of the Isibindi Africa characterful stays (see www.isibindiafrica.com), this is African safari style at its most authentic and lovely.

Each tent has a thatched roof, with half-wooden, half-canvas sides – the ideal way to feel both connected with the outdoors and safe and cozy from within. There are smooth wooden floors and a private deck with outdoor furniture. The beds are garnished with white linen and an African-style throw, and a wide, white mosquito net. An indoor basin, toilet and dressing area are separated from the bedroom. From the indoor dressing area one walks out to a heavenly bathroom – literally open to the night skies, with a generous bath, raised from the sand, and an open-air shower set under a pretty tree. The bathroom is completely private, with a natural reed wall all the way around. Happy sighs.

There is limited electricity, which adds to the safari feel. At night the path through the sand forest to dinner is lit with oil lamps. One may choose to have meals in the lounge, on the deck or at a boma with roaring campfire in the centre, with meals that are both generous and delicious.

The open bar is the gathering place to discuss the choice of adventure activities for the day, which include snorkeling, a Raffia Palm walk, kayaking or a boat ride through the lakes to a natural swimming beach.

With some intense discussion we choose the self-drive snorkeling option, and arrive to find a duffel bag packed with every possible convenience for our day trip. We feel like children, where a kind Mom has thought through every possible moment and has packed everything one might need for the day. After an hour's drive to the mouth of Kosi Bay, we spend a surreal time floating gently along the reef. Tired and happy we drive up to a viewpoint of the four lakes for our picnic lunch, squealing with delight when we open our packed picnic basket, which is full of interesting treats. We sit on our picnic blanket and nod with approval, saying “These people know how to keep a tourist happy.”

Accommodation Experience:

The next morning we wake at 7am after almost 10 hours of sleep. We lift every one of our tarpaulin awnings and watch the sun rise through the dappled forest. We speculate about the size of the critter we heard munching outside our tent at 3am. My partner insists it may have been a hippo, but I argue that sounds get magnified in the dark night such that it may have been a large grasshopper. We settle on the more likely scenario – that it was probably an antelope (albeit a very large one, mumbles my partner).

At 7.15am a flask of hot water and fresh milk arrives for our morning coffee, with a gracious and gentle “good morning.” I take my coffee out to a warm open-air bath and lie watching the run rise higher in the sky, while an Emerald-Spotted Wood Dove calls. 

Suddenly there is a loud honking, followed by a snort and grunt. “You see!” calls my partner. “There are hippo here.” “Yes,” I concede, “and it did sound rather close.”