South Africa Safari Camps-andBeyond Phinda Vlei Lodge

One stop during my trip to South Africa was the Phinda Private Game Reserve, in the KwaZulu-Natal area.  The reserve had four options for accommodations, and we chose the Vlei Lodge.  The Vlei Lodge was in fact a camp set up, not a large lodge.  The thatch roofed chalets were separated from each other by bushes and trees, which created a nice sense of privacy.  The rooms and the large bathrooms were beautiful.  The main building was at the center of the camp, just a two minute walk down a path.  The main building had a nice sitting area and shady deck looking out over the vlei (grassy area) in addition to dining tables.  Lunch and breakfast were served outside on the deck, which was lovely and warm mid-day.  

One day we had lunch on our own porch, but ended up running inside with our trays to get away from the little monkeys that constantly scampered around the camp!  At the main building, the monkeys still tried to take food, but they were afraid of the employees and a little less bold about jumping right on your table.

To me, the highlight of the game viewing at Phinda was the number of rhino sightings. Rhinos are hunted illegally for their horns throughout Africa, and the poachers are hard to stop in some areas.  Phinda has done an amazing job keeping the poachers at bay, largely due to their good relationship with the local community.  The reserve's land is actually leased from the local community and they have a mutually beneficial financial partnership.  People in the community alert their friends on the anti-poaching force if they see someone new or suspicious in the area. We saw rhino each day we went on game drives, and were lucky enough to spot this baby rhino at the water hole with his mother. 

Other sightings included elephants, giraffe, buffalo, hippos, a group of three cheetah brothers, and two prides of lions.  As you can see above, the one pride had several young lions that were a riot to watch.  At times, you had to drive a bit between good sightings, but overall there was a good variety of game in the reserve and the trackers did an excellent job of finding the animals.  We had at most six people per open topped vehicle, so nobody sat in the dreaded middle seat where the view is not good.  

Another note about Phinda Vlei Lodge-the food was out of this world.  A woman named Happiness was the chef, and she was an incredible cook.  Homemade bread and desserts, imaginative and varied menus, and lots of fresh fruit and produce from the area all made for memorable meals.  She was sure to make a vegetarian option for me at each meal, and they were all exceptional.

We reached Phinda by flying from Cape Town to the Durban airport, where an andBeyond driver met us.  It was about a three hour drive on good roads with sugarcane and pineapple fields and a few villages along the way.  We left from the Phinda airstrip to fly onto the airstrip at Ngala, our next safari camp.

It was too chilly in June to use the private plunge pool, but the animals made very good use of the fresh water!  An elephant came to drink out of the pool next door, but sadly, passed right by ours.

For more information, visit 
www.andbeyond.com/phinda-vlei-lodge/