‘I think I got lucky,’ said our guide of the same name. Whether he was telling the story of the blinkblaar tree and how its thorns represent the twists and turns in life – with forward- and backward-facing thorns at each node – or sharing the story of how he turned to conservation, he had us captivated. He was just 8 years old when he was invited to the Kruger, a defining moment in his young life.

Out on safari, Lucky shared stories with as much skill as he tracked animals. He loves to chew blinkblaar leaves. We did the same, not expecting the citrusy, vinegary flavours of fresh blinkblaar shoots bursting in our mouths. Together we watched a waking rhino yawn slowly on a misty morning, took in the sheer beauty of a lone acacia tree lighting up at sunrise, grasses glistening with dew. We followed cheetah on the hunt, watched a giraffe’s tongue deftly strip treetops of leaves. Classic bushveld moments.

And the story behind Esiweni? ‘When Adèle – our daughter – was born, we wanted to offer her something different from the life of a little Parisian girl,’ says Esiweni’s co-owner, Sophie Vaillent. ‘My husband, Ludovic, and I were both based in Paris – me in finance, he in the film industry. We searched for a while, and then one day we arrived in Nambiti. We saw this lodge perched on the cliff, we booked – and within the week, we had bought it. That was 12 years ago.

‘We are not only the owners of Esiweni, we are also its hosts. We live here all year round, in the heart of the reserve. With only five suites, our guests do not arrive at a large resort. They arrive at our home. And in a way, they also arrive at their own home in Africa,’ explains Sophie.

Cats, cascades and cliffs…

For seasoned safari-goers, a defining experience is undoubtedly the entirely unexpected joy of swimming beneath black basalt cliffs at the foot of a swirling, cascading waterfall after a surprise riverside lunch. The thrill of being able to swim in a Big Five reserve was not lost on us as we headed off with Lucky in search of buffalo but were rewarded instead by lions on the move.

‘What we love most,’ shares Sophie, ‘is recreating for our guests the emotions that made us fall in love with Africa: the thrill of an early morning safari, breakfast in the bush, lunch on the banks of the Sundays River, sundowners facing the valley, or the absolute silence of a hot-air balloon flight at dawn.’ Guests recently drifted in a balloon over a mother cheetah and her two cubs walking deep in the long plains grass below. Simply unforgettable.

Now imagine taking to the skies to explore more of KwaZulu-Natal from here? A scenic helicopter flip reveals the Drakensberg in all its splendour – cathedral-like peaks and velvety, emerald-green ravines. Sheer cliffs rise here with almost-Alpine majesty, yet the countryside is unmistakably African with cows and goats grazing below in fields of wild-flowering cosmos. On a clear day, you may even glimpse Tugela Falls, the continent’s highest waterfall (and the second tallest in the world), cascading from the escarpment. Once smitten, you’ll want to return to hike these extraordinary peaks, the perfect combination with a Big Five safari.

‘For families, Esiweni Lodge is also a remarkably easy destination: a malaria-free reserve, easily accessible from Johannesburg or Durban, where grandparents, parents and grandchildren can share a genuine African adventure together. And many families and groups of friends choose to take over the entire lodge – finding themselves with their very own safari lodge, just for them, in the middle of a Big Five reserve’, explains Sophie. ‘Here, you’re likely to come as a guest and leave as a friend.’

Written by Michelle Snaddon