Old Africa was evocative, enchanting, ever inspiring. And there’s a piece of it in the Sabi Sands – at Notten’s Bush Camp. Part of the fast 3.5 million hectare Greater Kruger National Park, this area has always been wilderness. Wildlife has always roamed free, and the Notten family has kept it all just as they found it when they bought the property nearly 60 years ago.

Now under custodianship of the forth generation of Notten, stately Notten’s Bush Camp was originally the family’s homestead before being opened to guests who wanted an authentic African bush experience. The camp is in prime Big Five territory, but there are at least another 140 mammal species to see too – including charismatic, endangered wild dogs. Actually, the reserve is home to over 2 000 different species of life. So regardless of your nature interest, you’ll find it here.

Notten’s operates similarly to other safari camps, with early morning game drives, returning for breakfast, a luscious afternoon high tea followed by a late afternoon game drive with sundowners, and then dinner in the boma around a crackling fire. What’s very different though is the palpable warmth and hospitality of the staff, who are like family. Spektor Mtabula joined Notten’s when it opened to guests in 1963; his son and now grandchildren still work there. Head Chef Henry Mnisi has been cooking up magic for over 30 years, and many other of the staff consider Notten’s their true home. You can feel it when you go there. A sense of community and belonging prevails. 

There are just nine spacious guest suites at Notten’s, with pared down décor reminiscent of the Colonial era and dusted with chic contemporary touches. All the creature comforts are there too, including air conditioning. The main lodge of Summer House, with its cool polished floors and understated natural furnishings, is where breakfast is served and sumptuous high tea in the afternoon. Fireside dinners are enjoyed in the outdoor boma, under the star-spangled Milky Way. It’s a feast of all things beautifully and authentically African, emphasised by the warm light of dozens of dancing candles and lamps that light the lodge at night. In every way Notten’s is the best of old Africa, but with no rough edges.

Posted by Keri Harvey

What we love!

• simple buffed wooden dining tables, bentwood chairs and stripwood floors of stately Summer House
• old-style hanging lanterns and ceiling fans
• paired down décor in muted earth tones in leather and linen, cowhide, horns and woven baskets
• the coffeetable fashioned from a tree root.
• splashes of vibrant colour in table décor
• an evocative collection of small black-and-white pictures on the lounge wall
• the gnarled tree growing freely through the main lodge deck

Need to know …

• this is a malaria area
• electric lighting is limited, but all suites have plug points and air conditioning
• access is by self-drive or fly-in on scheduled Air Link flights
• the camp is not fenced, so is open to both wilderness and wildlife
• there are additional excursions available to Kruger Park, a nearby Shangaan village, or to play golf at Skukuza in the Kruger Park.