To say that we were smitten with Kubili is an understatement. The vast expanse of rough-hewn granite that welcomes on arrival is Great Zimbabwe Ruins in scale and grandeur, but fast envelops you in soothing lines and wide open spaces with Asian-style, low-slung seating shaded by cantilevered roofs stretching out into the bush.
Yet there’s nothing understated about it – nothing. Its towering walls and graphic lines are softened by latte shadows that lengthen and shift hour-by-hour, constantly creating pattern and movement.
Heavy beams of reclaimed wood add a comforting touch of French farmhouse or Italianate villa. Flooring is cool underfoot and inlaid with copper detailing, and vast expanses of water add fluidity and a calmness that soothes on arrival.
Part Marrakesh riad, part bush lodge, part New York in its soul, Kubili is set on the largest expanse of water in the private Thornybush Game Reserve. There was nothing small about owner Julian Koski’s vision for sustainability either – no less than 30 geothermal wells are sunk three kilometres deep, keeping things cosy in winter and cool in summer, and the water is filtered on site.
The industrial-style kitchen can happily host Michelin star chefs: rows of gleaming copper pots, piles of black porcelain plates from interior designer Jacques Erasmus’s Basalt range (spotted by Julian at Hemelhuijs) and heavy gold teapots line the shelves.
Staff – in equally stylish uniforms – prepare the first cup of coffee for the day. It arrives on a stylish wooden tray (it’s as light-as-a-feather, and one that Julian couldn’t resist snapping up on a trip to Japan), is laid with a tiny black-and-white sugar box and a leather-clad white porcelain cup.
It’s early morning, and while sitting at Donna Karan’s dining table looking at images, a steaming bowl of mielie pap is placed in front of Julian. He is delighted – they’re exquisite gold-glazed, chalky white porcelain bowls and had literally just arrived at the lodge.
They’re being christened with the manager’s favourite recipe, handed down from her grandfather: porridge with whiskey and condensed milk. Drizzled with a circle of condensed milk (or two!), then filled with whiskey… yum! Breakfast was punctuated with fascinating stories behind the creation and design detailing of Kubili, which was originally intended as a legacy project and a dream family home.
The art of a scented safari
Architecturally, Kubili is on a scale that is atypical of any safari lodge but cocoons in a rather mystical way. Opening the heavy carved door to the villa after a morning game drive, the subtle scent of incense still floating in the air and the bathroom gently reminiscent of the heavenly tuberose bath salt ritual.
Scent is the cocooning link here, the mood board that has come together over time – literally inspired by a lifetime’s worth of travel memories to fascinating corners of the earth but mostly reflecting the couple’s heritage. Aida’s is Brazilian-Arabic and Julian’s strongly influenced by the exotic sub-Sahara.
Light streams through the elegant Art Nouveau-style Belgian bathroom door creating beautiful patterns on the cement floor and bouncing off the apothecary bath-ritual jars. Will it be African Thatchgrass or Tobacco next? It’s impossible to decide as a hot brunch beckons.
While settling in on the low-slung wooden chairs – also Donna Karan’s Urban Zen range – copper pans of hot shakshuka arrive – a traditional Moroccan poached egg dish done in a spicy tomato relish. Here, even the tea comes from a South African supplier Julian met in Manhattan, aromatic bitters is poured from antique Moroccan perfume bottles and cocktail stirrers handmade by Aida Koski, who is both jeweller and experienced chef and caterer back in New York. Lunch is served tapas style and the piccalilli is homemade – of course.
On game drives, animal-print glasses contrast with upcycled Hibiki Japanese whiskey bottles – too beautiful to waste, Julian loved their fluted glass design and cork stoppers so flew them back home where he had them engraved with Kubili’s twin logo (their twins Leo and Tess had a hand in creating Kubili too – you’ll find little handprints cast in concrete outside your door), and then brought bottles all the way out here – along with silver salt-and-pepper pots which he adapted as incense holders and a haul of vintage raincoats to make into travel bags.
Yet despite the bespoke detailing and luxurious comforts, which make Kubuli House a contender for the best safari experience in Africa, there’s something primal and grounding about Kubili and if you stay here long enough, you’ll find it hard to return to the real world.
Reviewed by Michelle Snaddon