There are only a couple of options for accommodation in Pafuri, the far northern section of Kruger National Park (near the Zimbabwean and Mozambican borders), and the Outpost is the most luxurious. Located in a community-owned 26,500-hectare concession within Kruger, the lodge has an incredible setting on a rise high above the Levuvhu River Valley. The 12 rooms, perched on stilts and linked by wooden walkways populated with a friendly family of dassies, overlook the vast valley of baobabs. Each room has floor-to-ceiling blinds that roll up, revealing spectacular 180-degree views of the valley. Bathing here is a real treat – lying in the deep tub on the edge of the room, watching night fall over this wilderness area is simply magical.

Room furnishings are simple, but modern and sleek – as is the design of the lodge as a whole. Unlike most South African bush lodges, which are modelled on a traditional khaki-toned aesthetic influenced by traditional thatched African huts, the Outpost looks like a contemporary-cool designer warehouse: picture minimal lines complemented by steel, polished concrete floors and a palette of charcoal greys.

There are two game drives offered each day with excellent well-trained guides, but if you want to get more from your bush experience, choose to do a walking safari. You’ll need to reserve ahead in order to book a guide who will take be able to take you out on foot (for walks of whatever length you choose) to discover not just the big animals, but so much more than you’d see on a game drive, from insects and birds to trees and plants.

Pafuri is one of the most beautiful areas of Kruger: a land of baobabs, dramatic gorges, fever tree forests and mopane woodland. The region is little visited, partly because it’s a further drive north from Johannesburg, and partly because it gets less Big Five game than in the southern areas of the park. Therein lies its charm: even during the peak Kruger season, when the southern roads are congested with game-viewing traffic, Pafuri is blissfully quiet, and you may drive for hours without seeing another car.