Phinda Private Game Reserve

Phinda was assembled from about twenty degraded farms in 1991, fences pulled down and game brought back, and it now runs to roughly 30,000 hectares carrying seven distinct habitats - the rare dry sand forest, mountain bushveld, palmveld, marsh, woodland, grassland and riverine forest - which is unusual density for a single property and the reason the ecology is interesting. The name means the return. Cheetah do particularly well in the open sections and Phinda has a strong record for sightings and for research on the species; black rhino were brought in through a WWF range expansion project, and the reserve runs conservation work that guests can sometimes join. Drives are guided with tracker, off-road following is allowed, and walking safaris operate. It is a high-end product like the Kruger private reserves, and it is malaria-area but with a lower risk than Kruger's north.

What you actually see

• The seven habitats - including rare sand forest, in one reserve.
• The cheetah record - open country that makes this a strong reserve for sightings.
• The restoration - twenty farms returned to bush since 1991.
• The black rhino project - animals moved here under a range expansion programme.

When to go

May to September. Three days. Booked through lodges only.

Honest expectations

Lodge rates only, at the upper end of the market; there is no day access or self-drive. Drives run to a fixed morning and evening schedule. Summer is hot and humid with malaria risk. Sand forest sightings are slow by design - it is dense habitat.

Nearby

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi is west; the iSimangaliso coast is east.