Visi – July 2019

ade up of private concessions, Sabi

Sand Game Reserve is the undis-

puted sharp edge of safari in South

Africa. It offers almost-guaranteed

up-close encounters with leopards,

lions and other predators. With the

opening of Tengile River Lodge (“tengile” is the Tsonga

word for “tranquil”), &Beyond has raised the bar in this

fiercely competitive arena, already resplendent with

big- hitting lodges such as Singita and Londolozi.

With demand for five-star beds in Sabi Sand Reserve

at an all-time high, upending existing expectations of

traditional safari lodge design was long overdue.

“We wanted to give our guests what they crave

most: space,” says &Beyond CEO Joss Kent.

At 200 m^2 , the nine guest suites are currently the

largest rooms in the reserve. Designed by safari experts

Nicholas Plewman Architects to exacting eco-friendly,

energy-efficient standards, the lodge quietly inhabits

the riverine forest on a curve of the Sand River.

Of the low-slung buildings, Nicholas says, “They’re

designed to be a well-considered framework for the

guest experience rather than trying to be the ex-

perience itself.” The buildings feature unobtrusive

flat roofs coated in sand from the site and seamless

terrazzo floors. These are flecked with crushed stones

from the track beds of the historical Selati Railway

Line that once ran through the Lowveld, transporting

gold from Johannes burg’s mines to the coastal port of

then Lourenço Marques.

Inspiration was taken from the pioneering spirit of

a former landowner, Harry Kirkman, who made the

transition from big-game hunter to conservationist,

serving as section ranger in the Kruger National Park

between 1933 and 1958. Interior designer Michele

Throssell’s bold and glamorous interpretation of an

adventurous life in the bush incorporates burnished

“WE LOOKED INTO THE DETAILS OF THE SURROUNDS, FROM THE DAPPLED SUNLIGHT FILTERING THROUGH

THE TREES TO THE PATTERNS AND TEXTURES OF RIVER SAND,BARK AND, OF COURSE, PLANTS AND ANIMALS.”

M

ABOVE Inspiration for the lodge design came from

the river and its inhabitants, &Beyond Kirkman’s

Kamp, the historical Selati Railway Line and the

views back across from the river bank.

OPPOSITE TOP The lodge design is respectful to

the landscape, blending into its river setting so it

is almost invisible to the passerby, be they human

or animal.

OPPOSITE BOTTOM The endangered African wild

dog is doing well in Sabi Sand Game Reserve.

It’s often called a painted wolf, after its scientific

name, Lycaon pictus. It is, in fact, neither a dog

nor a wolf, but is the only species in its genus.

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