Situated in the stunning Kwazulu-Natal province of South Africa, Phinda allows you to witness the fragility and strength of our untamed planet.
Embarking on what is my first safari at &Beyond’s Phinda Private Game Reserve Phinda Forest Lodge, one of the world’s first eco-designed lodges, offers remarkable wildlife encounters, awe-inspiring landscapes and an immersive connection to the local culture and community.
&Beyond has been a pioneer in responsible tourism for over three decades, operating safaris and tours across Africa, Asia, and South America, as well as unique expeditions to Antarctica. Their motto, ‘Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife, and Care of the People,’ reflects their commitment to making a positive impact on the planet and its inhabitants. During your stay, you can witness this ethos in action by participating in excursions that highlight conservation initiatives and community development projects led by Wild Impact, formerly known as the Africa Foundation.
Discovering the World with &Beyond
Since launching 33 years ago at Phinda, &Beyond has become South Africa’s global success story and now operates exclusive safaris and tours in Africa, Asia and South America, as well as expedition itineraries to Antarctica, living faithfully by its motto ‘Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife and Care of the People’. And our home for six days, Phinda Forest Lodge, is one of the world’s first eco- designed lodges and where it all began.
‘Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife and Care of the People’
Kenyan-born Joss Kent is the CEO of andBeyond and former CEO of Abercrombie & Kent, which was founded by his father and grandparents. Kent has ambitious plans to triple the company’s positive impact on conservation and local communities by 2030 through global expansion and partnerships.
Much of this work has been done through the Africa Foundation, which was set up by andBeyond in 1992 with the mission to empower and develop the local communities surrounding &Beyond lodges. In July 2024, Africa Foundation rebranded as Wild Impact. This marked their expansion beyond Africa, to Asia and South America, growing its global impact side-by-side with &Beyond. During our stay, we joined an excursion to see some of the projects created by Wild Impact, including hospitals and schools, sharing cultural experiences with the locals, and meeting a traditional Zulu doctor in a mud hut.
Staying at Phinda Forest Lodge
Built on an endangered sand forest where new species of fauna and flora have been discovered, Phinda Forest Lodge is a haven of calm. One of six lodges at Phinda, Forest Lodge has only recently been exquisitely refurbished, with each of the 16 lodges featuring floor-to-ceiling windows that offer views of the forest, where you can often glimpse striped nyalas grazing just a few feet away. The villas are vast in size, each with a distinct traditional African feel. In the main complex, there is a large central fire pit overlooking the bush, library, lounge and wooden walkways that protect the precious ground below.
Protecting African wildlife for future generations
Having acquired land from local farmers in the early 1990s, &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve returned 9,085 hectares to its ancestral owners, the Makhasa and Mnqobokazi communities, in 2007. Importantly, &Beyond and the local communities work closely together. What began with its cheetah breeding program now extends to the protection of rare black rhinos, white rhinos, lions, leopards, African pangolins and other wildlife, as well as caring for the rare and unique ecosystem itself. Fittingly, Phinda, which stretches 29,866 hectares and is situated close to the Indian Ocean, is derived from the Zulu phrase meaning ‘return of wildlife’. Unlike Sabi Sands, which is part of Kruger National Park with open borders, Phinda is fully fenced.
Meeting Phinda’s expert guides
Our young guide Josie Romer-Lee explains the land has seven distinct habitats and that’s why it is often referred to as one of the ‘Seven Worlds of Wonder’. The sand forest is also home to the elusive suni and the rare red duiker, two tiny antelope you are unlikely to see elsewhere. Josie’s mother was herself a ranger at Phinda, and an inspiration behind her love of adventure and wildlife. You could be forgiven for thinking Josie and Mr T knew how to sign, the way they worked so rhythmically together as they took us on safari trips each day at both dusk and dawn.
With razor sharp eyes, Mr T spots not just the big five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino) but even a tiny chameleon from afar in the dark, despite its ability to change colour and camouflage itself. Equally, Josie has a remarkable knowledge of the area and fascinating stories too, pointing out a mahogany tree where she once hid from lions during her intensive training program to be a ranger. She shares her knowledge about everything from the pretty blue pea flowers of jicama trees to dozens of Phinda’s 436 bird species such as the colourful Burchell’s coucal and impressive bateleur eagle, which is andBeyond’s motif. Legend has it, the eagle always turns up when the company has found the right lodge or made an important decision.
Cheetah conservation at andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve
With as few as 6,500 mature cheetahs left in the world, the dwindling population of these majestic cats is the focus of an intensive conservation program at the international adventure and luxury travel company &Beyond’s Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa.
Sighting cheetahs on safari
Footprints in the sand tell stories and share secrets of this untamed world, hidden within Kwazulu-Natal’s best private game reserve. This is the first lesson I learn as we depart at dawn in our nine-seater open-top vehicle, searching for fresh paw print sightings of the world’s biggest and fastest cat.
Less than 20 minutes in, our tracker, Mr T, raises his arm to halt the vehicle. On the dirt road in front of us is a wide-eyed baby cheetah who is no more than six weeks old. Our vehicle stops and my heart stops with it. With no mother in sight, the tawny-coloured cheetah cub stares right at us.
Left to fend for itself while the mother hunts for food, the cub continuously chirps like a bird, a high-pitched calling for the mother the cub so desperately longs to see. Then, searching for safety, the cub retreats into the bush. Fearful about the cub’s fate, we wait a few moments in the hope that the mother will find her cub, Mr T points ominously to fresh leopard prints, the first sign that a dangerous predator has been lurking nearby.
Suddenly, the cheetah mother emerges, and is standing directly ahead of us though camouflaged by the trees. With her head held high, ears back and looking alert, she furiously calls to her young in the same high-pitched bird sound. But now there’s only a deafening silence from the cub we’d watched so intently only moments before. No gruesome mauling was seen but the cub’s fate was written in the sand, and this was the last sighting of the baby animal and those delicate paws, serving as a heart-wrenching reminder of the fragility of life on our planet, particularly for those species like the cheetah which are so perilously close to extinction in the wild.
Despite the loss we’d witnessed, Phinda’s conservation program has shown encouraging signs of increasing the cheetah population both at Phinda and from its support of other destinations where the rewilding initiative for cheetahs is now taking place. Phinda started out with 13 cheetahs brought in from Namibia; the reserve’s current population is 36.
Roar and snore experience
Towards the end of our stay, we experience an unforgettable sleep out under the stars, the ultimate roar and snore. After a delicious meal and marshmallow roasting on the campfire, we sleep out in the wild with an armed watchman on patrol. As night falls, the wildlife of the sandy forest produces a medley of sounds – hooting owls, barking baboons and the howling of hyenas in the distance. It is an unparalleled experience of feeling close to nature. It’s easy to understand why people get hooked on safaris. The African bush is a sanctuary where you can find clarity, strength and feel deeply connected to the world. My trip to Phinda has left a lasting impression on me, not least the realisation nature is our greatest teacher.
Robyn was a guest of andbeyond.com. Read more about her trip on Women Love Travel, here.
