T+L Review of Masiya’s Camp, Greater Kruger National Park in South Africa

Dusky rose canvas, electric yellow tables, art deco-style chandeliers, magenta velvet couches, pink and white striped tented ceilings; forget neutrals and dark, earthy colors—this is a safari camp with a style of its own.

Masiya’s Camp The camp officially opens to travelers on June 1. I was among the first guests who saw it. The Royal Portfolio owns several camps, including this one. South African hotels The Royal Malewane Collection of safari lodges Thornybush Nature Reserve is part of the Greater Kruger National Park. Masiya’s Camp, the first tent camp in the collection, is located at Thornybush Nature Reserve. Though there were a couple of minor snags in the first days of opening, service in camp was excellent, fun, and on-point—something I’ve always found consistent at Royal Portfolio properties.

The camp is named after the late Wilson Masiya, a certified Master Tracker (one of only 13 people in South Africa to hold the highest tracking qualification), who worked at Malewane Lodge since its opening in 1999. His family arrived with him in the area in 1977 after fleeing Mozambique’s civil war. He walked through Kruger National Park (which shares a border between Mozambique and South Africa) for more than 80 miles. Masiya, who was regarded as one of safari’s best trackers for a long time, died in 2015.

Liz Biden of Royal Portfolio is the co-owner responsible for the interiors. She’s known for her eclectic and colorful style. Masiya’s Camp is a departure from the traditional safari style. It features a riotous array of colors, patterns and textures.

Ray Mayer, the duty manager who showed me to my hotel room, joked that pink tents were “the talk of town”. And while the camp’s style may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I think Biden’s choices have paid off, setting Masiya’s apart—in design terms, at least—in a sector that can feel quite stale.

The tents—and the decks, in particular—are huge, ranging from 1,076 square feet to 2,476 square feet. If I say that I walked a few hundred feet between the bathroom open plan and the walk-in wardrobe/dressing rooms on either side of the tent, then I am only slightly exaggerating.

The Royal Portfolio is known for its art. The Royal Portfolio hotels and lodges are home to floral paintings by Zimbabwean Tafadzwa Tega, street fashion photographs by Nontsikelelo Veeko from South Africa, as well as dreamlike suburban scenes by Kate Gottgens.

While the camp itself is worth visiting, the safari experience, which is ideal for those who are new to South Africa, is equally impressive, especially if you’re hoping to spot some of the country’s most famous animals. Over the course of two nights, I saw the Big Five (an old hunting term for the most dangerous animals to find on foot—elephants, rhinos, buffalos, lions, and leopards), and more.

We stopped for a coffee at a waterhole to watch hippos wallowing in the mud and a crocodile imitate a log. We found lionesses eating zebra meat, with the pride’s younger members already on their backs and showing white, fluffy bellies. The young elephant didn’t know if he should be threatening us as we sipped our gin and tonic sundowners in the tangerine skies. After he had sized us up, and given us a few headshakes, sulkily he crashed off into trees. Vervet monkeys were eager to join us at breakfast after hearing about a new restaurant in town.

Check out my full review on Masiya Camp.

The Rooms

Masiya’s Camp offers six tents. Each tent has an elevated, spacious deck, with armchairs and loungers. It also includes a heated plunge-pool. The thickly-vegetated area in front is a common place to find nyalas, a type of antelope. You can also see birds drinking water from the pool. Tents four and five are the closest to the main area. The tents are connected via a boardwalk.

The tents feature an open floor plan with curtain separators, and windows that reach to the ceiling. On one side, there are two twin beds that can be separated into a king-sized bed, each with its own mosquito net. At the other end is the bathroom with its standalone bathtub, indoor and outdoor rain showers and a mosquito net. In the middle is a living room with armchairs and couches. There’s a huge armchair in some tents that Mayer said one of Biden’s friends called it the “elephant calmer chair.”

Each tent has its own color scheme—from the yellows and greens of tent five, where I stayed, to the pink florals of tent two. The East African style wooden doors, Persian carpets, ornate Moroccan vase, bright artworks and other knickknacks contribute to the camp’s colorful maximalist feel. The beds have hidden TVs.

The minibar is included in the rate of your room and includes a variety of teas, coffees, wines, spirits and soft drinks.

Food and Drink

Meals are served in the main area—a big open-plan space with dining on the deck or inside, where raspberry-hued velvet semi-circular booths are set around bright yellow tables. Meals are usually private but sometimes your guide will join you. You can also dine in the tent if that is what you prefer.

I was pleased with the food, especially because it was light and vegetarian (traditional safaris are usually heavy on meat).

Early mornings start with small bites—I highly recommend the grilled cheese sandwich with butter and Bovril, a salty beef-extract paste. After your game-drive, guests are invited to a full breakfast that includes pastries and cheeses as well as fruit and hot options. I had the avocado-ricotta bread with poached eggs. Lunch options include grilled zucchini, kingklip and crumbed ricotta with napoletana.

Dinner is available in three different courses. The braised cabbage was a little too salty, but it went well with the lamb chops. On the second night, I had seared impala loin, melt-in-the-mouth oxtail with risotto, and I found room for a spoonful of the “bush banoffee”—caramelized banana with Amarula, a South African liqueur similar to Baileys and a safari staple.

There’s also a large pizza oven. braai On the deck, there is a South African barbecue area.

Wonder Mlambo has been the head mixologist for many years and is your go to guy when it comes to beverages. He made a passionfruit mocktail for another guest while I stuck with the South African Sutherland pinot noir and Copper Pot pinot gris. As any self-respecting South African high-end lodgeMasiya offers an excellent selection of local wine.

Activities and Experiences

The tents all have their own private pools, but there is also a heated pool in the main building, where you will also find Biden’s boutique, which stocks clothes and accessories.

Safari game drives are the main activity. Guests are given private vehicles for their entire stay and work with a team of tracker/guides. The two game drives per day are in the early afternoon and late afternoon. A sundowner in the bush is usually part of the late game drive. It’s a must-do safari experience.

You can also go on a walk in the bush. You can also go on a bush walk.

Bookings are required for some activities that have a conservation component, including visiting a counter-poaching unit with dogs and participating in horning rhinos to deter poaching.

The Spa

Masiya’s Camp doesn’t have a Spa, but I’ve been told one will open in the near future.

The Royal Waters Spa, located at the nearby Malewane Lodge has three treatment rooms and a steam bath, as well as hot and cold showers. The 180-minute Royal African Face and Body Treatment includes a full body exfoliation, a massage and a facial.

Alternatively, travelers can also book in-tent treatments—there’s certainly enough room on the deck to set up a massage bed for an aromatherapy massage, or a deep tissue massage that incorporates the African Knokerrie Stick to the muscles.

Offerings Family-Friendly

The minimum age for children to stay at the camp is 10 years, unless it’s a whole-camp booking. In that case, all ages are welcome. Masiya’s Camp doesn’t have any specific family-friendly options, but it does offer babysitting.

Accessibility, Sustainability and Sustainability

Two tents (numbers 5 and 6) do not have steps. However, the main area does. A ramp will be built, but the camp currently isn’t wheelchair-friendly.

Masiya’s Camp uses solar energy and hydronic heat for the underfloor heating of its camp, as well as air conditioning and heating pool water.

In the rooms, there are very few plastics that are single-use: all water bottles are reusable and all soft drinks cans. The floors have been replaced with mixed-use waste instead of concrete.

Location

Masiya’s Camp, a private reserve in the Greater Kruger National Park located in northeast South Africa, is situated in Thornybush Nature Reserve. Kruger is renowned for its diversity and high density of wildlife like leopards and Lions. It’s also one of Africa’s largest national park, about the size of New Jersey.

As it is a private reserve only the camps and lodges in the region can run game drives. This makes it much quieter than a public park. The guides can drive at night, go on bush walks and even drive off-road, something that is not possible in a national park.

Masiya’s Camp is accessible in a variety of ways. You can fly from Cape Town, Johannesburg or other cities to Hoedspruit Airport HDS (about a 40 minute drive away) (Masiya’s will arrange pick-up services). Or, you can charter your own flight and land on Royal Malewane’s airstrip.

The Best Value for Your Stay

There is no loyalty program at The Royal Portfolio. Rates at Masiya’s Camp Starting at $2,870 per person (R52,500), based on sharing by two people. All meals and most drinks are covered in the rate.

Each hotel reviewed by T+L is chosen based on its alignment with our values. core values.