Brian Berkman looks beyond the luxurious comfort of Shamwari.

When Adrian Gardiner began purchasing neighbouring farms near his, outside Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, the dream of a luxury Big Five game lodge in a malaria free area as an alternative to Kruger Park was born.

From day one, Shamwari would commit to the highest conservation and husbandry standards while creating a luxury experience.

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Its great success today is that Shamwari offers five different camps to meet different décor and budget tastes while offering a complete game experience.

At Bayethe Lodge, Shamwari’s tented-camp offering, canvas tent sides hang from a thatched roof.

The dark timber flooring is so highly polished an ant is visible if it happens to enter unwelcome. I have an aversion to insects in my accommodation and a phobia of spiders, so the perfectly clean floor and pristinely white duvet and pillows go some way to ease my checking for creepy crawlies.

I will select another Shamwari lodge for a follow-up visit not only because I relish different experiences but because I find the proximity to the bush a little challenging.

While having a shower one morning, ingeniously attached to a tree trunk inside the bathroom, two inyala were nibbling in the adjacent scrub. Had the tent sides been up, I could have reached over to touch them.

Although Bayethe is fenced apart from the predators, in fact all the lodges at Shamwari with the exception of Long Lee Manor are, eland and vervet monkeys are frequent visitors along with abundant small birds.

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There are nine luxury tents (all with en suite bathrooms, plunge pools and decks that overlook a waterhole); and three premier tents at Bayethe Hills that add hammocks, satellite TV and fireplaces to the luxury experience.

Game viewing takes priority at Shamwari and from Bayethe, an additional hour is added to the bump and grind of the 4 X 4 driving experience.

Our guide, we learned, had a fondness for poop as he excitedly jumped from the vehicle to break open rhino dung to show us its insides and predict their proximity.

He would also grab a leaf from one tree and a twig from another demonstrating how indigenous people would brush their teeth and apply fragrance to their skin.

Damian was on a mission to give us the best ever game experience and as the sun set and the biting cold returned, he relayed tales of the how the San believed the cheetah got its tear markings.

The San related that one night the cheetah stole the lion's spots. "Lion was so angry, he in turn took cheetah's cub. She cried so much that tear marks formed. "

After dark, with mist hovering above the drift, Damian invoked the lives of the previous land owners who opened a wagon-service station and then a tavern and accommodation as all had to pass through the drift to reach beyond.

Despite being wrapped by blankets and comforted by hot-water bottles, not to mention our elevated position in the Land Cruiser, we were terrified by the oppressive darkness and growing sounds of the wild as we renewed our appreciation for the pioneering spirit of our forbears.

Dinner is a highlight at Bayethe and the food and wine on both nights (not to mention breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea were of an excellent quality. Guests staying for two nights will experience a bush braai one night and a la carte dining on the next.)

As we’re experienced game lodge visitors we asked rather than searching for the elusive lions, that we find somewhere to enjoy the sunset and soak up the atmosphere.

Although our experience was very special, Damian packed delicious snacks as well as gins and tonics and warm drinks for our picnic, other guests met up with the pride and boasted about their sightings over fire-side drinks.

I was reminded of the four hippos we spied in the river, from our position only a few meters from the bank; of the two cheetahs, all kitten eyed in their lazy pose and of the heard of eight or more she elephants with their young that enveloped us.

Looking beyond the comfort of our accommodation and laid-on food and drink, the privilege of visiting Shamwari is being in proximity to wild and dangerous animals, and the blessing of leaving the lodge alive, not just with breath in our lungs, but with spirit in our hearts.

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