How to get a front-row seat to the action in Africa

Victor is here for his first-ever safari experience and he wants to see a leopard. So keen is he to see a leopard, in fact, that he and his wife Michelle front up for their first game drive shortly after arriving at Tengile River Lodge, despite the fact that they have just spent 40 hours getting here from Mexico.

It is 4.30 in the afternoon as we head out in the safari vehicle and Victor isn't the only one on tenterhooks. I know how excited Victor is; I remember the feeling from my first safari two decades ago. That first safari was the start of an addiction - I've been on at least 12 separate safari holidays since - and one thing I've learned about game drives is that you can never predict what you will see.

I keep my fingers crossed we will find a leopard for Victor. These elegant cats are often elusive but Sabi Sands Game Reserve is one of the best places in Africa to spot them.

What I am not expecting to see is rhino. While Sabi Sands is home to several rhinos, these endangered animals are remarkably shy. If you do spot one, they tend to lumber off in the other direction. So when we round a corner in the track and find not one, not two, not three but four rhinos grazing beside the road, we all hold our breath, waiting for them to disappear.

Instead they wander slowly but surely closer. Within a few minutes they are clustered in front of the jeep as if posing for photos. We snap away furiously for several minutes until they tire of the activity and resume grazing by the roadside.

Victor looks at us, eyes shining with excitement, jet lag forgotten. "Does this normally happen?"

No Victor, this does not normally happen. An encounter with four rhinos - and not another car in sight - is the sort of thing that only happens at Sabi Sands. Located in the north of South Africa, adjoining Kruger National Park, this privately owned game reserve covers 65,000 hectares and has an open border with Kruger. That means you get all the wildlife you would enjoy at Kruger, without the crowds that often congregate in the park. Whether it is leopard, lion, elephant or hippos, you will often be the only car watching the animals.

That is not the only reason why game viewing is so great at Sabi Sands. Because this is a private reserve rather than national park, cars are allowed to go off road; if the game heads onto the grassy plains or riverine forest, we can follow - and we do.

The rangers know the terrain intimately which is just as well, as the undulating landscape and forested slopes sometimes make it hard to see more than a few metres ahead. That is when our guide Richard and our tracker Martin hop out of the vehicle and follow animal tracks into the wooded slopes.

Victor gets anxious every time that Martin - a man who is focused on his mission - heads off on foot for 20 or 30 minutes at a time. Often he is tracking a pride of lion, radioing in updates as to which direction the cats seem to be moving in and which road we should be taking to intercept them.

Victor cannot get over the fact that Martin heads out there unarmed, confident to negotiate both the terrain and the animals. "Does he at least have a knife?" Victor asks one morning when we are waiting for an update from Martin. When answered in the negative he asks, "What about grenades?"

Rhinos aren't the only thing that Victor sees on his first game drive. As we head slowly back towards the lodge, our afternoon drive having now become a night-time game drive, Martin skims his spotlight across the landscape looking for nocturnal animals: anything from small scrub hares to mighty spotted eagle owls or even the big cats that are active at night. He quickly finds not one but two leopard - a mother and a half-grown cub.

The youngster is prowling through the grass and greets us warily but the mother is safely up a tree where she has dragged her kill, a young impala. Underneath the tree a pair of hyenas wait hopefully for any droppings. As the leopard tears into her prey, they scoop up whatever small gobbets of flesh fall down.

Victor is ecstatic. Three hours into his first safari and he's already seen more than he hoped for. "Incredible!" he repeats at intervals in awe-struck tones. In days to come he'll see plenty of other highlights, from a pride of lions sprawled in the shade to a territorial battle between four hyenas, but this first night will remain special.

It is not just the wildlife that makes a stay at Tengile River Lodge so wonderful. For one thing, it is easy to get to, less than an hour's flight from Johannesburg. The lodge is also operated by andBeyond, one of Africa's landmark conservation companies, so you know that your money is helping protect not only wildlife but also the land it lives on and the communities that live nearby. And while andBeyond has 29 lodges across Africa, Tengile River Lodge may be the most memorable of them all.

The nine sophisticated suites are stretched along the riverfront, each one the size of a small house. Many guests opt to have their meals delivered by room service, eating on the private deck beside the pool overlooking the river. Some days a family of elephants frolics on the far shores; other times my lunch hour coincides with that of the elephants. Watching them graze on fresh leaves from the trees directly below my balcony while I tuck into my own meal is a real thrill. I can't wait to tell Victor all about it.

Getting there: Qantas Airways has direct flights to Johannesburg from Sydney and Perth several times a week. Federal Airlines flies daily from Johannesburg to Skukuza Airport, an easy drive to the camp.

Staying there: Rates at andBeyond Tengile River Lodge - including meals and beverages, two game drives a day, wi-fi and laundry - start from ZAR35,000 ($2890) per person per night (twin share).

Explore more: andbeyond.com

Ute Junker travelled with the support of andBeyond.

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