Under the Stars: Luxurious Wilderness Sleepouts in South Africa
Sleepouts, star beds and luxury open-air suites are the ultimate outdoor accommodation, allowing for experiences that are an arm’s reach away from the wilderness, its beauty and its wildlife. Several luxury safari and nature lodges in South Africa offer stylish sleepout facilities, usually as an optional one-night add-on experience to an indoor stay. We bring you a round up of gorgeous luxury sleepout options andoutdoor accommodation in South Africa, some in the heart of our wildlife reserves and others in the lap of nature. These sleepous lend new meaning to the notion ‘a room with view’, providing vistas far broader, more spectacular, depth-rich and immediate than any big-screen television or movie screen on earth!
A sleepout is a fabulous way to snuggle up close to nature and the wilderness, and it’s also a good way to make the most of South Africa’s generally mild weather. For visitors wanting ‘that something more’ from their luxury safari in South Africa, but not wanting to sacrifice luxury, we recommend one of these sleepout experiences.
The fabulous new Starbed Suites at Jaci’s Lodges include the option of a rooftop sleepout. Expect luxurious accommodation indoors and out, with vibrant splashes of colour and gorgeous custom-made items of decor. Experience all the excitement of a safari in the malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve. Mail us.Starbed Suite Exterior at Jaci’s Lodges in Madikwe Game Reserve. Each suite has its own viewing deck overlooking a river. The advantage of the rooftop extensions at the Jaci’s Starbed Suites is that guests can choose whether to sleep indoors or out, without having to transfer to a separate facility at night. Mail us.Room with a view: the sleepout deck at Garonga Safari Camp in Limpopo is remote and scenic and features a beautiful four-poster bed. Enjoy a private dinner on the sleepout deck overlooking a waterhole, before bedding down in the embrace of the wilderness without encumbrance. Mail us.A clear blue night at the romantic sleepout on a raised platform in Kapama Game Reserve. Part of the experience is a 5-course dinner served out on this deck by a personal chef. The sleepout deck includes a luxury bathroom. Guests are transferred to the sleepout just ahead of sunset and collected at an agreed upon time after dawn the next morning. Mail us.Chalkley Treehouse at Lion Sands is an opulent sleep platform open to the twinkling African night skies in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. It’s a grand bush bedroom and treehouse with a difference, offering a host of comforts. Enjoy an al fresco picnic dinner without disturbance. Mail us.The modern glass-and-wood Kingston Treehouse at Lion Sands is the perfect stargazing suite, situated above the treetops in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve and open to the sky. Mail us.Giraffe’s Nest is a private sleepout, including eco-bathroom, set overlooking a dam in Motswari Private Game Reserve in Timbavati region. Mail us.This inviting sleepout is at Umlani Bushcamp in Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, Limpopo. Mail us.The luxury suites at Simbambili in the Thornybush Reserve have their own salas for outdoor napping. Mail us.Tswalu Kalahari Reserve offers outdoor sleeps on the vast Kalahari plains at the Malori Sleepout Deck. The sleeping deck is covered by a thatch canopy with weather-proof blinds, and the bed can be left beneath it or rolled out onto the open deck with bejeweled skies above. Facilities are luxurious and keep guests close to nature. Mail us.In the Cederberg area of the Western Cape, Kagga Kamma has this magnificent Outcrop Room with star-studded ‘ceiling’ and revealing the wonders of an ancient mountainous landscape. It is set in a remote spot in the nature reserve, and has a double bed, basic bathroom amenities and lanterns. Mail us.At Kosi Forest Lodge in KwaZulu-Natal, guests sleep indoors in thatch and canvas cabins, but the en-suite bathrooms are open to the skies. Set in reed enclosures, the baths are laid into white forest sand and are canopied by trees through which the stars blink at night. These lanternlit bath tubs are wonderful!Spend a night under star-studded skies in Samara Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, for an up-close experience of a remarkable landscape. The star bed site accommodates two people in a king-size, draped four-poster bed that is open to the sky. The experience is offered from October – April in good weather.
Kindly note that at some lodges, sleepouts are charged for over and above the cost of indoor accommodation. Please also note that the weather needs to co-operate for these experiences to happen – this is one of the reasons why indoor accommodation needs to be reserved and paid for as well.
Mail us to book your luxury sleepout and other accommodation in South Africa, or call +27 21 797-7122 (international) or 0860 102 907 (local).
