Ngala, meaning "lion" in Shangaan, is the only private safari reserve in the world-famous Kruger National Park. Ngala Private Game Reserve is host to two exclusive properties - classic Ngala Game Lodge in the north and contemporary Ngala Tented Safari Camp in the south. Ngala has exclusive traversing rights over 14 780 hectares (36 506 acres) of Kruger's two million hectares (4 940 000 acres), one of the richest and most strategically important wildlife areas on the continent.

When you enter Ngala Game Lodge, you encounter a world capturing the romance and elegant traditions of a bygone time, the era of classic safari. The lodge is set on the banks of the Mapone riverbed and features antique-filled interiors and a timeless, unhurried atmosphere. We were thrilled to open our first tented safari camp in South Africa, Ngala Tented Safari Camp, set on the banks of the great Timbavati river. This absolutely luxurious and lavish new camp acts as a satellite camp to Ngala Game Lodge, about a 45 minute drive away.

At Ngala, you can experience remarkably close encounters with breeding herds of elephant and buffalo. See black and white rhino, giraffe and a host of antelope, along with the great cats and occasionally, wild dog. At sunset, sip sundowners at the waterhole and experience life in Africa as described by legendary author and philosopher, Sir Laurens van der Post: "All Africa was in that moment for me. Yes, the whole cast of the first natural, primordial, legitimate theatre of Africa seemed gathered there to make its final curtsy in the limelight of the sunset hour and receive twilight applause before the night dropped its final curtain."

Ngala has even more to offer. It is the scene of one of Africa's most innovative conservation partnership agreements. CC Africa has joined forces with the natinonal park authorities (Kruger National Park) and the non-governmental South African Nature Trust Foundation. Under this partnership, a percentage of all profits from Ngala flow into the National Parks Trust to promote conservation projects.

• Both the lodge and the tented camp are members of Small Luxury Hotels of the World