Out of Africa
South Australia’s newly opened luxury lodge offers more than a unique safari experience. It’s an exclusive sanctuary where guests can clock off, immersed in nature and life’s most indulgent pleasures.
WORDS Patricia Maunder
Time is a luxury for many of us, snatched between meetings, chores and other myriad obligations. There’s none of that here. Time moves slowly, wrapping me in a sense of calm as zebras graze and giraffes lope across the sunny plain. This chance to live in the moment doesn’t require a long journey to Africa either; I’m an hour’s drive east of Adelaide (Tarntanya) at the Safari Lodge at Monarto Safari Resort. From the moment guests pass through the property’s private entrance, the outside world slips away, and an unhurried, all-inclusive experience unfolds.
On the terrace just beyond the lobby-lounge, where understated, handcrafted contemporary design is an invitation to exhale, I gaze at those unlikely creatures roaming the Wild Africa precinct that wraps around Monaro Safari Resort. The Lodge is nestled within these 550 hectares of Mallee Plain grassland, scattered trees and waterholes, which could easily be mistaken for the resident African animals’ native land. They can come within metres of the Lodge’s main building and 20 luxury safari-style tents – always safely behind a protective fence line. Crossing that barrier and entering their territory on a safari is an opportunity reserved for guests of the Lodge and its sibling property, Monarto Safari Resort, two kilometres across the plain.
I’ve already whetted my appetite for animal encounters with a pre-check-in exploration of Zoos SA’s Monarto Safari Park (entry is complimentary for Lodge guests). Shuttle buses and walking trails take visitors to this Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia-accredited attraction’s enclosures for lions, hyenas, chimpanzees and more, including a few non-Africans such as Asian elephants and Tasmanian Devils.
ANIMAL MAGNETISM
Easing off the terrace and into one of the custom-built Land Cruisers reserved exclusively for Lodge guests, the sunset safari delivers something the view from the deck can’t. Minutes after driving into the Wild Africa precinct, which is the world’s largest open-air safari-style habitat outside Africa, guide Vicki spots a herd of play-fighting zebras. Approaching within metres of them in this open-sided 4WD with tiered seating for nine excited passengers (the Resort’s safari vehicles seat 26), we can hear these young males’ snorts, nipping teeth and prancing hooves. Every zebra’s stripes are different, explains Vicki, as we watch enthralled; foals memorise the pattern on their mother’s bottom, she adds, chuckling.
We continue, from habitat to habitat. Each species is protected by a carefully managed gate system, so there’s no chance of nasty David Attenborough documentary-style inter-species interactions – between the zebras and cheetahs, for instance, which are padding across the verdant grass with lethal-looking slinkiness. “Are they good jumpers?” a passenger asks nervously. Assuring us we’re safe, Vicki reveals speed is this magnificent spotted cat’s superpower: up to 120 kilometres per hour. “When you’re driving back to Adelaide, imagine a cheetah overtaking your car,” she says.
Later, we see giraffes nibbling on high leaves, and ostriches with big black feathers bouncing as they run. We are introduced to different antelope species, including Barbary sheep sporting large crescent-shaped horns and elegantly silky fringes on their forelegs. There are also blackbucks with spiral horns, and scimitar-horned oryx, aptly named after the ancient Islamic world’s long, curved swords. They were officially extinct in the wild, Vicki tells us, but thanks to captive breeding programs like Monarto Safari Park’s, a population was recently reintroduced to central Africa. Great news, made even better by the knowledge that a portion of Lodge and Resort bookings is donated to Zoos SA’s Conservation Fund.
We drive, cautiously slow and quiet, past a huge southern white rhinoceros bull. Fortunately for us, he’s focused on munching grass near the enclosure where we’re pausing for flutes of fizz. I’m astonished to find myself observing this 2,000-kilogram horned behemoth from Africa just 10 metres beyond a low wildlife fence. Like the sky, he’s entirely grey. Vicki reveals this species’ name is a case of lost in translation: the Afrikaans word “wyd”, which refers to rhinos’ wide mouths, was misinterpreted as “white”.
After the final stop, where mother and daughter hippos playfully splash about in a waterhole, it seems certain that the grey sky will prevent our sunset safari from truly living up to its name. Then, just in time, there’s a break in the clouds, which glow gold, then tangerine and fuchsia across an uninterrupted expanse.
UNDERSTATED LUXURY
We exit the wildlife sanctuary, thrilled by what we’ve witnessed, and enter our own sanctuary as night falls. Staff welcome us back as warmly as the gas fire in the lobby-lounge, where soft lighting, natural textures and an earthy palette of creams and pale browns soothe the senses.
As Lodge designer Ryan Genesin notes, there are no safari clichés such as animal prints here. “The idea was to create a timeless space,” he says, “a space that is calm, textural and has an understated luxury.” The Genesin Studios director adds: “We set out to use as much natural material as possible while supporting local quarries, artists and furniture makers.” That’s apparent all around. The monumental bar of rose-and-grey South Australian granite. Pale, dry-pressed brick tiles lining floors and walls. The armchair crafted from a tree trunk, the woven textile artworks and organically shaped ceramic vases.
It’s time for pre-dinner refreshments, so more handmade ceramics arrive from the kitchen, made by local artist Rose Walker: small, rustic yet elegant stands bearing canapés, such as petite potato croissants topped with sea grapes like tiny, glistening green pearls. The generous drinks list categorises wines by characteristics they share with African animals: sparkling wines are likened to meerkats, for example, as they are “bubbly and playful”. Of course, the bold reds are lions. I choose a cocktail that nods to the day’s fiery finale: sunset-orange Turfgrond, a fertile soil in Afrikaans. It’s a beguiling blend of carrot and African yam juices, honey, ginger and tequila.
We are ushered into the dining room, which is set up for a shared feast. The long table is laden with dishes, and more keep coming: poached barramundi; chargrilled baby corn and pieces of corncob; glazed duck legs; West African favourite Jollof rice rich with tomato and onion. Wine and conversation flow among diners who sat down as strangers, now united by fresh, flavoursome food and high-end hospitality’s unseen forces.
I wake early, eager to see the sun rise out of this broad, flat landscape named for a 19th-century Aboriginal woman known as Queen Monarto. Stepping out on the tent’s deck, I’m greeted by warbling magpies, a twitchy-eared kangaroo and dusky pink sky dotted with puffs of gold-edged clouds. My sole morning commitment complete, I slide open the glass entrance wall’s curtains, snuggle back into the supremely comfortable king bed opposite, and watch the plain come to life. Zebras and giraffes emerge in the brightening light. What are those antelopes striding in the distance? Their scimitar-shaped horns become clear in binoculars thoughtfully provided in this luxe cabin-like tent.
Everything about this space is thoughtful. Here, as elsewhere throughout the Lodge, the design doesn’t compete with nature; it’s inspired by it. There’s that soothing lighting and palette of creams and browns. Bespoke timber furniture and cabinetry. A sumptuous couch positioned for the Wild Africa panorama, as is the daybed out on the deck. Soft textures, including a throw locally crafted from recycled wool. In the ensuite of sand-coloured stone tiles and brushed-gold fixtures, I find Leif toiletries made with native Australian botanicals, while snacks and drinks, from juices to Nespresso coffee, await in the dressing-room-meets-mini-kitchen. Even the absence of a television is considered; who needs one, given that evolving cinematic vista?
SENSORY PLEASURES
I’m eventually lured out of this cosy cocoon by the promise of breakfast, which is the briefest stroll away past the gym and pickleball court. Pastries and an invigorating carrot-turmeric shot precede à la carte cafe-style dishes such as blue swimmer crab omelette, as light pours through the main building’s lengthy floor-to-ceiling curve of glass overlooking the plain.
A pool and two private plunge pools also take in that epic view. My lazy day involves more serious pampering at the Resort’s Marula Day Spa, which is minutes away courtesy of complimentary, on-call transport between Lodge, Resort and Safari Park (the ever-obliging staff even offer rides between tents and the Lodge’s hub). I’m soon massaged to an even higher plane of serenity by assured hands, heaven-scented botanical products and gentle gong sounds. Time floats by in the Soak House where, within the hydrotherapy pool’s warm embrace, I contemplate a magpie preening outside in the rain. Lunch and more scenery follow in the spa’s relaxation lounge.
Back at the Lodge, after clouds give way to another sunset in the nick of time, dinner proves a more intimate, refined experience than last night’s shared feast. Served at individual tables, the nine-course degustation with matched wines is a showcase of Executive Chef De Buys Nortier’s skills and culinary vision, which champions African influences and native ingredients. The South African-born and trained chef’s menus will change with local produce’s seasonality, but tonight the distinctly Australian flavours include butter infused with tangy bush tomato to accompany slow-fermented sourdough, and semi-sweet Davidson plum sorbet.
I amble back to the tent with a sense of contentment inspired by much more than an exceptional meal. Looking up at the stars, twinkling like diamonds on endless black velvet, I feel tuned into nature and in sync with the day’s rhythm. In this moment, in this special place, time slows to a resting heartbeat.
THE DETAILS
Australia’s most exclusive safari experience awaits at Safari Lodge at Monarto Safari Resort from $1,720 a night, double occupancy. Your stay includes luxury tent accommodation, gourmet meals, premium drinks and access to the lodge’s pools, pickleball court and gym. Lodge guests also enjoy free entry to Monarto Safari Park, and even more authentic animal encounters on a small-group guided sunset safari in the park’s 550-hectare Wild Africa precinct. Sunrise safaris and treatments at Monarto Safari Resort’s Marula Day Spa are also available at additional cost.