Insider's Review of Phinda Homestead

Accommodations at Phinda Homestead

The elegant Phinda Homestead feels like a home in the African bush. Two suites, catty-corner to a specially furnished, double bunk-bed children’s suite, faces an enclosed courtyard, across from a private gym and library. Continuing on to the rest of this farmhouse space, we’ll come upon a covered veranda, sun deck, and spacious rim-flow swimming pool, as well as the lounge and the dining room. In the adjacent interactive kitchen, guests can unwind each evening and watch as meals are prepared—a private, cheerful chef’s table meal.

A private boma for star-side dining lies just outside, next to a natural pond, and from there, two additional suites are located in a separate wing for guests seeking utmost peace and privacy. There’s also a stand-alone massage room, ideal for post-game drive afternoons.

Activities and Attractions at Phinda Homestead

Your Micato Safari Director will guide you to the best game-viewing in Phinda Reserve, where you might see, as one writer described in the Financial Times, “several prides of lion, up close, frolicking and stalking a wildebeest,” or, “a cheetah and her two cubs,” not to mention “giraffe and buffalo, impala and baboons, endless birds, two hyenas, and a leopard, its recent kill hanging in the tree behind it…”

Game-viewing is always tailored to guests’ interests, whether that be a photographic game drive equipped with camera mounts, or walking safaris to spot and identify the more-than 430 bird species here in the Phinda Nature Reserve. Families with children are also welcome; for travellers between three and twelve years of age, your private team will arrange activities and game-viewing at an ideal pace for little ones, including bug collecting, bark collecting, baking with the private chef, and more. They’re also welcome to a sleepout under glowing lanterns and bright stars above—complete with a bonfire and comfortable, duvet-topped beds for a cosy evening.

During the day, Phinda Homestead guests can learn how to track the elusive black rhino, meet a local Zulu sangoma, or traditional healer, and be part of the breathtaking experience of collaring a wild elephant with a team of researchers—or, depending on availability, witness the health check of an endangered pangolin. Because Sodwana Bay is easily accessible from Phinda Homestead, your Micato Safari Director can also arrange for seaside excursions to add an exceptionally fun splash to your safari: a nighttime adventure to watch loggerhead turtles swim from the Indian Ocean to lay their eggs; snorkelling over reefs to see more than 1,200 species of fish and coral; and sun-tanning on the beach of the Maputaland coastline.