Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch

On approaching Bagatelle, your first sight will be of the four dune chalets that seem to be teetering on a sand ridge. Get nearer, and the rest of the lodge comes into view, including the main area, which you'll find decorated in warm tones that echo the surroundings. There's a lounge and dining area where, in the depth of winter, fires blaze; a library and a curio shop. Meals (good guest-farm fare, and plenty of it) are served indoors or, in summer, beside the pool.

The four dune chalets are set on stilts on a sand ridge, with views of the desert and its plentiful game. There's other accommodation too – two exclusive chalets with private splash pools, 10 savanna chalets in a street between the dunes, and four rooms beside the main lodge. All are spacious and well designed, with huge mosquito-netted beds, en-suite bathrooms, aircon, fan and comfortable chairs. Most have mini-bar/fridges.

Take a nature drive on the property, or venture further afield into the dunes to see good populations of springbok, oryx, giraffe, kudu, steenbok, black-backed jackal, warthog, brown hyaena and comical bat-eared foxes. There are several troops of meerkats, including a habituated group. The ranch sometimes has cheetah in enclosures, kept here in association with the Cheetah Conservation Fund. You can also explore the area on horseback.