The forest largely dictated where the camp went. When Dale and Shannon Airton built Rhino Sands in Manyoni Private Game Reserve in 2017, they worked around the trees rather than through them — the walkways bend where trunks stood in the way, and the whole thing is invisible from above save for the solar panels. That philosophy runs through everything here. The camp is entirely off-grid, the menus follow what's seasonal in KwaZulu-Natal, and a maximum of ten guests at any one time means the team — small, personally selected, genuinely passionate — can actually get to know you. Five tented suites on a peninsula of the Msunduze River, malaria-free Zululand, Big Five game plus cheetah and wild dog on the reserve. It's a rather good combination.
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The food — gourmet, seasonal, cooked to order — is the kind that surprises people who assumed "bush camp" meant something rustically basic.
Don't sleep through the pre-dawn campfire coffee. In Manyoni, the first hours of light are when the reserve earns its reputation.
The N2 highway runs close enough to the reserve that it can occasionally be heard from camp, particularly in the quieter hours.
Start with a recommended trip or create one from scratch
Rhino Sands Safari Camp can be booked with Timbuktu as part of a tailor-made South Africa trip, rather than as a standalone room reservation. Start online, customising one of our recommended South Africa trips featuring Rhino Sands Safari Camp or get advice and suggestions from one of our South Africa specialists who will design the trip around your dates, check availability and handle every booking for you.
Stays at Rhino Sands Safari Camp start from around $690, or US$690, per person per night as part of a tailor-made trip. The exact price depends on your travel dates, room type and the shape of the rest of your itinerary. A Timbuktu travel specialist can give you an accurate quote for your dates.
Ancient battlefields and wild shores merge to create a multi-faceted masterpiece.
