Roam Safari Lodge

The lodge comprises three large thatched buildings built in a horseshoe around a courtyard. The architecture replicates that of old Karoo farmhouses, with high ceilings, white-washed walls and deep verandas with plentiful outdoor seating, and a long wooden table set facing a stone braai area. Beyond the lawn, a wooden deck surrounds a pool, and shaded seating offers front-row rugged views. Indoors, two lounges offer ample seating, and there's a communal dining area. Expect country-style hospitality at its best.

The two buildings flanking the main area house five bedrooms – one twin, three doubles and one master suite. They too are finished in Cape Dutch/Karoo style, with thatched ceilings and polished concrete or tiled floors, deliciously cool underfoot in summer. The furnishings are simple but elegant, and very comfortable. En-suite bathrooms (some completely open to the bedrooms) have large showers; the master suite has a Victorian tub. Each room opens to the courtyard and has a terrace with seating.

The reserve's 5000 hectares of undulating rocky plains may appear barren, but in fact there's a surprising diversity of life, from the world's highest number of endemic succulents to creatures such as jackal, caracal, bat-eared and Cape foxes, springbok, meerkat, giraffe, zebra and buffalo. Reptiles are abundant, and 240 species of birds have been recorded. If you're lucky, you may encounter the recently introduced cheetah family. At night, lose yourself in the enormously star-studded, unpolluted dome of the night sky.