Baobab Hill House by RETURN Africa

Baobab Hill House is a secluded four-bedroom bush home perched on a ridge north of the Luvuvhu River, shaded by ancient baobabs and taken on an exclusive-use basis by one party at a time. Once the Pafuri section ranger's station, it has been transformed into a serene retreat that blends heritage with comfort: a fully equipped kitchen, dining room and spacious lounge, and a signature wrap-around veranda made for long afternoons, sundowners and stargazing. Recent upgrades added an expanded solar plant, brand-new en-suite bathrooms for two of the bedrooms, double glazing throughout and air conditioning in every bedroom.

The house comes with its own private guide and open safari vehicle, a camp hand and a kitchen assistant, and includes two private game activities a day. It can be taken self-catering or fully catered, and accommodates a minimum of six and a maximum of eight guests.

RETURN Africa's concession lies in a vast triangle between the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers in the far north of the Kruger National Park, along South Africa's north-eastern frontier. The two great valleys embrace one of Africa's most spectacular landscapes: mountains and gorges in the west giving way to plains, pans, baobabs and fever tree forests in the east. The land is the Makuleke Contract Park, owned by the Makuleke community and managed in partnership with them, and RETURN Africa is a BirdLife South Africa partner.

The Makuleke Contract Park is a Ramsar wetland site and one of southern Africa's great birding destinations, with over 350 species recorded in the Pafuri region and more than 450 across the concession. Commonly seen specials include Black-throated Wattle-eye, African Yellow White-eye, Lemon-breasted Canary, Grey-headed Parrot, Mottled and Böhm's Spinetail and African Finfoot. The area is also known for Dickinson's Kestrel, Thick-billed Cuckoo, Pel's Fishing Owl, Orange-winged Pytilia, Racket-tailed Roller, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, White-backed Night Heron, Narina Trogon, Gorgeous Bushshrike, Arnot's Chat, Southern Crested Guineafowl, Three-banded Courser, African Pygmy Goose and Eastern Nicator. The birding hotspots are the Luvuvhu River, Lanner Gorge, Crooks Corner, the fever tree forest, the sandveld and the ana tree forest.

Guests check in at Pafuri Camp before transferring to the camp.