Golf & Safari – South Africa at Its Finest

Golf & Safari – South Africa at its most beautiful

Dear golfers with wanderlust

Golf or safari - two experiences that don’t seem to have much in common at first glance. But combine them the right way, and you won’t even have to choose. All you need is the right destination, a lodge with style, and a little inspiration.

Whether you start with birdies or the Big Five is a matter of taste. Our tip: safari first, then golf. Why that’s the better order? Read on…

Warmly,

your NineteenGOLF.Guide team

Wild. Wonderful. World-Class.

If you’ve ever wondered where Hollywood stars, former presidents and other global celebrities disappear to when they truly want to switch off, Royal Malewane would be a pretty good answer.

Since 1999, the lodge in the Thornybush Nature Reserve in the Greater Kruger region has hosted a guest list that would make even the who’s who pause for breath.

This isn’t about scale, it’s about class: just eight free-standing suites for a maximum of 20 guests. For you, that means absolute peace, plenty of space, and a service that anticipates more than it asks. Exclusivity is written large here, and the lodge ranks among the finest addresses for a genuine safari in South Africa.

📍 Royal Malewane, Thornybush, Greater Kruger

The game drives at Royal Malewane are personalised, tailored to your own interests, with guides who are far more than just drivers in the bush.

A safari lives and dies by what you see. But anyone who has ever travelled with a truly great guide knows: it isn’t the animals that make the difference, it’s the people who show them to you.

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Straight from safari adventure onto the fairway?

At Royal Malewane, that’s not a pipe dream but lived reality. Royal Malewane is one of the few certified safari lodges with privileged access to the private Leopard Creek Country Club, a golf course otherwise reserved exclusively for members.

Game Drive. Green. Gratification.

A safari is intense, powerful, and often surprisingly demanding.

Early mornings, long drives, full days out in the wilderness: the focus is clearly on the experience, not on rest. It’s a gift for the soul, but also a challenge for body and mind.

Which is why our tip is: adventure first, then tee-off.

A week of safari, a week of golf, along the Garden Route, for example.

You’ll find inspiration for that on NineteenGolf.Guide, for a journey that’s entirely your own.

Different. Breathtaking. On the Bridge.

📍 Kruger Shalati - Train on the Bridge, Kruger Park

“Breathtaking” is a word often used in the same breath as Kruger Shalati - Train on the Bridge.

Here you don’t stay in just any lodge, but in a converted train permanently parked on an old railway bridge, several metres above the Sabie River, right inside Greater Kruger National Park.

Exactly where the very first safari guests once arrived, a hotel of a very particular kind now stands: nostalgia meets design, safari meets style, all set against spectacular views and dishes that would be equally at home on a plate in Cape Town or London.

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Grey Winter. Climate Swap. Summer Bliss.

While summer heat shimmers here at home, winter is setting in across South Africa. And just as our days grow shorter and greyer, summer begins there, with sunshine to spare and excellent prospects for golf, indulgence and game drives. So if you’d like to escape the cold season, start packing your bags in your head now: the Christmas holidays are ideal for a trip that is anything but ordinary.

Safari

For safaris in Kruger National Park, May to October is considered ideal: dry season, good visibility, high chances of animal sightings.

The rainy season (November-April) usually brings short, heavy afternoon showers, with sunshine in between and nature at its lushest green.

Golf

Garden Route & West Coast: the best conditions run from October to April, with summery warmth in December/January.

The minimal one-hour time difference makes the long-haul trip especially convenient, even for those working remotely along the way.

Unpolished. Untamed. Unforgettable.

📍 Skukuza Golf Club, Kruger National Park

Skukuza Golf Club sits right in the middle of Kruger National Park, and you feel it on every hole.

There are no fences here, no boundaries, no groundskeepers with ambitions for a manicured lawn. Instead, impalas, warthogs, baboons and hippos roam freely across the fairways. And sometimes lions or hyenas simply choose the green as their resting spot.

You realise quickly: this is a wildlife golf course, and quite clearly the animals’ playground, not the golfers’. This isn’t about immaculately kept golf, the kind you might know from an exclusive country club. Here, it’s simply about having played the wildest golf course in the world!

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Board. Take Off. Arrive.

If you fly direct from Zurich or Basel to Johannesburg (JNB), SWISS or Edelweiss are the airlines to look at. SWISS operates the route nonstop, while Edelweiss usually routes via Cape Town (CPT). From Johannesburg, Airlink continues on to Hoedspruit, a flight of around an hour.

Golf luggage: on intercontinental routes, SWISS charges around CHF 250 per direction if the golf bag exceeds the standard baggage allowance. With Edelweiss, on the other hand, a golf bag up to 23 kg is included free of charge as part of the standard allowance.

Summer Evening Tip in Zurich – Theatre Meets Indulgence!

On 23 August 2025, Belvoirpark transforms into a stage full of charm, jazz and wit: the Molière Menu with Hilde & Lola, an open-air evening that invites you to laugh, marvel and reflect.

What awaits you:

• a refreshing welcome aperitif

• a refined three-course menu inspired by Molière

• plus clever scenes, live piano and jazz in the atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties

Buy tickets