One of the World’s Most Famous National Parks Just Got a Brand-new Lodge With Bright-pink Glamping Tents

Dusky rose canvas, electric yellow tables, art deco-style chandeliers, magenta velvet couches, pink and white striped tented ceilings; forget neutrals and dark, earthy colors—this is a safari camp with a style of its own.

Masiya’s Camp officially opens on June 1, but I was one of the first guests to see it before it officially welcomes travelers. It’s the latest camp from The Royal Portfolio, which owns a number of South African hotels and the Royal Malewane collection of safari lodges in Thornybush Nature Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger National Park. Masiya’s Camp is the first tented camp in the collection. Though there were a couple of minor snags in the first days of opening, service in camp was excellent, fun, and on-point—something I’ve always found consistent at Royal Portfolio properties.

The camp is named after the late Wilson Masiya, a certified Master Tracker (one of only 13 people in South Africa to hold the highest tracking qualification), who worked at Malewane Lodge since its opening in 1999. He arrived in the area with his family in 1977, having fled Mozambique’s civil war and walked more than 80 miles through Kruger National Park, which shares a border with Mozambique. After a career that established him as one of the best trackers in the safari industry, Masiya passed away in 2015.

The Royal Portfolio co-owner Liz Biden is responsible for the lodges’ interiors and is known for her eclectic, colorful style. With Masiya’s Camp, she threw the safari rulebook out, opting for a riot of color, textures, and patterns, as well as pan-African references that speak to the diversity of South Africa and the broader continent.

The pink tents have been “the talk of the bush,” joked duty manager Ray Mayer, as he showed me to my room. And while the camp’s style may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I think Biden’s choices have paid off, setting Masiya’s apart—in design terms, at least—in a sector that can feel quite stale.

The tents—and the decks, in particular—are huge, ranging from 1,076 square feet to 2,476 square feet. When I say I must have clocked up a few hundred steps walking between the open-plan bathroom and the walk-in closet/dressing room on either side of the spacious tent, I’m only exaggerating a bit.

Art is always a prominent feature in The Royal Portfolio hotels and lodges. Here, there are floral paintings by Zimbabwean artist Tafadzwa Tega, street fashion photography by South African Nontsikelelo Veleko, and dreamlike suburbia scenes by Kate Gottgens, also from South Africa.

As much as the camp is an attraction in its own right, the safari experience is also top-notch, especially for first-timers hoping to see some of South Africa’s most iconic animals. Over the course of two nights, I saw the Big Five (an old hunting term for the most dangerous animals to find on foot—elephants, rhinos, buffalos, lions, and leopards), and more.

We had a coffee break by a waterhole where hippos were wallowing and a crocodile flawlessly imitated a log. We found lionesses gorging on a zebra carcass, the pride’s youngsters already splayed out on their backs, showing rotund, white, fuzzy bellies. A young male elephant couldn’t decide if we were worth intimidating as we sipped gin and tonic sundowners beneath a tangerine sky (after sizing us up and giving us a few head shakes, he sulkily crashed off into the trees). Back at camp, vervet monkeys had heard word of a new kitchen in town and were keen to join us for breakfast.

Here’s my full review of Masiya’s Camp.

The Rooms

There are six tents at Masiya’s Camp. Each has a spacious, elevated deck with loungers, armchairs, and a heated plunge pool. It’s common to see nyalas (a type of antelope) wandering along the thickly vegetated area in front of camp, and birds sipping from the pool. Tents one and two are furthest away from the main area, and tents five and four are closest; they’re all linked with a raised boardwalk.

The tents have an open plan, with curtain separators and floor-to-ceiling windows. At one end are king beds (which can be split into two twin beds) with mosquito net drapes, while the bathroom, with a standalone bathtub and indoor and outdoor showers, is at the other. A living area with plush couches and armchairs is in the middle. In some tents, there’s an armchair so big, Mayer told me one of Biden’s friends had dubbed it the “elephant tranquilizer chair.”

Each tent has its own color scheme—from the yellows and greens of tent five, where I stayed, to the pink florals of tent two. The wooden East African-style doors, Persian rugs, ornate Moroccan vases, bright artworks, and various knickknacks add to the camp’s colorful maximalist vibe. There are also hidden pop-up TVs at the foot of the beds.

Minibars are included in the room rate and are well stocked with teas and coffee, wines, spirits, soft drinks, and a range of snacks.

Food and Drink

Meals are served in the main area—a big open-plan space with dining on the deck or inside, where raspberry-hued velvet semi-circular booths are set around bright yellow tables. Meals are typically private, but your guide might sometimes join you for dinner. Or you may dine in your tent, if you prefer.

The food was consistently good, and I appreciated the choice of light and vegetarian dishes (safaris are traditionally all about hearty, meat-based fare).

Early mornings start with small bites—I highly recommend the grilled cheese sandwich with butter and Bovril, a salty beef-extract paste. After your game drive, guests can have a proper breakfast, which includes pastries, cheeses, fruit, and a choice of hot food. I had the avocado ricotta toast, with poached eggs. Lunch options might include crumbed eggplant with napoletana sauce and ricotta, and kingklip (a white fish) with grilled zucchini.

There’s a choice of three courses for dinner. One night, I had the braised cabbage (a bit too salty for my taste) with delicious lamb chops. On the second night, I had seared impala loin, melt-in-the-mouth oxtail with risotto, and I found room for a spoonful of the “bush banoffee”—caramelized banana with Amarula, a South African liqueur similar to Baileys and a safari staple.

I didn’t see them in action, but there’s a pizza oven and a large braai (South African barbecue) area on the deck.

Wonder Mlambo is the head mixologist and your man for anything beverage-related. He whipped up a passionfruit-based mocktail for a fellow guest, while I stuck to the South African Sutherland and Copper Pot pinot noirs. Like any self-respecting South African high-end lodge, Masiya’s has a large choice of excellent local wines.

Activities and Experiences

Every tent has a private pool, but a larger heated pool is also available in the main area, where guests will also find a little boutique stocked with clothes and accessories curated by Biden.

The main activities are safari game drives. Guests have private vehicles and partner with a tracker/guide team for the duration of their stay. There are two game drives a day, one in the early morning, just after sunrise, and the other in the late afternoon, around 4 p.m. The late drive usually incorporates sundowners in the bush as the sun sets, a quintessential safari experience.

It’s possible to go on a bush walk, too. I didn’t have the opportunity to do so on this trip, but you can expect an easy-going walk of an hour or so, during which you might get to examine the smaller elements of the bush, such as plants, birds and insects, and possibly come across larger animals, too (your guide will be armed, but guides and trackers are well-versed in reading wildlife).

There are some conservation-related activities, too, that need to be booked in advance and come at an additional charge, such as visiting the counter-poaching dog unit and taking part in a poaching-deterrent rhino dehorning operation.

The Spa

There isn’t a spa at Masiya’s Camp, though I was told there will be one in the coming months.

In the meantime, guests can use the Royal Waters Spa at nearby Malewane Lodge, which has three treatment rooms, a steam room, and hot and cold baths. The signature 180-minute Royal African Face and Body treatment involves a full body scrub, massage, and a facial.

Alternatively, travelers can also book in-tent treatments—there’s certainly enough room on the deck to set up a massage bed for an aromatherapy massage, or a deep tissue massage that incorporates the African knobkerrie stick to really get into those muscles.

Family-friendly Offerings

Children must be over 10 years old to stay here, unless you’re booking the whole camp, in which case, any ages are allowed. There are no specific family-friendly offerings at Masiya’s Camp, but babysitting is available.

Accessibility and Sustainability

There are two tents, numbers five and six, that don’t have any steps, though the main area does. A ramp will be installed, but currently, the camp is not suitable for wheelchair users.

Masiya’s Camp uses solar and hydronic energy for underfloor heating, air conditioning, and pool water heating.

There are few single-use plastics in the rooms: water is in reusable glass bottles and soft drinks are all in cans. The floors are concrete-free, incorporating mixed-use waste materials instead.

Location

Masiya’s Camp is located in Thornybush Nature Reserve, a private reserve within the Greater Kruger National Park in northeast South Africa. Kruger is known for its biodiversity and density of wildlife such as leopards and lions. It is also one of Africa’s largest national parks, roughly the size of New Jersey.

Since it’s a private reserve, only camps and lodges based in the area can operate game drives, which makes it a lot quieter than the public national park. Guides can also drive after dark, take bush walks, and drive off-road if needed, which isn’t possible in the national park.

There are multiple ways to access Masiya’s Camp. Guests can fly directly from Cape Town or Johannesburg to Hoedspruit Airport (HDS), which is about a 40-minute drive from the camp (Masiya’s will arrange a pick-up service). Or you can charter a flight and land directly at Royal Malewane’s private airstrip.

How to Get the Most Value Out of Your Stay

The Royal Portfolio doesn’t have a loyalty program. Nightly rates at Masiya’s Camp start from $2,870 (R52,500) per person, based on two people sharing. All food and most drinks are included in the room rate.

Every T+L hotel review is written by an editor or reporter who has stayed at the property, and each hotel selected aligns with our core values.