About 80km north of Polokwane, south of the Blouberg and west of the Soutpansberg, Makgabeng Farm Lodge is a perfect overnight stop en route to the Makgabeng. The nearby Makgabeng Plateau hides some of the most incredible San, Khoi! and Pedi rock art tucked under sandstone overhangs. Makgabeng Farm Lodge has comfortable rooms with an incredible view of the Makgabeng and best of all, a swimming pool to beat the heat! 

Tucked into the foothills of the Blouberg mountains, the African Ivory Routes Blouberg Cultural Camp feels cut off from the world, a place where you can turn off your phone, head off on a walk towards the sky and a refreshing dip in mountain pools, or laze under the trees and read the latest bestseller. Much later, sit around a crackling braai fire under a blanket of stars.  The Blouberg Camp has just 5 traditional-style huts so is perfect for your family or friends to book them all and have the place completely to yourselves.  No traffic, no deadlines, no meetings to attend and only the sound of birdsong as your morning wake-up call.  There is great hiking, birding and the Vulture colony and Makgabeng rock art sites nearby.

Leshiba Mountain Retreats is one of the most unique lodges in Africa. This private game reserve is perched at the summit of the Soutpansberg plateau surrounded by  dramatic cliffs and soulful vistas.  You can book out Hamasha for a self-catering bush break-away with family or friends or go for the bucket-list option of the newly-built, Lavish and Luxury suites at the Venda Village.  Giraffes delicately munch the treetops below you and beyond that is the game-filled mountain wilderness where you can walk up to wildlife and admire rock art from the earliest times.  Game drives and walks are tailored to you and enhance the magic rather than the fixed-schedule madness. At Leshiba Mountain Retreats, you're free to wander; to dream and to breathe in the mountains, horizons and the wild sky.