The safari experience at Rhino Sands revolves around two daily game drives. The day begins just before sunrise with coffee around the campfire. The morning game drive departs as the sun begins to rise in the sky. Game drives all occur within the Big Five 23,000 hectare Manyoni Private Game Reserve, and tend to last 2.5 to 3 hours, depending on sightings and the distance travelled. The area is well known for its plentiful game viewing of iconic African species like lion, cheetah, rhino, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, and many many more. All drives are conducted by expert game rangers and take place on open safari vehicles, with no more than six people per vehicle, ensuring comfortable space and prime game-viewing ability for each guest.
Upon return from the morning drive a full breakfast is served in camp. Between game drive and meal times, guests can relax at the camp’s lounge and watch the bird and animal life in the riverine forest or find respite from the heat in their private swimming pool while watching animals drink from watering holes in the river bed below.
A relaxed lunch is served mid-afternoon and is followed shortly after by the afternoon game drive. After returning to camp in the evening, the chef will prepare a gourmet three-course dinner, featuring some of the flavours and ingredients South Africa is famous for. As the day draws to a close, guests can spend time with us having a night cap around the campfire sharing stories or retire to their tent to fall asleep to the night-time sounds of the bush.
Rhino Sands’ ethos is one of connection with nature and people. This is why we have chosen a tented camp rather than built structures and why we decided to keep our numbers small and intimate. While we do provide wifi for our guests in their rooms in between safari and meal times, we kindly ask all of our guests to refrain from using their devices in our public spaces. We believe that disconnecting from our busy digital lives and living in the moment is one of the most precious parts of the safari experience and this enables us to connect not just with the environment, but with one another as well.