Elephants Never Forget

Iconic lodge’s resurrection after 2016 fire is complete, and the locals are as happy as the guests.

- Sal Roux

One night towards the end of 2016 Phinda Homestead was razed to the ground by a fire. The first we knew about it was when we got a call from management: “Sal, I have some sad news, Homestead burnt down.” We were in utter disbelief. “Is everyone alright?”

“Everyone is fine. No-one was hurt but the lodge is gone, there is nothing left.”

The Homestead was originally conceived as a show property, but before some investor snapped up the opportunity to have their own private lodge within the reserve, the powers that be realised what a treasure they had and instead of selling it, added it to the Phinda stable.

Homestead was built to accommodate a family or a small group, and it became a favourite with us and our friends. It also was a venue we had booked for our son’s Phinda wedding, just a few weeks away. And in a heartbeat, there was no Homestead. All that was left was a smooth knot of glass in hues of blue, once a handsome bowl, now a palm-sized memory with flecks of charcoal forever embedded in its core.

Some 22 months later (incidentally, the gestation period of an elephant), the new lodge emerged, and we were going to spend six nights there. It was built on the same footprint, so there was that sense of familiarity driving through the bush, but that was where the similarity ended. This Homestead is a tribute to Zulu life, the walls of the boma made from wattle and daub, the colours earthy and ancient, and the shades of ochre and burnt orange indisputably marry it to the land from which it rose.

I had a powerful sense that I had wandered into a sprawling Zulu compound with extravagant pieces around every corner. It felt like home. It was magnificent and very different from its predecessor.

Surrounded by style