The Zarafa is a five-star nature lodge on the edge of the Sabie Valley outside Hazyview, created for those who value quiet, good food and beautiful surroundings, whether the plan is to slow down completely or use the lodge as a base for exploring the Lowveld.

The design is Thai and Balinese in spirit, all teak, stone, water and deep shade, set into the African bush rather than imposed upon it. The service is warm, personal and unmistakably local.

Our philosophy is simple: African hospitality in Asian luxury.

With only five villas, privacy comes naturally. There is no crowd at breakfast, no queue for the pool and no sense of sharing your escape with more people than you would like.

We welcome guests over 18. The atmosphere is calm, intimate and romantic, and that is entirely deliberate.

The name

The Zarafa takes its name from the Arabic زَرَافَة, the word for giraffe and the root of the English word itself. A similar Arabic word has also been translated as lovely one. Both readings suited the place, so we kept it.

Tourism Grading Council of South Africa, five-star graded

“World class service in a personal, thoughtful way.”

Wendy · United States · Booking.com · 10/10

The film

A walk through the lodge

Spend three minutes at The Zarafa as the day unfolds: through the villas and their pools, the restaurant, the gardens and into the softer light of evening. It gives you a better sense of the place than any set of photographs can.

The film plays on YouTube. Nothing is loaded from YouTube, and no cookies are set, until you press play.

The collection

Collected over the years

Stone, wood and bronze figures, carved screens and relief work, gathered piece by piece rather than ordered as a set. They are the reason the lodge looks unlike anywhere else in Hazyview.