As we surge into the hot sky off the Satara airstrip after a short visit to the Singita concession in the Kruger National Park, I feel a wrenching as the dusty earth and trees shrink and the little plane’s nose turns towards Johannesburg. The concession is home to two Singita lodges, Sweni and Lebombo, a short walk apart and both recently refurbished. Sweni, the smaller one, is slung out along the N’wanetsi river. Its seven suites are poised lightly on the earth, literally and figuratively. The prefabricated structures could be removed overnight if needs be. Septic toilets take care of sanitation, a solar farm provides power, and filtered water — sparkling and still — is served in reusable glass bottles. I skip a game drive or two to make the most of my digs. Soaring windows frame views of bush and river, letting light and birdsong flood inside. The interiors are imbued with an earthy African modernism that hints at Pancho Guedes’s mid-century Mozambican masterpieces. Minimalist fur...
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