Sleuthing on safari: one journalist's sojourn through a South African game preserve.

The young lioness was in my sight. I needed just two more seconds for a clean shot that would add her to the cheetah, leopard and elephant I had bagged earlier. Our tracker had spotted her lithe, silent movement across the rapidly darkening, acacia-strewn dry savanna. I held my breath--got her! Then I lowered my camera.

Capturing that lioness on film was the pinnacle of my two-day, two-night stay at Sabi Sabi, one of South Africa's luxury private game preserves. Last October, I was in Johannesburg tracking down African American business owners attending the Made In USA Expo (see "Doing Business in South Africa," May 1995) when fate intervened. Kruger Day, a national holiday, was being celebrated. This was the first long weekend of summer (since South Africa is near the Southern Hemisphere's tip, its seasons are the reverse of those in the U.S.). And none of my contacts wanted to meet before Wednesday.

Knowing South Africa held some of Africa's most spectacular game preserves, I decided to spend the holdiday there, camera and binoculars in tow. Even though I didn't have much time, it wasn't a problem. The country's network of public and privately owned game preserves can meet any tourist's timetable and desires.

I took a small plane 300 miles east from Johannesburg to Skukuza, a landing strip on the western edge of Kruger National Park. Kruger and Sabi Sabi National Parks were my destination. South Africa's wealth and apartheid's scars were abundantly visible from the air. Minutes after leaving the city, I could see large, cultivated farms and open savannas. Looking down at rural towns, it was easy to observe the contrast between the paved, neatly ordered white areas and the wounded structures lining the dirt roads in neglected black settlements and townships. About an hour and a half later, the plane touched down at Skukuza's single runway airport on a cloudless, 90[degrees]F day.

There were five of us from New York and California. Our guides, July and Gavin, picked us up in a Range Rover and took us a teeth-rattling ride to the main encampment at Bush Lodge. The lodge has 22 thatched, tile-floored, air-conditioned chalets and five luxury suites. The main building houses a kitchen and bar with a 150-ft. terrace overlooking a water hole where warthogs and vervet monkeys frolicked.

The goal of an African safari is sighting the "big five": elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo. Groups of five visitors are assigned to an open-air land rover and a local tracker and ranger guide. Each day, before dawn and again two hours before dusk, you go out tracking. In the afternoon, walking tours are available.

Whenever we were outside the compound, July or Gavin kept a .58-caliber Czech Bruno rifle within reach. There are no fences between Sabi Sabi and Kruger National Parks, and animals wander freely between them. The vegetation ranges from acacia bushveld and open plains to riverine forest. Beautiful, shy impala are as ubiquitous as pigeons are in New York, and I saw hundreds of cape buffalo, zebra and giraffe daily.

In the early evening, warthogs wandered through the compound, and animal sounds, reminiscent of a hundred African movies, could be heard in the stillness under familiar bright constellations. Standing in the bar, rangers warned us that walking around the compound after dark or standing off the verandah to view the water hole was illadvised. The five of us--city slickers all-laughed and said sure. But two hours after the last ranger turned in and the bar had closed, three of us were confronted by a pack of nasty, bright-eyed hyenas just outside the main building's portico. It was a sobering moment as they went their way and we went ours. The next morning, one of my neighbors opened his blinds to see about 100 baboons trooping by.

At Sabi Sabi, the buffet-style breakfasts that begin each day are delicious. But the dinners are extra special. At the end of the last evening of the safari, our jeep stopped on a moonlit trail and we enjoyed sundowners, drinks make specially for us, and biltong, which is tasty, dried antelope meat. Move over beef jerky.

Returning to camp, we found dinner roasting over a fire pit and served inside a boma, a tall reed enclosure. Steak, pork and venison were on the menu, but my palate wanted other fare. I loved the warthog stew's rich beefy texture and slightly sweet, nongamey flavor. To my surprise, ostrich meat is tender and deep red, with a full-bodied flavor. Every selection was accompanied by glasses of excellent South African red wine grown in the Cape Province. The cheese and biscuits, fine cognac and ginger pudding served for dessert put a cap on the day.

The final morning was surprisingly cold. We had seen elephants, buffalo, a leopard, a trio of sinuous, long-tailed cheetah and a gathering of partially submerged hippos in the Sabie River. We also had filled in many of the blanks on our flora and fauna checklist. But lions had eluded us. None of us wanted to admit it, but we all felt the trip would be a letdown if we didn't see at least one. We were checking our watches and huddling under blankets in the early morning chill when July sighted the young female. I was armed and ready.

GETTING THERE

If you want to visit a private game preserve, both champagne and beer budget packages are available. The best prices, with discounts up to 40%, are available between April and September. South African fall and winter seasons may be the best time for big game viewing.

The luxury, private preserves provide first-class accommodations, while the bush camps are a relative bargain if you don't mind communal showers and toilets. The South Africa National Parks Board has 17 public game preserves; the most famous is Kruger National Park. Eleven of the preserves have accommodation facilities.

In general, the game preserves are divided into three price categories: Category A, up to $100 per night; Category B, $101-$300 per night; and Category C, $301 and over per night. Packages may be discounted, however. All rates are double occupancy unless otherwise indicated, and include transportation to and from game lodges, U.S. departure, accommodations, all meals, two game drives daily, government tax and service charges.

For more information, contact SATOUR, the South African Tourist Organization, 800-822-5368 or 800-782-9772. And when going to the bush, don't forget to take your anti-malaria pills!

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The tony private preserves listed below all border Kruger National Park in the eastern part of South Africa:

* Mala-Mala Private Game Reserve run by Rattray Reserves (011-27-11-789-2677) is the most exclusive and expensive as well, staking claim to being the largest privately owned game preserve in southern Africa. It has three camps: Mala-Mala Game Lodge located on the Sand River sleeps 50 at $1,875 double occupancy; Kirkman's Camp, a restored homestad, has room for 20 guests at $1,325; the Ndebele-inspired Harry's Camp hosts 16 guests at $850.

* Sabi Sabi Game Reserve has a double occupancy three-day, two-night stay including U.S. airfare for $1,500. Contact Central Reservations at 011-27-11-483-3939.

* Londolozi Private Game Preserve (011-27-11-803-8421) stresses eco-tourism. The main camp has 12 chalets; the Tree Camp has space for eight guests; both cost $1,095.

If you have time, like to rough it and are frugal, visit the Kruger National Park. The park has 13 rest camps and several hostels. Lodging costs vary widely, ranging between $6 and $160 per person per night. Contact a National Parks Board office (011-27-12-343-1991) to make reservations.

* Game Lodge Reservations can book private preserve accommodations. For information, call 011-27-12-343-2007. If you want to fit a trip into a smaller budget, check out Pathfinders Travel (011-27-11-453-1113). It books lodges and bush camps costing from $300 to $400 per night. For an experienced African American travel agency that knows South Africa, contact E-Z Tours (800-348-7200).