My best friend and I had lodges at Kudu Private Reserve for many years. We wanted to develop a Buildaid lodge closer to Johannesburg and, while on a weekend visit to Mziki Safari Lodge, we discovered a real treasure.
The neighbouring farm was an abandoned cattle farm with access to the river and Valkop Dam, which is like a mini Lake Kariba. We tracked down the owner, who was not interested in selling, but after a year of persistence we managed to buy the farm.
It took some time to clear the property, resulting in a heap of metal, wire, pipes and rubble nearly three metres high. Building the lodge was great fun, and we ended up with a very special place.