Mbizane is a private nature conservancy straddling the Lowveld escarpment in the highest reaches of the Schoemanskloof valley, Mpumalanga. Its boundaries are natural ones: rivers, cliffs and ravines, dense vegetation and the surrounding nature reserves. The extraordinary beauty of its cliffs earned Mbizane a place on South Africa's Register of Natural Heritage Sites, for having "highly significant natural features and objects, and to be essential to the preservation of South Africa's natural diversity".

You stay on the bank of a cold, pristine mountain stream in virgin riverine forest, dwarfed by vertical cliffs, in luxury tents raised on private elevated decks. Each tent is stylishly furnished for self-catering, with a lounge, dining and kitchen area, a bedroom with an extra-length king bed, electric blanket and mosquito net, and an open-plan bathroom with bath, basin, shower and enclosed toilet. Heaters, a safe and a hairdryer are standard. With balconies on either side and the tent flaps up, your living area extends across the whole deck. The tents are naturally ventilated and electrically heated rather than air-conditioned, so pack warm clothes for the cooler months when Highveld air slips down the escarpment.

Mbizane is a birder's dream. You will be birding whether you are walking, driving the scarp face, watching from one of the two lookout towers, or simply sitting on your deck listening to calls echo off the cliffs. Expect Narina Trogon, Knysna and Purple-crested Turaco, Verreaux's Eagle, African Crowned Eagle and Tambourine Dove, along with the other species of this Afromontane forest escarpment habitat. The camp publishes its own bird list.

Beyond birding there are walks and drives on the conservancy, the two lookout towers, the stream and its pools, and a restaurant at camp. Note that while there is wifi at camp there is no cellphone reception, so calls are over WhatsApp, and the last 12 km in is a gravel road up the Schoemanskloof.