The best new lodge in South Africa has to be Molori, a five suite compound within the malaria-free Madikwe Reserve, a 50 minute flight northwest from Johannesburg. Originally meant to be the simple, private family compound of Paramount Group chairman Ivor Ichikowitz, it expanded exponentially once he enlisted his friend Kirk Lazarus, a London based energy trader, as a partner.

In concert with Johannesburg designer Stephen Falcke, Lazarus coordinated the magazine layout-worthy décor, mixing African furnishings – locally carved leatherwood trees as bars and tables, kudu horns as door handles, intricately beaded Ethiopian chairs – with international finds, such as an antique Chinese drum as a daybed base, a motorized white leather Fendi chaise and antique French screens that he found at a Paris home show as a display and talked the dealer into selling. Everywhere you look, there’s something unusual and beautiful.

Besides the lodge’s privacy and resulting back story (as the site for major negotiations among government leaders slipped in and out secretly on the partners’ helicopters), the other details match the décor. Managers Greg and Riana Lederle direct both expert game drives and a warm, devoted staff; chef Willie Malherbe turns out exemplary meals ranging from tomato chutney and parmigiano muffins for breakfast to a delectable prawn curry and the South African version of oxtail stew, accompanied by wines from a sizeable cellar.

After finishing the transition and opening Molori, Lazarus decided that he enjoyed the process so much that he would transform some of his other properties around the world as well, with the same attention to detail in evidence at the lodge. In January, he opened his houses in Australia, both of which include chefs and staffs—a five bedroom property in Port Douglas steps from Four Mile Beach and near a golf course and a three bedroom house in Sydney’s Double Bay, including a choice of boats for cruising around the harbour. He’s also currently working on his seaside bungalow and adding other apartments to rent just above Clifton Beach in Cape Town. Target date for completion is just before World Cup, 2010.

To find out more about the Molori Safari Lodge: +44 207 887 1371; www.molori.co.za. And if you’re off to Cape Town, don’t forget to take our invaluable Globalista Report with you.

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