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For more than a decade the safari lodge to brag about having visited in Africa was one of the Singita properties in South Africa. But now that the company has taken over the management of Grumeti Reserves in Tanzania, East Africa is luring the status-seeking safari set and earning the buzz in the press. (To view additional images and the photo at left larger, click on it.)

Similar in size to Kenya’s entire Masai Mara, the preserve on the Serengeti Plains accommodates a maximum of fifty-four guests. The American investor and philanthropist Paul Tudor Jones II, who was one of the cofounders of the Robin Hood Foundation, bought the property a few years ago, after losing his ranch in Zimbabwe when Mugabe’s government abolished private land holdings. He’s doing more than just preserving this 350,000-acre parcel on the northwestern rim of the Serengeti National Park; all proceeds benefit the Grumeti Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to wildlife conservation, and community development, providing education, employment and health care to local people, as well as water and sustainable agriculture.

One lodge, Sasakwa Lodge Hill, resembles a series of colonial cottages. Sabora Plains Tented Camp revives the tradition of Hemingway with canvas tents outfitted with antique furniture and persian carpets, and Faru Faru is a river lodge built over near the Grumeti River, so all the suites have views of a drinking spot favored by hundreds of animals. The Serengeti has long had Africa’s highest concentration of migrating animals, and here guests can view them by vehicle, on horseback, by mountain bike, by hot-air balloon or on foot—always in the company of expert guides. Jones has lured away some of the top talent from Singita, so the service should soon equal the surroundings. To put them through their paces, Jones has invited dozens of his closest friends to test-drive the experience. Early word from Africa specialists is that Singita Grumeti Reserves will definitely be the continent’s ultimate safari experience. Rates from $1,700 per day, including meals, drinks and activities.

To read a postcard from a recent visitor, click here.