One Big Cat's Diary: The 5-star experience

Like most things in life, you have to take the rough with the smooth. On Wednesday night we took the rough on our bush camp; but on Thursday, it was definitely time for the smooth. As part of the volunteer package here at Amakhala, you get to stay for one night in the 5-star safari lodge itself, rubbing shoulders with fee-paying guests. It's a smart idea to give volunteers a taste of all aspects of what the reserve has to offer and we were certainly looking forward to a bit of pampering.

Kicking off at 3pm, we indulged in high tea. One positive legacy of the British empire is that whatever country we took over in the past, they still retained the colonial tradition of high tea after they'd kicked us out. And jolly good they are too. On previous holidays, I've been elbowed aside in the scrum to get to the cakes once they arrive.

The rooms themselves are delightful, individual thatched dwellings, which are guaranteed to elicit a "wow" from guests when they arrive. They are open-fronted with canvas awnings and mesh windows that can be pulled up to view the bush and any animals that might be passing by. In some ways, I felt like I was in tent, albeit a very grand one. Each dwelling has its own plunge pool, a small lounge area, an outside shower and a large bath with an excellent view - which I made very good use of, having only had access to a shower for the past four weeks.

We were seated with a honeymoon couple for dinner, who coincidentally had done some voluntary work themselves in Peru. Their first task every morning was to count parrots. Not just count them, but count how many flew in, how many flew out, which direction they came from and which direction they flew out to. It made our giraffe identification task seem like child's play.

Settling down to sleep in the rather enormous bed, I had a perfect view of the small valley outside, which is gently lit up at night. Having experienced the rough the night before, the smooth was all the more sweeter.