It took Brenda and Donald Perry six long years to find the perfect location for their "total, get-away-from-it-all" private game reserve.
"We didn't want guests to see lights: only starlights. We wanted it to be as wild as it could be and a really back-into-Africa wilderness experience," the Perrys said.
The end result is a five-star retreat known as the Duma Manzi Eco Lodge and Spa, set in a beautiful valley on 5 000ha in the Richmond/Ixopo area, which includes 12km of the Umkomaas River. It is about 90-odd minutes from Durban and 45 minutes from Pietermaritzburg.
Part of Duma Manzi (it means Thundering River) is an area known as Lions Kloof, which is a national monument.
It is here that Cecil John Rhodes and his brother, Herbert, farmed cotton in 1870 and when the cotton crop failed, Rhodes continued his African adventure, moving on to the Kimberley diamond fields.
The farm is one of 16 incorporated into Duma Manzi, which has been well stocked with a mosaic of wildlife - white rhino, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, nyala, eland, water buck and duiker - and where no expense has been spared.
It's been an expensive business and the fencing alone is of the highest wildlife specifications.
The Perrys spent more than two-and-a-half years developing more than 3 000m² of buildings at their boutique lodge which includes the wellness centre, lounges, a grand hall full of African curios and big chalets with floor-to-ceiling glass doors opening to balconies and the river, and relaxing plunge pools.
Guests can leave their cars under lock and key at the top of the valley, hop aboard a game-viewing vehicle and stop at a viewing deck to admire the rolling hills.
Here they can get a glimpse of the first solar power panel, which is linked to a generator with a battery bank for all the destination's electrical consumptions. There is also a water purification system and the Perry's pride themselves that Duma Manzi is a flagship eco-hospitality destination.
Then comes the drive into the valley below where the lodge is positioned right next to the river with dramatic sandstone cliffs on the other side of the bank.
It is a beautiful setting with an ecosystem that supports more than 300 bird species.
It is no wonder that a big fashion store chose Duma Manzi for its summer fashion shoot.
"We could hardly have discovered a more picturesque location," they raved in the visitor's book.
The Perrys say their emphasis is "on luxury, romantic charm and tranquillity, combined with privacy and a personal guarantee of confidentiality for high profile guests".
And these guests generally arrive by helicopter from Virginia Airport, or are chauffeur-driven to the lodge.
Donald said guests come in from around the world: America, Australia, Germany, France, Italy.
They also pride themselves on meticulous attention to detail - even the paint on the bedroom walls is the same shade as the cliffs.
The couple has been realistic with their prices and while other five-star lodges charge more than R3 000 a guest for full board, Duma Manzi's rate is under R2 000.