Hi Andy. On one of our trips to SA, when we started off at Sirheni which is just south of Punda Maria, we drove from Johannesburg via Polokwane and Tzaneen to Phalaborwa for an overnight stop at Hans Merensky Country Club. It is situated on a golf course and is open to all sorts of wildlife.  Our chalet had no cutlery, crockery or utensils so you had to eat in the restaurant unless you had your own equipment.  When doing this trip, we were slightly confused because there is also a Hans Merensky reserve nearby. The Country Club is right in Phalaborwa and just a few minutes drive from Kruger's Phalaborwa gate.

An alternative route could be to drive via Belfast/Dulstroom/Lydenburg but I don't know what the state of the roads are there after all the rains.  I did hear there are a lot of potholes.