Don’t think you’ll find a value-for-money wildlife experience in the private reserves west of Kruger? Think again! Here are 10 ideal lodges near Kruger for a supercharged bush experience.
Photo by Cameron Ewart-Smith
Cameron Ewart-Smith photographed a story with writer Paul Maughan-Brown on a selection of lodges you’ve probably never heard of in some of the Lowveld’s private reserves.
‘We found some really incredible places at pretty decent prices and, for the first time, I have a nagging suspicion that my next affordable bush holiday may not be to Kruger. I appreciate that I’ll probably pay more in the private places, but I’m happy with that as I know the experiences I’ll have there will be supercharged. You see, what these lodges are doing right is that they’re putting visitor experience at the centre of their operations. Game drives are better (in most private reserves there’s no red tape insisting that vehicles must have high sides and roofs), magnificent sightings are guaranteed and, more often than not, no one in your family will need to cook.’ – Cameron Ewart-Smith
Read more: the real value of a bush holiday
Leadwood Private Camp
Timbavati Private Nature Reserve
Mention the name Timbavati Private Nature Reserve and it conjures up visions of opulent lodges at bank-manager-alarming prices. But that’s not entirely accurate. Follow the obscurely signposted dirt roads to the gates and make the small white-walled homestead at Leadwood Camp your private home in the bush. The main building’s polished, patchwork front door swings open to reveal a buffalo bust looming on the opposite wall. Elephant tusks and a jackal pelt decorate two living areas that provide plenty of indoor lolling space. There’s a TV, if you need it, in one of the lounges.
Outside, a deck with a long dining table and cushioned plastic-weave couches extends over the banks of the rocky Nhlaralumi riverbed. You’ll spend ages admiring the towering 1 200-year-old leadwood from here, with waterbuck grazing surreptitiously below you. Cooking is a dream in a kitchen with two ovens, cavernous freezer space and everything from a lettuce spinner to muffin trays. Attentive but unobtrusive staff do the washing up and cleaning.
A fire pit separates the communal area from four semi-detached double en-suite bedrooms. Freshly picked bougainvillea blooms give a kick of colour to the separate master suite, dominated by rust-reds and maroons as subtle and strong as the antique wardrobe against the wall. You can switch on the ceiling fan from where you lie in bed, indicative of owner Jan Wilkens’ attention to detail.
Game drives with manager-guide Andries Banyisi happen as and when you please. Tick off the Big Five (it won’t take long) or sit watching a hornbill cement its nest in a marula trunk – there’s no pre-set schedule, it’s up to you. Multiple tracks around and through broad sandy riverbeds fill you with leopard-spotting optimism.
Rates:
Self-catering costs R36 000 for 10 people staying from Saturday to Saturday. Includes two game drives daily.
Contact:
Tel 082-656-5666, www.leadwoodcamp.co.za
Traversing area:
Almost 20 000 hectares.
Five sightings:
Lion, leopard, hyena, elephant and white rhino.
Leadwood Private Camp. Photo by Cameron Ewart-Smith
Africa On Foot
Klaserie Private Nature Reserve
Struggle with sitting in a car for hours on end, but love the bush? In Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, part of the unfenced greater Kruger National Park, Africa On Foot takes guests closer to the bush on seven- to 10-kilometre morning walks. Moving through mopaneveld and thorny woodland savannah and across small plains, guides Rein Kock and Courteney Blunden show you things they never could from the back of a vehicle – the manicured entrance to a baboon spider’s hole, the lobes of a leopard’s footprint – while the sounds of cackling birds ring clear without the steady drone of a Landy. You’ll return for breakfast after the walk with sweat on your brow and a rumble in your tummy.
A thatch-roofed, canvas-walled bar and dining area is the focal point of the camp, with accommodation scattered around it. An old water-worn tree trunk, buried head first, stands centrepiece between soft cushioned couches. Bees buzz between here and your rondavel and moths flutter up in numbers from the green grass. Unlike at many unfenced camps, you’re free to move the short distance between bar and bedroom unaccompanied at night. An oil lamp lights the threshold of your bungalow in the evening, as the camp is completely off the grid, relying on solar power and gas.
En-suite rondavels are modestly furnished with twin beds, an armchair, writing desk and open hanging/ shelf space. A fan works hard to keep you cool on hot nights. The low-walled outside shower looks out over the clusters of bushes beyond.
Rates:
Full-board from R1 995 a person a night, including a morning walk and evening drive.
Contact:
Tel 021-421-8433, www.africaonfoot.com
Traversing area:
7 000 hectares
Five sightings:
White rhino, leopard, elephant, hyena and honey badger.
Africa On Foot. Photo by Cameron Ewart-Smith
Kurhula Wildlife Lodge
Balule Private Game Reserve
After working in the financial sector in Rotterdam for nine years, Sander and Kim Verburgh are now living their dream, running this intimate bed and breakfast in the bush. Kurhula’s unfenced property spans the gently sloping northern bank of the Olifants River in Balule Private Game Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger area. A gargantuan wild fig casts shade over sandy banks where you’ll watch kingfishers hover to the tune of water flowing rapidly downstream.
Ebony and burgundy mottled slate tiles add an earthiness to crisp white walls and linen in the four semi-detached en-suite bedrooms. Comfortable twin beds and air conditioning make for a good night’s sleep before you admire a magnificent jackalberry over an early morning coffee on the shared deck.
Meals are served on the slate stoep of the main building at the top of the property, overlooking the terracotta tiles of an infinity pool just below. Self-taught chef Kim sips a glass of red while preparing a three-course dinner. During our visit, a rattly quilled porcupine had his moment in the spotlight between courses, until heavenly berry mousse consumed our attention.
The beautiful big dandelion lamps decorating the comfy communal lounge inside were bought from Ikea and are typical of the Dutch couple’s unpretentious, tasteful touch.
If you have to see the Big Five, Kurhula might not be the place for you. Mountainous rocky terrain provides beautiful vistas, but this doesn’t feel like a place teeming with wildlife. Game drives are charged as an optional extra, so you can sleep until breakfast without the guilt of missing out on something you’ve already paid for.
Rates:
DB&B from R820 a person a night sharing. Game-drive prices vary from R150 to R200 a person, depending on numbers.
Contact:
Tel 079-251-8487, www.kurhulalodge.com
Traversing area:
3 000 hectares
Five sightings:
Giraffe, kudu, waterbuck, zebra and porcupine.
Kurhula Wildlife Lodge. Photo by Cameron Ewart-Smith
Shindzela Bush Camp
Timbavati Private Nature Reserve
After driving promisingly deep into the bush on the fenceless western border of Kruger, you’ll come to a compact arc of eight adjacent tents overlooking a small dry riverbed. At the head of the arc is an L-shaped, thatch-roofed dining and lounge deck, where wooden armchairs with canvas-covered cushions surround a beautiful chess table inlaid with cubes of ochre, tan and ebony. You’ll spend daylight downtime between here and the small plunge pool a few metres across the grass.
Simple tents have no pretension of luxury, but do have comfortable beds, which owner-manager Carolien Janse van Rensburg believes are so important to a good bush experience. Two brightly coloured cushions offer a splash of vibrancy to an otherwise camo-green and white affair. The only source of light is a strip of energy-efficient LEDs above the wooden door – the camp runs entirely on solar power and gas. Copper plumbing protrudes from the latte walls of the en-suite outside bathroom. A wooden basin drains through a large clay urn, typical of the combination of decoration and practicality that takes the place of unnecessary adornments.
The unfenced camp is open to the movements of wild creatures big and small, regularly visited by the honey badgers after which it’s named. Days before our arrival, wild dogs killed an impala in front of tent No. 1. Trackers such as Kenneth Kubai work hard on drives, often leaving the vehicle to stride off and study lion tracks, while guide Sam Nyakane passes no cluster of vultures without heading through the thorny woodland savannah to investigate.
Hint:
Pick tent 6 for the best view over the riverbed, which often hosts game such as buffalo herds and elephants, among others.
Rates:
Full-board from R1 500 a person a night sharing. Includes two game drives daily.
Contact :
Tel 015-793-1578, www.shindzela.co.za
Traversing area:
3 500 hectares
Five sightings:
Lion, leopard, elephant, side-striped jackal and African rock python.
Shindzela Bush Camp. Photo by Cameron Ewart-Smith
Indlovu River Lodge
Karongwe Private Game Reserve
There is a palpable sense of cool calm about this lodge in Karongwe Private Game Reserve, off the R36 between Ohrigstad and Tzaneen. Lush lawns of broad-bladed Lorenzo Marques grass connect shaded beds of clivia and agapanthus, while wild jasmine sweetens the air. A piet-my-vrou intermittently overpowers the cooing of doves in an aviary. Right on the high banks of the Kuvjename River, the lodge encompasses a number of completely private, self-sufficient units originally built to accommodate the adult offspring of the owners, Dawn and Ben Venter (parents of Springbok centre Brendan Venter).
Each accommodating two to nine people, the thatched stone and brick buildings have private pools and all boast unique advantages, but the prize pick is Chalet Shingwedzi. A staircase of Rhodesian teak, solid enough to support the elephant after which the unit was named, joins the open-plan lounge and kitchen to the master bedroom upstairs. The king-sized bed has a beautiful view down the bushbuck-dotted sands of the Kuvjename towards the distant Drakensberg. A zebra skin rug echoes delicate embroidery on the duvet cover and fluffy white towels alongside a freestanding, bronze-footed bathtub. In the kitchen downstairs, a perfectly sharp carving knife waits to slice whatever you roast in the high-set oven and a selection of kids’ cups will keep toddlers’ sundowners from spilling on bumpy game drives through mopaneveld, thorny woodland and along pretty riverine routes brimming with birdlife. A high number of vehicles in Karongwe means sharing sightings, but also that there are many eyes looking for game. During our visit, a thoroughly habituated cheetah tolerated visitors walking to within metres of her cubs as they feasted on a fresh kill.
Rates:
Depend on size of group and unit booked. Self-catering from R2 460 a unit a night. Game drives are an additional R250 a person and a great personal chef is available at a daily rate of R300. Full-board is from R2 400 a person a night, including two game drives and gate fees.
Contact:
Tel 015-383-9918, www.irl.co.za
Traversing area:
9 000 hectares
Five sightings:
Lion, leopard, cheetah, black-backed jackal and white rhino.
Indlovu River Lodge. Photo by Cameron Ewart-Smith
Vuyani Safari Lodge
Moditlo Private Game Reserve
Assegais and walking sticks line the entrance to Vuyani Safari Lodge, the first signs of the eclectic African decor to come. Set in Moditlo Private Game Reserve, west of the R40 that separates it from the reserves adjacent to Kruger, this seven-bedroom lodge strives for a sense of grandeur. Enthusiastic young chefs in an open kitchen prepare dinner, rich aromas wafting out to an extensive two-storey deck that stretches to a large horizon-flow pool. The nearby riverbed is obscured by acacia scrub, but the heat-hazy northern Drakensberg forms a beautiful backdrop to the thorny treetops, the sun setting slowly behind them.
The central lodge encompasses two bedrooms, while gravel paths connect five generously spaced exterior en-suite units. Two spacious thatch-roofed honeymoon rondavels have partial wrap-around wooden decks and private spa baths looking out into the thick scrub. The words ‘Welcome to Vuyani’ are spelled out with delicately twisted twigs on the crisp white duvet of the double bed, indicative of the effort and enthusiasm of an eager-to-please staff. Slatted doors open onto a stone-tiled bathroom where you can choose between bathtub and outside shower.
Game drives might leave a little to be desired for hard-core bush lovers. The sound of the coal-truck laden highway is clearly audible from places, and a train trundles by with some regularity. We also came across a couple taking a leisurely stroll from their plot on the reserve, somewhat diminishing the sense of wildness. Fewer leopard and spotted hyena mean higher chances of seeing brown hyena and aardvark than in the reserves adjacent to Kruger.
Rates:
Full-board from R2 500 a person a night sharing. Includes two game drives daily and selected drinks.
Contact:
Tel 082-750-0709, www.vuyanilodge.com
Traversing area:
14 000 hectares
Five sightings:
Hinge-back tortoise, black-backed jackal, white rhino, kudu and waterbuck.
Vuyani Safari Lodge. Photo by Cameron Ewart-Smith
Sausage Tree Tented Safari Camp
Balule Private Game Reserve
The tail-wagging hound greeting you at the gate is the first sign of the relaxed atmosphere at Sausage Tree. South of the Olifants River in Balule Nature Reserve (part of the Greater Kruger) this tented camp bridges the gaps between rustic and comfortable, professional and personal. A broad marula tree shades your car as you follow swept gravel paths past pink impala lilies and tall wag-’n-bietjie trees to your accommodation.
Five en-suite tents (No. 1 has the best view) set on thatched platforms are spacious, tiled and air conditioned. Bushels of magic guarri decorate the twin beds each day, specifically chosen for the luck it’s believed to bring into the home.
An elevated lodge looks out over gently undulating thorny woodland to the Drakensberg-dominated horizon. Tuck into lunch and watch an impala herd or a lone wildebeest meander down to the waterhole overlooked by the open-air dining deck. A low bar opens from the lounge onto the pool, where brightly coloured swimming towels are tucked in a basket for your use.
Game drives with co-owner James Carne are superb. His undying interest in the bush sets a relaxed pace, the whole experience feeling more like an opportunity to enjoy and learn about the bush than a rush to tick off the Big Five. James’s earpiece for the vehicle’s radio helps maintain an element of suspense not always present at other lodges, so you’re never entirely sure what will appear next.
Rates:
Full-board from R1 890 a person a night sharing, including two game drives daily.
Contact:
Tel 083-349-6007, www.sausagetree.co.za
Traversing area:
3 000 hectares.
Five sightings:
Lion, elephant, buffalo, pearl-spotted owl and Verreaux’s eagle-owl.
Sausage Tree Tented Safari Camp. Photo by Cameron Ewart-Smith
Nkelenga Tented Camp
Thornybush Nature Reserve
Hoping to find Moët in your mini bar? Thornybush Nature Reserve, on the western border of Greater Kruger, operates a number of high-end options including the luxurious Thornybush Game Lodge. But if you want more beds for your bucks, Nkelenga Tented Camp is an awesome self-catering option for groups. A simple thatched house and three platformed tents overlook a small dam from a broad, marula- and knobthorn-dotted lawn. Kids will chomp at the bit to get out and run around, a low electric fence offering a modicum of protection from animals.
A buffalo’s portrait stares nonchalantly from the wall as you enter the house’s open-plan lounge and dining area. Sink-into couches surround a big basket of dry combretum pods, while a big square dining table is perfect for playing provided boardgames. The kitchen is on the basic end of the spectrum, but with all the necessities, including three fridge-freezers to keep beer and boerie chilled. A loft area sleeps two kids, with a double room downstairs for mum and dad.
Tents are comfortably furnished with a simple earthy aesthetic. Caramel carpets echo wicker furniture, juxtaposed by heavy dark wood bedside tables. The wooden door separating the bedroom from en-suite bathroom gives the tent a sense of permanence and comfort.
A safari vehicle takes guests on two drives a day. Thornybush operates a large number of vehicles, all of which are in radio contact, meaning there is a good chance of exciting sights. Thick, thorny woodland does little to stop the determined guides and off-road vehicles from getting you up close and personal with lion and leopard.
Rates:
The camp, which sleeps eight adults and two kids, is booked out as a whole for R7 500 from Monday through Thursday and R8 500 from Friday through Sunday, including two game drives daily.
Contact:
Tel 011-253-6500, www.nkelenga.co.za
Traversing area:
15 000 hectares
Five sightings:
Buffalo, lion, leopard, genet and kudu.
Nkelenga Tented Camp. Photo by Cameron Ewart-Smith
nThambo Tree Camp
Klaserie Private Nature Reserve
You’ll feel particularly close to the bush in the airy structures of nThambo Tree Camp, set on a small open pan in Klaserie towards the north of the Greater Kruger area. The lodge is relaxed and revolves around the central, open-plan living, swimming and dining area, shaded by a lofty thatch roof and retractable canvas walls. Thick-weave khaki carpets soften the deck beneath white-cushioned wicker couches, while canvas director’s chairs line a long dining table.
Raised off the ground, five similarly rustic en-suite units feel like well-furnished tree houses, although not actually supported by trees. Sturdy vertical poles elevate them and form their main structural support, connected by low latte railings and sections of safari-green canvas.
A thick tawny blanket at the end of a wrinkle-free white duvet is appropriate protection from the free-flowing evening breeze. A wooden coat stand with two little drawers is authentic in its colonial-era safari aesthetic, complemented by a small writing desk and tall dark wardrobe. The en-suite bathroom behind the double or twin beds is surrounded by wooden walls, which provide privacy. The plumbing struggles briefly to build enough pressure to get water up to the shower, but it’s piping hot when it gets there.
You’ll be surprised time and again by the ability of a Land Rover to get through seemingly impassable terrain in pursuit of exciting sights. We picked our way through thick scrub, following a leopard as it strategically sprayed its fresh-popcorn scent. Mopaneveld, thorny woodland savannah and small clear pans attract a variety of game and, although it would be hard to say the reserve is teeming, you’ll get good sightings on most drives.
Rates:
Full-board from R2 450 a person a night, including two game drives a day.
Contact:
Tel 021-421-8433, www.nthambo.com
Traversing area:
7 000 hectares
Five sightings:
Buffalo, white rhino, leopard, black-backed jackal and honey badger.
nThambo Tree Camp. Photo by Cameron Ewart-Smith
Umkumbe Safari Lodge
Sabi Sand Private Nature Reserve
The full-arm wave and genuine beaming smile of manager Courtney Dalziel instantly sets the tone for an easy-going stay at this lodge in the famous Sabi Sand. You’ll immediately want to enjoy a drink and watch elephants frolic in the broad, meandering Sand River, right in front of the dining area – help yourself from the bar and write down what you take, typical of the lodge’s refreshing, no-fuss attitude to guests.
Adjacent to the dining area is a leather-couched, kelim-floored lounge for games of pool or darts under the watchful gaze of kudu and gemsbok trophy heads. Outside, long, green coffee bauhinia pods fall, thwacking onto the brick paving. During our visit a flock of brown-headed parrots in the boughs above added to the tropical feel of the grassy gardens.
Each of the simple semidetached en-suite rooms has its own stoep, extending the otherwise limited space. Velvety blankets cover comfortable twin beds adorned with carefully placed pink bougainvillea blossoms and a rhino-shaped biscuit. The dark wood of the wardrobe-cum-dressing table in the corner matches that of the bedside tables. A clean olive-green-washed concrete floor rises a little into a bathroom with a spacious stone-tiled shower.
The terrain and game around Umkumbe are second to none. Some low-level interference from landowners protects the idyllic tree-spotted plains from bush encroachment, leaving tawny, rust red and lilac grasses to dominate the sprawling landscape. Enthusiastic, knowledgeable guides drive to within feet of remarkably habituated game. Sixteen leopards live in Umkumbe’s modest traversing area – you’d be unlucky not to see one.
Rates:
Full-board from R2 195 a person a night sharing, including two game drives daily.
Contact:
Tel 021-421-8433 www.umkumbe.co.za
Traversing area:
670 hectares
Five sightings:
Leopard, elephant, white rhino, buffalo and hyena.
Umkumbe Safari Lodge. Photo by Cameron Ewart-Smith
What we mean when we talk about…
Traversing area
This is the size of the area that game vehicles from a specific lodge can cover on drives. It’s important because the bigger the traversing area, the more likely you are to see exciting sightings.
Five sightings
These are the five most exciting animal sightings we encountered on two game drives (morning and evening) to give you an indication of the quality of the reserve.
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