Tau Game Lodge ★★★★★

"A Family friendly luxury lodge with heat rangers and high class tours. Two pools, outdoor showers in each lodge and renovated bathrooms. "

Rhulani Safari Lodge ★★★★

"We had an incredible stay. An amazing experience. Lodges and communal areas are great. Food is excellent, dining settings are magical. I cannot say enough about all the staff, fabulous service from all, they go above and beyond!"

Impodimo Game Lodge ★★★★★

"Come for the safari. Remember the people. We were a family of five – my dad, my father-in-law, my wife, my son and myself – and flew into Madikwe by prop plane after spending the previous night in Johannesburg. From the moment we landed, the experience started. We were met at the airstrip by Sebastian, who would also be our ranger throughout our stay. What was supposed to be our transfer to Impodimo very quickly became our first mini game drive! When we arrived at the lodge, we were given the usual briefing – meals, timings, game drives, etc. Then came one instruction that we didn’t quite understand: At night, you cannot walk between your room and the main lodge without being accompanied by a ranger. It didn’t take long for us to understand why. Shortly afterwards, while Sebastian was accompanying us to our room, our path was blocked by an elephant. Welcome to Madikwe! 😂 Impodimo sits along a route used by elephants travelling up and down towards the waterhole. So yes, you can quite literally have elephants wandering past the lodge. It is an incredible experience, especially for kids, but also a reminder that you are very much a guest in their home. ~ THE SAFARI ~ Sebastian was our dedicated ranger and Mpo our tracker, and having both of them with us on every game drive was fantastic. For anyone going on their first safari, there is something important to understand: This isn’t a zoo. The animals aren’t sitting around waiting for your vehicle to arrive. Nobody makes a phone call and asks the lions to come out. 😂 Madikwe is MASSIVE, and finding wildlife takes patience, experience and sometimes a fair amount of luck. So let your ranger and tracker do their jobs. Watching Sebastian and Mpo work was part of the experience itself. They read tracks, prints, broken vegetation and even dung to understand where animals had been, what direction they were moving and what they might be doing. You realise very quickly that what looks like absolutely nothing to you is giving them a whole bunch of information. And that knowledge comes from years of experience. One of the reasons we chose Madikwe was also the diversity of the landscape. As you drive through the reserve, the terrain changes significantly, which means you get to experience different animals within their natural habitats rather than simply ticking animals off a checklist. I’ll let the pictures do a better job of showing what Sebastian and Mpo managed to find for us. ~ THE LODGE ~ Impodimo itself is beautiful. The rooms are absolutely five-star, the setting is spectacular and the food was excellent – beautifully presented, delicious and easily at the standard you would expect from a luxury international hotel. But once again, the thing we will remember most wasn’t the room or even the food. It was the people. The entire team was warm, hospitable and incredibly helpful throughout our stay. And then my dad lost his camera lens. Not a lens somewhere inside the lodge. He had"

Last Word Madikwe ★★★★

"We have just returned from an incredible trip to Last Word Madikwe. I have been on safari in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Botswana and was blown away by the intimate experience the lodge's onsite, underground hide affords guests. The hide is accessible to guests all day and night and with the lodge only having a max of 12 guests, we often had it all to ourselves. Every night we watched rhino drink at water level and during the day we delighted in seeing the elephants up close as they swept their trunks close to the entrance of the hide. It was truly unforgettable. The lawns of the lodge also look over one of the park's oldest waterhole, which results in a steady parade of all species coming into full view to drink -- throughout the day and night. For several hours between game drives we could relax on the lawns and watch the wildlife interact with one another without their behaviour being disturbed. Out on drive we saw a cheetah kill, at least 10 rhino, elephant, the rare brown hyena and lion. We cannot wait to go back, this time taking more family members with us!"

Madikwe Safari Lodge ★★★★★

"Our days at Madikwe Safari Lodge were absolutely incredible! Was it a hike to get out there? Yes, but how else would you be on the reserve and have such wonderful opportunities to see as many animals as possible. We had such wonderful service from Frank and Olga, and Nico did a phenomenal job guiding us through the bush. The rooms were incredibly luxurious and optimized windows/viewing spaces--and the watering holes on the campus mean that you have even more opportunities to see animals while relaxing in between game drives. The food was absolutely delicious and plentiful, as were delicious drinks. Overall, I cannot say enough good things about the trip my friends and I took to Madikwe!"

Motswiri Private Safari Lodge ★★★★★

"I am a first time safari goer but traveling nomad, and the whole experience exceeded my expectations. The lodge is very secluded and accommodates 15-16 guests total. It was a very private experience, and we even had the game drives private for several of our days. While the watering hole is small, it was very active in June with elephants visiting daily and guests including buffalo, baboons,and a warthog, The beds are spacious and comfy. The food was excellent, and you won't go hungry. Breakfast is served at 900 AM after the morning game drive, lunch at 1400 before the 1500 game drive and then dinner around 1800. There are snacks and drinks (including alcohol) offered on the game drives and inside your room for free. They added special touches for anniversaries and birthdays. It was really a lovely vacation and experience. Be aware that the drive from the gate of the park to the resort is about 45 minutes to an hour in a sedan on a well-maintained dirt road if you self-drive."

Rockfig Lodge Madikwe ★★★★★

Tuningi Safari Lodge ★★★★★

"This is an awesome experience. The lodge itself is so comfortable, relaxed and well maintained at all times. The hide at the watering hole is an amazing creation. Our room was excellent (No. 1) although the outside generator can be heard at times. The food is excellent, the staff are wonderful and whilst it’s very hard to name individuals, it is the presence of committed managers, Heidi & Donovan who stand out and lead a happy, competent team of staff. The safari drives are always worth that early alarm call ! Ashley is a knowledgeable, kind hearted, humorous guide who enabled awesome sightings. Unfortunately the last couple of days were rainy but still with good humour off we all went to explore. A final generous touch was to be escorted to the main gate in our hire car as the rain left the gravel road a little slippery but with care it was just fine. Thank you so much all of you at Tuningi, so hoping to see you all again one day. Liz & Carole"

Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge

"Excellent bush guide Joseph. Room was lovely and had a great view. All the staff were friendly and helpful. Food was good in the main. One night I just didn't like the menu but my wife was happy with it. So just me on the night. Really excellent way to see the animals in the bush."