Tau Game Lodge ★★★★★

"Excellent property (watering hole brought a lot of animals), great game drives, family friendly, excellent chefs and service all round "

Rhulani Safari Lodge ★★★★

"A wonderful stay at Rhulani & hosted by a great team. Private Chalets lovely & food delicious & plentiful! Game drives most exciting, fantastic sightings & our guide was excellent."

Motswiri Private Safari Lodge ★★★★★

"This is our third time staying at Motswiri and the staff go out of their way to make your stay memorable and enjoyable, we will definitely be back again"

Tuningi Safari Lodge ★★★★★

"A truly incredible lodge with excellent food, service and very knowledgable game rangers. We loved our stay and were very sad to leave. They treated us like family and pampered us like royalty. Heidi and Gavin are warm, welcoming and friendly. Heidi went out of her way to make sure we had everything we needed. We will be back."

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 ★★★★

"Top notch, excellent customer service is what you will receive at Last Word. The staff is exceptional. Very kind and engaging. The attention to detail is remarkable. The rooms were spotless. Loved the snack left on your nightstand every evening. The hot water bottles, greetings with a wet towel and a drink were a treat. The water hole is bustling with activity. Finally got my photo of a giraffe drinking! The food was incredible."

Madikwe Safari Lodge ★★★★★

"We stayed in the Dithaba Lodge at Madikwe Safari Lodge and we warmly welcomed by Crrine and her team who couldn't do enough for us to make stay pleasant and memorable. Our guide, Brendin was wonderful and professional and had amazing sightings including a wild dog hunt on two impala. He was very professional and shared his knowledge of the bush, wildlife and fauna. Overall we had a wonderful experience and would highly recommend Madikwe Safari Lodge."

Rockfig Lodge Madikwe ★★★★★

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."