10 Amazing Game Lodges — Pictures to Inspire

10 Amazing Game Lodges (in no par­tic­u­lar order):

1. Safari Lodge at Ulusaba Private Game Reserve
2. Thanda Private Game Reserve
3. Ivory Lodge at Lion Sands Private Game Reserve
4. Tree Camp at Londolozi Private Game Reserve
5. Msenge Bush Lodge at Pumba Private Game Reserve
6. The Motse at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve
7. Gorah Elephant Camp
8. Dwyka Lodge at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve
9. Tinga Private Game Lodge
10. Nguni River Lodge

Please bare in mind that this is a sub­ject­ive list, not a defin­it­ive list — there are hun­dreds of out­stand­ing game lodges in South Africa. It is not my inten­tion to offend other game lodge own­ers, but rather to inspire trav­el­lers with the beauty of our country.

1. Safari Lodge at Ulusaba Private Game Reserve

Safari Lodge is loc­ated beneath a can­opy of ancient trees on the edge of a dry river­bed. The rooms are built 'tree house' style and you really get the feel­ing of being at the heart of life in the bush. Your room will provide fas­cin­at­ing views of the anim­als as they stroll past on their way to the nearby water­ing hole. Owned by Sir Richard Branson, Ulusaba Private Game Reserve is set in the heart of the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, bor­der­ing the sprawl­ing Kruger National Park.

2. Thanda Private Game Reserve

Winner of Africa's Leading Luxury Lodge in South Africa and South Africa’s Leading Safari Lodge at The World Travel Awards, Thanda Private Game Reserve is situ­ated on a 7800 hec­tare Big Five private game reserve in north­ern KwaZulu Natal. The nine lux­ury bush vil­las at the main lodge each have a private infin­ity pool, view­ing deck, private sala (thatched out­door day bed area), lounge, fire­place and full bath­room with both inside and out­side showers.

3. Ivory Lodge at Lion Sands Private Game Reserve

The inter­na­tional award win­ning Lion Sands Ivory Lodge is ultra lux­uri­ous, yet simple and uncluttered. The Lodge com­prises six gen­er­ously sized privately situ­ated vil­las, each with a sep­ar­ate liv­ing room, heated swim­ming pool and an open plan en-suite bath­room with an enclos­ure for the out­door shower – 6-star lux­ury in the middle of the bush – with breath­tak­ing views of the Sabie River.

4. Tree Camp at Londolozi Private Game Reserve

Londolozi Private Game Reserve is an unashamedly exclus­ive and lux­uri­ous safari des­tin­a­tion cov­er­ing 14 000 hec­tares in the heart of the game-rich 56 000 hec­tare Sabi Sand Game Reserve. Tree Camp is so named because of the dense riv­er­ine forest envir­on­ment and most not­ably the ancient Ebony Tree shad­ing the camp and offers six lav­ish suites elev­ated 70 feet above the Sand River.

5. Msenge Bush Lodge at Pumba Private Game Reserve

Nestled in the heart of the malaria-free Eastern Cape, Pumba Private Game Reserve is a hid­den gem offer­ing the ulti­mate in African Safari lux­ury. Msenge Bush Lodge offers 11 exclus­ive chalets, which flow nat­ur­ally into the African bushveld, allow­ing you to become one with nature. Dreamy bath­rooms with mag­ni­fi­cent views, lux­ury bed­rooms open­ing onto private tim­ber decks com­plete with plunge pools and out­door showers.

6. The Motse at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

Tswalu Kalahari is South Africa’s largest privately owned game reserve, situ­ated in the heart of the malaria-free Northern Cape. Designed to blend incon­spicu­ously into the moun­tain range sur­round­ing the game reserve, the Motse con­sists of eight spa­cious suites, all designed with a dis­tinct and eleg­ant African character.

7. Gorah Elephant Camp

The incom­par­able thrill of quietly observing a passing herd of ele­phant while being served tea on the ver­andah of a stately Colonial manor house is the stuff of dreams and legends — at Gorah it’s an every­day occur­rence. Sheltered beneath thatched can­op­ies, Gorah’s 11 ten­ted suites are lux­uri­ous and spa­cious, recall­ing the golden era of safari in the early 1900s.

8. Dwyka Lodge at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve

The sheer expanse (54,000 hec­tares) and stark beauty of Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, in the Klein Karoo of the Western Cape, gives one a sense of humble­ness. Dwyka Lodge com­prises of 9 lux­uri­ous and secluded tents, which exude an atmo­sphere of pion­eer­ing adven­ture in this vast land­scape. Each lux­ury tent has its own private deck, out­door shower and plunge pool.

9. Tinga Private Game Lodge

Tinga Private Game Lodge is loc­ated on a 5000 hec­tare private con­ces­sion on the banks of the Sabie River, in the prime game-viewing area in the Kruger National Park. Tinga’s two exclus­ive Lodges, Legends and Narina, each com­prises nine suites which are well spaced to ensure com­plete pri­vacy. Each suite has an en-suite bath­room and a double shower, a sep­ar­ate lounge, heated plunge pool and private view­ing deck.

10. Nguni River Lodge

Nguni River Lodge is situ­ated in the Greater Addo Elephant Park, an area well known for its high con­cen­tra­tion of ele­phants together with its con­ser­va­tion efforts to re-introduce spe­cies lost in the past. There are 8 lux­uri­ous suites, each with an en-suite bath­room, out­door shower, private bal­cony, fire­place, stone bath and private plunge pool.

Useful Links:
South Africa Game Reserves
South Africa Hotels
South Africa Accommodation