Thanda Safari - Private Game Reserve — Attraction in The Big Five False Bay Local Municipality

Thanda safari lodge is a wonderful 5 stars safari lodge and, in my opinion, the best in South Africa. We have been to many many luxury safari camps and lodges in SA and our experience and Thanda safari lodge has been the most special by far.

First of all, the game reserve is extraordinary. It is extremely diverse and beautiful and very exclusive as it doesn't share its land with any other lodge, you won't be seeing other branded vehicles.

The accommodation itself is extra luxurious, very comfortable and spacious. The room is more like a house with a private plunge pool, a huge deck with an outside bed, an outside area, a private boma area for private diners and amazing views with game around (and elephant came to drink at our private pool!!!). The inside is beautiful as well and everything you can dream of is there for your comfort: lounge area, a fire place, bath, shower, mini bar etc etc. The main areas feel very exclusive, clean and beautifully decorated. The overall feel is classic elegant, and they keep the warmth and traditional beauty of the Zulu culture: wooden materials, animal skind, red colours, antiques, etc. I really really loved the whole vibe.

What makes Thanda safari lodge is however the STAFF. Everyone is extremely professional and efficient, delivering a 5 star service while staying positive, super happy, grateful (yet discreet). We instantly felt like home and nothing was a problem for the team. We had such a wonderful time at Thanda and we created magical memories with the Thanda team...

Now, the safari experience is top notch. The reserve is pristine and huge. You very rarely come across other vehicles, if not never. The landscapes are very varied and the sunrise/sunset stunners. On a personal level, I enjoyed the scenery and the guiding as much as I did enjoy the game viewing. We saw everything you wish you to see on a safari thanks to the most wonderful guide (Martin) and tracker (Nhanhla). Martin has a innate passion for the bush and for educating! He is capable of making the most common sighting/animal/insect a WOW experience. I have been going on safaris for years but I was amazed and excited to learn new things about spiders, animal's poo, tracks and I learnt so much about the animals themselves too (like their gestation time, eating patterns, their origins, why they have a dark or light fur etc). Martin is like a fresh breath, a raising star/ David Attenbourgh. He makes nature and the bush so special, so amazing you just want to keep learning. Both adults and children in our vehicle loved Martin! He is always happy, engaging and a gem with little ones! He is that friendly that he was poured with a thousand questions an hour from the guests! Our little one, 6, loved her first safari thanks to Martin's guidance and Nhanhla who tought her to track animal prints and identify poo. After our 3 day Thanda stay (and hard work from her) Martin and Nhanhla granted little one a Junior ranger certificate! She is now so proud she shows everyone including her school's principal.

Long story short, Thanda safari lodge is an incredible luxurious place where kids and adults can have the best time ever. The food, the accommodation and the safari are 5 if not 7 stars thanks to the most experienced and amazing team and incredible setting/reserve.

Thank you Thanda team, we cannot wait...

The good : The setting and architecture of the Thanda Safari Lodge are stunning . The individual villas are spacious , very very private and luxurious. Each villa with its own see thru fireplace , sitting room , plunge pool , deck , oversized tub , and both outdoor and indoor showers . The staff of the Lodge are friendly and attentive . The service was excellent . We were also impressed with the way Thanda respects and showcases Zulu culture and traditions. The CEO was there during our visit and we had the opportunity to speak with him personally . We were impressed with his enthusiasm and dedication to Thanda . Above all else the quality of the game drives at Thanda was amazing . In particular our guide Tommy and our tracker Zacks were not only highly skilled and experienced they were passionate about preserving the reserve and respecting the animals and making our experience extra special . I cannot imagine any better game guide or tracker anywhere on the planet .

The bad : A few of the dishes offered were excellent but the quality of the food ranged from average to good and was not 5 star . There was a power outage our first night We understand power outages however there were no torches in our vllla so it was pitch black and it was a struggle to get out of bed and move around safely . We understand power was restored in the other villas after only a brief interruption but for some reason in our villa. power wasn’t restored until the following day after we returned from our game drive. The staff apologized and gave us a split of champagne and we were happy ( although we don’t drink champagne ) Then the next am we got up early hoping this time we would be able to bathe before starting our day ( we were unable to do so the am before due to the darkness from no power ) However there was no water. We walked to the Lodge to request assistance but no avail. Once again for a second day we were unable to wash or bathe til after our first game drive . For the price we paid we expected after the issues we had the first night every effort would have been made to ensure the second night was flawless. Most disturbing there was not even an apology this time .

In sum: Although in our opinion Thanda has maintenance issues and we were very disappointed we could not fully enjoy our villa , when it came time to say good bye to our guide and our tracker it was tearful . Thanda , in particular Tommy and Zacks , gave us memories we will cherish forever. It was indeed life changing For that we will...

Thanda Safari has been one of our TOP destinations to visit for a number of years. I wish I could write to say that our experience was issue free, but unfortunately it wasn't.

Before writing about the discrepancies we navigated, I did want to take a moment to bring honor where honor is due; to the Thanda staff, from start to finish you were EXCEPTIONAL, and some of THE most heartwarming, friendly, and welcoming people we've ever encountered!!! We feel like we made MANY good connections, and enjoyed every single encounter with the staff.

The food was incredible, overall facilities, and game viewing was like something out of this world, exceptional, and world class standard (having been someone who has traveled quite extensively).

We stayed in one of the lodges, unit 3 to be exact. From my expectation, and experience paying top dollar for 5-Star accommodation one would presume the accommodation would be worthy of that. However, my ONE disappointment from the weekend was that there was a sewerage smell piping through the pipes in our bathroom, which made the whole lodge smell like sewerage. We paid a LOT of money for the weekend, and didn't expect to have this smell in our room/ accommodation. Unfortunately, should there not be assurance in future that this won't happen again, we wont be returning to the lodges as the smell took away from what was meant to be a relaxing weekend in the bush. After inquiring about some sort of compensation to the lodge manager in light of us paying over R20,000 for the weekend, we were told that there wont be any. If this was any other hotel overseas, we would've been compensated and taken care after as a paying customer. For that, its a bit disappointing.

Outside of this one thing, everything else was more than we could have asked for. Thank you to the team and all involved. Memorable weekend indeed!

Well done to the staff and team at Thanda Safari. We appreciate each...