Metsi Lodge — Hotel in Lephalale Local Municipality

Huge Plus Points:||- incredible staff||- stunning lodge ||- malaria free area so no horrible drugs||- wonderful reserve with everything you want to see ||- genuinely no negatives||||Thank you SO much all of the team at Metsi!! We had the most blissful week and just couldn’t have been better looked after. The lodge is really beautiful with gorgeous rooms and is in the best position in the park with a dam just in front of the dining table so always lots of animals around and we saw 3 cheetahs, 5 hunting lions, a family of rhino and a host of other game on the plains right outside the front gate of the lodge. The staff couldn’t be more brilliant and blew the socks off anything I’ve ever experienced in a 5* hotel. Maria is an extremely talented chef (The Ostrich, The lamb chops and the cucumber and avocado soup were particular favourites) and takes real pride in ensuring every meal is delicious. Vincent and Freddie are amazingly welcoming and ensure your glass is always full, every day starts with a smile and the rooms are always immaculate. Their attention to detail really is amazing from refilling the chocolates that you like the most to organising your toiletries every morning so everything looks perfect when you come back from the drive. The star of the show is Stuart who conducts the whole experience with great care and consummate ease. Unlike other lodges where you have to stick to a set routine, Stuart let’s the guests and the wildlife dictate what happens when. You can go on drives and have meals whenever you want so you never have to leave a sighting to rush home for dinner. The whole thing was completely designed around our family so we could have the trip of a lifetime. Stuart is incredibly knowledgable one all of the game/ birds/ plants and also willing to answer the important hypothetical questions such as “who would win in a fight 2 leopards or 6 cheetah” (apparently the leopards). As one of, if not the most, experienced guides on the reserve, he is clearly highly respected by all of the guides on the reserve and was consistently being asked advice by other guides about where to go and how to find things. We not only saw everything we wanted to (including all of the lions on the reserve) but we saw them doing interesting things (lions and cheetahs climbing trees and hunting, bull elephants charging, giraffe fighting) rather than just being lazy cats. Stuart also joins you for meal times and has wonderful stories about the reserve and the lodge (although we had to bend his arm to discuss anything at all about Sir Mick coming to stay having seen his photo in the visitors book), as well as fascinating insights into South Africa’s political past and present. He takes huge care to make sure everyone on the trip is having a wonderful time and nothing is too much trouble (he even went out to find my phone at night when I’d stupidly dropped it out of the jeep). The reserve really is a total treasure with everything you want to see in a beautiful environment at a fraction of the cost of the likes of Sabi Sands. If you have the opportunity to go here DO IT!! We’ll definitely be back ||||Top Tips:||- make sure Stuart and Maria will be there when you go ||- go on a full day drive with a picnic down to the south on at least one day ||- try and have the place for yourselves (we were only 5 and they kindly kept it just us which was bliss) ||- bring a long lense for cameras; it makes all the difference ||- invite Tahto (Maria’s son) along for some of the drives, he really loves the Zebra and they’ll...

Where can I begiin!! My family (party of 6) spent 3 wonderful nights at Metsi lodge from 8th to 11th January. Our experience was exceptional from arrival until we left!! . ||The lodge is furnished to a very high standard and has the most spectacular views . It has a watering hole that attracts many of the animals from the reserve and we were lucky to see so many as we sat on the outside terrace having breakfast . The swimming pool was lovely and the terrace was a great place to relax after our morning safari . ||We did two safaris each day , early morning and late afternoon which were truly amazing! ||Stuart, our guide and manager of the lodge was exceptional! He was very experienced and had an abundant wealth of knowledge about everything in the reseve . His passion was second to none and nothing was too much trouble from him . The safari trips with him were fantastic, he pointed our animals and insects , birds of prey that we would probably never have noticed and was able to give us all the interesting facts about them . We were able to park beside and watch the most incredible sightings of lions, elephants and cheetahs ! The highlight of our last safari was watching a female lioness stalk a zebra and although we didn’t witness a kill Stuart was able to take us within a few feet of her and we got some amazing pictures! ||Now on to lodge staff . All of them were truly amazing and super friendly . Nothing was too much trouble and Maria the cook produced some of the best food we had on our whole trip! No tow dishes were the same and everything made from scratch was simply exquisite! ||We will remember our trip to Metsi lodge for a very long time and will definitely return . Thanks again to Stuart our lovely guide and his...

We stayed in Welgevonden Game Reserve numerous times, but this was our first time at Metsi Lodge. It was from far the best lodge we ever stayed at in Welgevonden.||||What we enjoyed most:||||1. the exclusivity of having the lodge to ourselves, which allowed us to have our young children with us on the drives and organize our drives and meals as we wished.||||2. The awesome view on the plain and the lodge’s private waterhole: during our stay we saw a herd of elephants, impalas, zebras, girafes, cheetahs and even a hippo whilst we were enjoying drinks on the deck. Spending time on the deck in front of the rooms or the main lodge is a game drive in itself! ||||3. The Metsi team: Hendric, our guide, was fabulous. He’s extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and is well versed in communicating with the surrounding wildlife. We all loved him, specifically our kids!||Isaac, the chef, prepared incredible meals for us. His French onion tart, tiramisu, carrot cake and delicious game drive muffins are not to be missed!||Nothing was too much trouble for Minkie and Thabo who looked after our rooms and served our meals. Everything was spotless clean, our wishes were their command!||||4. The atmosphere of the lodge: cozy, well decorated, welcoming, extremely comfortable. A true homely Bush feel.||||||Altogether, our stay at Metsi Lodge was incredible! We felt very welcome and at home from the first minute of our arrival to the last of our departure. Leaving at the end of the weekend was heart breaking....We wish we had known about the lodge sooner! We will definitely be back and pass the word around!||||Thank you Metsi team for an awesome weekend and for sharing your Bush...