Went to Londolozi at the back end of a business trip during the local winter. We wanted to experience the best and chose the Safari Lodge to save a little capital. Although the price was certainly nowhere near inexpensive, the experience was worth every penny!||First and foremost, the primary reason to be there, the game. Each day involves two game drives. As there are quite limited number of accommodations at the lodge, the number of companions is quite minimal. During our stay, 2 of our 4 game drives were private. Our tracker, Zach, was very keen at spotting game, always about 3 steps ahead of us. Our guide, Jonathan, was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and polite. We loved them both! There are two game drives each day. The one in the morning begins before dawn and was quite chilly. Fortunately, ample blankets and a hot water bottle were provided. By the time your vehicle is leaving the camp area, the sun is coming up. We saw every animal that we expected to see, except the cheetah, which is rarely sighted in the area due to the adverse terrain. We saw many elephants, including several of a younger age, plenty of giraffe, a pride of 8 lion, several rhinos, many hippos, tons of zebra, more buffalo than we thought possible, one each of hyena and leopard (the star of the show). It was amazing to see the animals in their natural habitat and they acted quite normally with us watching them. I have an amazing picture of the leopard looking right into my eyes as he is about 4-6 feet away! The evening game drives conclude after dusk, which is neat to see some of the nocturnal animals coming to life. Each drive lasted anywhere from 3-5 hours and was quite dependent upon the luck you were having finding and tracking animals. Each drive was also accompanied by a light picnic where we would have a drink or two and a small snack. Try a hot chocolate with amarula, very yummy. Out of the 4 drives, we only saw vehicles from the other lodges twice.||Now I'll address the accommodations. They are not isolated in any way, so animals walking right through the camp is not uncommon. The room was spacious with a large deck. The bathroom area had a separate tub and shower and was quite nice. My only minor complaint was the heating/air conditioning system, which did not work very well in my unit. It was very tastefully decorated and felt quite warm.||The food was quite good. Lunch consisted of a wonderful soup accompanied by a variety of meats and vegetables. The staff was very attentive, Solly never let our glasses empty and learned very quickly what our tastes were so we didn't even need to ask for things. Dinners were in a variety of locations, including one outside which was fantastic. Sitting under the stars, a fire burning, sipping an amarula with a fabulous meal digesting, can't be beat! When we returned from dinner, we found that our beds had been turned down, mosquito nets pulled down, and heating blankets turned on to transform the bed into an inviting haven. The beds were quite comfortable. Morning was greeted by a knock on the door from the staff with a tray of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate and a light snack prior to the game drive.||If you are wanting to purchase any Londolozi items by which to remember your stay, there is a small gift shop, but fairly limited at the Safari Lodge. Watch their alcohol policy, in all the research I had done, I didn't see any mention of some alcohol not being included, but only local spirits are. Loved the fact that in their vehicles are not enclosed (apparently can only be done in South Africa), providing an...
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