Etali Safari Lodge — Hotel in Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality

I recently spent four wonderful days at the Etali Safari Lodge with family (including a child). The wildlife we saw was truly amazing, both on our game drives with our guide Oti and tracker Kia and just watching the watering hole from the deck (all references here to ‘watering hole’ meant this watering hole at Etali, although we drove past other watering holes). We did seven game drives, skipping only the last drive (we had seen so much and wanted to relax before our flight) and I spent lots of time on the decks watching the watering hole. In fact, most of each day was spent watching animals. We also had a mini-game drive on the way to Etali from the airstrip, seeing many different animals and taking a small detour to go close to a group of giraffes. This, combined with the elephants at the watering hole that arrived right after we sat down on the main lodge deck, was a fantastic welcome.||||Etali is located in Madikwe, which we chose because there is no malaria in Madikwe so no medication needed for that (consult a travel clinic for other things needed for travel to South Africa such as typhoid vaccine). Madike has several other advantages, including proximity to Johannesburg (a one hour flight on Federal Air, who provided great service) and the collaborative nature of the safari lodges there, sharing both driving rights and information. Within Madikwe, you want to choose your location so that you see lots of the animals you can most about- different locations have more of certain kinds. Being able to watch animals come to the watering hole while eating or relaxing on the deck is a huge plus (when making our choice, we looked only as safari lodges with watering holes). ||||Of course, with wild animals, nothing is guaranteed. However, certain animals are so commonly seen that they can be expected. We saw many elephants (adults and babies) on most drives (they sometimes came close) and any time we watched the watering hole for 15 minutes; at the watering hole we sometimes saw more than 20 in a herd and we saw them play in the water. We saw giraffes on most drives (often close, from one to six at a time). Even though rhinos are rare and endangered, we saw white rhinos on most game drives, including several where we got close, and we saw a mother with baby. These were the three animals I most cared about seeing, and we communed with them repeatedly. On the other hand, we saw lions and hippos each only once, by driving to a specific place. For the lions they took us to where they had been reported; there were two sleeping male lions and we did get a good view of one when he rolled over and stretched (there were other vehicles there but it wasn’t crowded). For the hippos we went to the river and were very lucky to see four hippos at our first stop (we were told you may not see hippos and several stops are usually needed to find them). They played with each other part of the time and one hippo opened its mouth wide for us. That drive was a good one even without the highlight of the hippos (we also saw monkeys and many other animals). We saw herds of zebras, impalas, and blue wildebeest and families of warthogs on most drives and at the watering hole. We saw kudu, waterbucks, and steenbok on some drives, a buffalo, a leopard in a tree at night, a gnu, black back jackals, spotted and brown hyenas, and mongooses. We also saw many birds and a bush snake.||||There are two game drives each day, starting at 6:30 am and 3:30 pm in the winter (and earlier and later in the summer), each 3-4 hours. I found the winter to be a great time to visit both because of the timing of the drives and the weather, which was beautiful during the day. Although it can be in the 40s in the very early morning, they provide hot water bottles and warm blankets, so we were never cold (we did bring winter jackets, hats, and gloves with us).||||Not only did Oti and Kia do a wonderful job of finding wildlife for us, they we great with kids (as were all staff- this is a very kid-friendly lodge without interfering with the adult experience). For much of our stay we had private game drives because our group included a seven-year old and they don’t (normally) put kids with groups that have no kids, but on our last day we went with a family that had eight- and six-year old kids (six is the minimum age for game drives). The kids became friends quickly and this really enhanced our visit. And Oti and Kia took the three kids out in the middle of the day on a special excursion where they found lion paw prints and helped the kids make plaster of Paris casts to take home. This was really going above and beyond and was a special part of the experience for the kids (all of whom were great travelers who loved watching the animals and were patient during long drives). The lodge also provided a wonderful book with to each child to record sightings; it contained lots of good information and was a wonderful gift.||||Overall, Etali is very well run and the staff are excellent. Tipping is customary but not required. In July 2025 the following tip amounts were suggested: For guide and tracker to share, ZAR 350-550 per guest per day. For all other staff to share, ZAR 350 per guest per day. And there is separate tipping for spa. ||||The suites are spacious and have private decks with heated outdoor tubs/small pools that can be used even in the winter (I went in). For some of the suites, including #6, the private deck overlooks the watering hole (#6 is also close to the main lodge). Note that you are not allowed to go out alone after the evening drive, but they provide an escort to your suite. You may want to locate the phone if there is one in the suite when you are shown to your suite (we had to use a cell phone to call when we needed something the first night). They will do laundry for you (free) if you put it in the basket and leave the top off, which really helps with packing. We learned about the free laundry and many other things in advance from their very helpful website (see the FAQ and the blog called Your Safari Packing List at the bottom of the Experience page). food ranged from good to outstanding, with the difference in my rating mainly due to how well my taste matched the relatively limited choices (the salmon was outstanding). ||||I have travelled all over the world for more than fifty years and this is one of my top...

Etali Safari Lodge is no more than 2 star to 3 stars.

Staff are trained as waitresses (and even refer to themselves as such), and not in 5 star luxury hospitality. They lack calm confidence and efficiency & often look like deer in headlights when you ask for something simple. They also don't know their simple wine lists and run around to ask someone for info. Considering there are only 5 tables of guests, service isn't wonderful. Make no mistake that the staff are lovely people and they do try, but they lack in skills befitting 5 star luxury lodging.

The common deck looks old, tired, neglected & lacks in decor and ambience. The small common living room is tucked away to the side, and one easily forgets it exists. When you walk in to a 5 star luxury lodge, it needs to ooze luxury and comfort and be inviting - the dining room that you enter after the reception looks like a 2 star B&B. If I hadn't paid in advance, I would have turned around and left after seeing the dining area

Common pool area completely lacks in appeal, decor & ambience in the area, not even an umbrella

Breakfast is decent. The usual, nothing special or unique. Artificial juices. Lunch menus were the worst - same boring menu every day with one special per day, befitting a 2 star B&B. I've had one lunch meal that had flavour and the Greek salad was good although not an authentic Greek salad. The beef burger patty tasted awful. Fish cakes were dry tasteless plain tuna-textured, crumbed and fried. Aioli tasted like plain mayo. Day 3 special lunch meal was avo and bacon, which was also the breakfast special. Zero imagination with lunch menus. Dinners were decent, but nothing mouthgasmic. Did anyone season the veg dishes at the boma braai? The "malva pudding" at the boma braai was NOT malva pudding. It was 2 slices of dry bread-like looking cake. And the tough, dry leathery and over-done steaks at the boma braai? The watermelon, feta and mint salad was nice at the boma braai.

"High tea" consists of sad crackers with wilted lettuce and not sure what else to fill the space. The high tea brownies were literally rock hard. I told the waitress the brownies were hard & she laughed. Condiment bottles need a thorough wipe down. Salt and pepper shakers are old and grubby. Menus are sticky

The gin & smoothie tasting at the end of one of the game drives was lovely & well-planned. This was the only 5 star element.

As a solo guest, I got a table that was shoved at the back, away from the other 4 tables and away from the view of the watering hole, even though there was room to fit a small table in front.

The spa - oh dear, it needs a thorough clean, revamp & a rethink

Being in the bush doesn't have to look tired, dated and dirty. Same for my room (number 8). Looks tidy on the surface but with towels that are no longer white, a mouldy shower, dirty corners, dirty plug points, dirty and dusty floors below the fireplace, insect droppings on the bathroom counter that housekeeping didn't notice for 1.5 days. There's no shelf in the shower to place one's personal items on, there's no vanity kit and shower cap in the bathroom, and the bathroom pedal bin is broken. I dropped the toilet paper roll on one day and was disgusted at the dirt down there. The net in the patio screen was broken, which defeats the purpose. So my room and bed got infested with insects on the first night. The room patio deck is again tired and neglected

Thankfully, the bed and pillows were super comfortable. The room room patio deck is large spacious with a cute plunge pool

There's nothing personal or special about Etali Safari Lodge. Not even a birthday wish from management, which would have costed nothing & would have added a personal touch especially since they repeatedly ask what the occasion is

If you're fully kosher, then that is a draw card

For a truly 5 star luxury from the moment you arrive, visit Thornybush Game Lodge, Saseka and Lion Sands Tinga...

Etali||Location - Madikwe - An hour’s flight from Jo’berg. We used Federal Air who were outstanding. (Drive as an alternative is 4-5 hrs) A national park of 76,000 hectares of rewilded reserve which is malaria free. ||Property - 20 min drive from airstrip & we saw wildlife of giraffes, warthogs, zebras & elephants just getting to camp!||Service - A very warm welcome at arrival - which continued throughout. All staff very focussed on looking after us at all times. Chef Joseph checked what we wanted several times with superb food & he was a great ambassador for the lodge. The spa team rescued our poorly travel muscles brilliantly & all staff looked after us so well. ||Room - We were lucky enough to be given a room overlooking the watering hole. We were blown away by the sightings including a large herd of elephants. We had an extremely comfy bed, great black out curtains & showers inside & out with wildlife views. The large deck with viewing was lovely although we didn’t use the hot tub as it was a bit cool air temperature. Housekeeping looked after the room really well too. ||Activities - Game drives simply brilliant! Oti & Kia formed a perfect team. Oti’s knowledge of the reserve & wildlife really helped us understand & appreciate everything. The wildlife we saw was impressive & the landscape was lovely. What was especially good to see the great comms between the reserve rangers to help wildlife sightings whilst protecting the wildlife with the right number of viewings/vehicles for wildlife safety too. Coffees & sundowners were great intervals between cheetahs, lions & elephants plus more! ||Eco- Great respect for nature. One suggestion is provision of refillable water bottles as the water station was ideal however one of water bottles broke in transit & we preferred not to use the plastic ones available on game drives. ||Overall- Totally recommend & a huge thank you to the team for a really...