Last Word Madikwe — Hotel in Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality

Someone had told us that Madikwe was THE place to go if we wanted to see brown hyenas. Our journeys in SA had never taken us this far north of the country so I started investigating. I finally settled on Last Word Madikwe due to the small number of rooms and the waterhole. I'm so glad I did!||The lodge is small so you feel part of the family very quickly. Although close to Wonderboom Gate, the main buildings are set further in from the lodge entrance so the place feels very peaceful amid nature. Although the camp is fenced it is very unobtrusive so you feel part of the bush and very close to the animals who come to the waterhole. Despite the abundance of water in the reserve the waterhole still attracted elephants at varying times of the day, buffalo, zebra, impala and warthogs. We were told that in the dry winter months even more animals are drawn here. The hide is small and my wildlife lens was actually pretty useless, unless the animals were on the far side of the waterhole or I was taking close-ups of elephant feet or trunks. Bring a smaller telephoto lens for using here or just your phone. You may not be at feet-level but observing from the edge of the lawn was just as productive.||The food served at all meals was 5 star. Unfortunately, due to some stomach issues I arrived with, I wasn't able to eat very much during our stay but my husband made up for it. The breakfast choices were extensive, lunch was fixed but made up of light offerings with salad and dessert, and the evening dinner also gave a choice of dishes. Even the phuza and sundowner snacks were a cut above your standard fayre, the cheese or corn muffins were a particular favourite of mine.||We were very spoiled by the abundance of wildlife on Madikwe Reserve, so much so that it spoiled us for our following visit to a couple of reserves in the Greater Kruger which were, unusually, very quiet. We loved the different habitats, from the open plain areas to the mountainous rocks. Our guide, Sam, was terrific and took us to most parts of the reserve to find the different lion prides and cheetah families; mum and her 5 youngsters was definitely one of my highlights and a sighting that will be hard to beat. The guests in the vehicle were mostly 6, though we did have 7 for a few days but one next to the driver still made it comfortable for everyone in the back. This was something that we really appreciated. The game viewers do have a covered roof which can make seeing birds somewhat difficult at times when they're on your 'wrong' side, but these seem to be the norm outside of the Greater Kruger reserves.||The negatives were few and didn't really affect our stay. Our room was very comfortable but there were no drawers to put our clothes and limited shelf space in the wardrobe. I use packing cubes to it was easy to put these on the ottoman at the foot of the bed and live out of these. Our patio area was not cleaned down, either before or during our stay. It would have probably been a thankless task anyway as the trees were losing their autumn leaves. Lastly, it was not explained what was included in our package, not that we would have drunk any more had we known that most drinks were included.||We came for 7 nights, longer than we would spend normally at one lodge but we thought that we may as well make the most of the journey here. We didn't regret it one bit. We weren't bored, the wildlife was diverse and we only had a couple of meals that were repeated over the course of our stay.||I'm so glad that I chose to spend our stay at Last Word Madikwe. Before we even left we had already decided to return in June next year. To stay in a place where they make you feel so welcome and you feel at home in such a short time is such a joy. I only hope that by then I can eat more of their delicious food and partake of the gin in the room, it tempted me at every turn. And, yes, we did get to see the brown hyena, twice in fact, but I have to return for that perfect photo! Thank you Tataum, Jaco, Sam and everyone who made our...

I'm an experienced safari tourist. I've stayed at several lodges all over Africa over the years. I'm extremely reluctant to write negative reviews about small, family-run businesses.

This was an exceptionally terrible experience. The owner, Gordon Morrison verbally assaulted and physically threatened me. My sin? My camera bag accidentally bumped into and broke the leg of a wooden animal statue which was positioned in the reception area of his lodge.

Gordon Morrison flew into a colossal rage when he learned of the incident. He spewed profanities and stormed to my room declaring that he was going to smash my camera equipment to "show me how it feels".

(1) The damage to his statue was purely accidental. (2) I apologized immediately to the closest staff member who assured me that I shouldn't worry about it. (3) When he told Gordon Morrison, he clearly worried about it.

In addition to threats and stream of insults, he demanded that our party of three must vacate his lodge that night. (Another guest and I were on a photographic safari to Madikwe under the tutelage of with a photographic guide from Wild Eye, a well-known photography guide and tour operator). In addition, he swore that he would permanently sever business relations with Wild Eye.

All of this because one guest had accidentally broken one statue. I wonder what sort of damage he would inflict on an individual who damaged something of substantial value or who had damaged something deliberately. No guest should ever feel so violated in a reputable establishment. I'm not given to hyperbole but I sincerely mean it when I say no one should feel entirely safe under the roof of an owner as volatile and maniacal at this man.

His will draft his wife to pen a response along the lines of "there are two sides to every story...". There are no two sides. The truth was captured by the security cameras in the reception area. I hereby authorise the Morrisons to post the audio and video recordings of the accident and Mr Morrison's conduct. Let potential visitors see and hear...

We absolutely loved our stay at Last Word, Madikwe. The staff were all friendly, professional, knowledgeable and patient (we had 5 children in our group aged between 3-9). Jodi, Roxan, Max & John looked after all our needs in the lodge and were always discretely on hand. All our meals were delicious, a full section of cold and hot breakfasts, varied and tasty lunches and some very special dinners, especially the bbq overlooking the watering hole. Thank you to the chef! ||The lodge was spotless at all times, thank you to the cleaning staff too. The children were well looked after with child friendly food, a playroom, swimming pool and plenty of space to play and run around. They enjoyed meeting Steve the resident snake! They were experiencing nature in a way that is so rare nowadays and they were in their element. We all really enjoyed the nature trails we could navigate on our own (within the grounds of the lodge). ||We cannot fault the game drives - Nick & Damian were brilliant. They shared such interesting information with us about the history of the reserve and the animals. We saw an incredible variety of animals including rhinos, a lion kill, cheetah and two leopards! We spent such special time watching the elephants, giraffe, baboons, lion and zebra go about their day to day lives, it was truly memorable. The trucks were very comfy and we really enjoyed the stops for a breakfast snack and sundowners. ||The lodge is beautiful, decorated in such style and comfort. There were so many places to relax and watch the animals only a stone’s throw away in the watering hole right next to the lodge. We were blown away every day going into the hide where we could watch the animals even closer. It is nothing like any other safari we have ever experienced. ||We left Last Word so incredibly grateful for such a wonderful few days. Thank you to everyone who made it such a special holiday...