Amakhala Safari Lodge- Amakhala Game Reserve — Hotel in Sundays River Valley Local Municipality

What an amazing place! We stayed for 4 days at the end of July. Perfect amount of time. We definitely wouldn’t have wanted any less. We were sad to leave for sure. It really was an experience of a life time! From the moment we arrived, it was brilliant! We saw giraffes in the distance as soon as we arrived from the lodge and had warthogs that came daily right up to our room terrace, birds and monkeys! The views from all the terraces, are exceptional. Our room was huge and had so much character. You even have a mini bar which is topped up daily, which we wasn’t expecting! Lovely touches all round. The staff are amazing! So friendly. Loved the outdoor shower. Great to see the stars as you shower. It was lovely and hot. Dreamy plunge pool which we dipped our toes into. We went in the winter climate and would love to come back and use this facility more, as it really was special to have this as part of your room. Top tip, bring some warm clothes for the evenings. The rooms do get very chilly at night in the winter with a little chill coming through the tented fronts. There’s a heater and the air con to help with this. ||You have two game drives a day, which are fantastic! Our ranger Nati was brilliant!! Lovely person and really went out of his way to give you the best animal viewing. We saw so much more than we ever dreamed of. Such close animal encounters of lions (including a chase), cheetah’s, giraffes, elephants, buffalo’s and so much more. We saw some unique and unforgettable sights. ||The food blew us away. You get given a choice of options for breakfast, lunch and tea, it was so tasty!! Never went hungry and the quality is brilliant! ||Would recommend this place so highly! We will...

We stayed at the Safari Lodge - what a once in a lifetime experience.||The accommodations are amazing with great attention to detail in every aspect. The bed was awesome, the plunge pool was so great to stand in while watching the various animals come to the water hole just below our bungalow (#2). The outdoor showers were great and the sitting room was so comfortable.||The food was delicious and we really enjoyed trying a variety of choices.||We met Juan Van Rensburg (food and drink manager) when he took us back to PE to catch a flight and enjoyed visiting and listening to his experiences and stories about the lodge and his staff. He was a really interesting and awesome guy,||Our butler extraordinaire was Bulelani. He was was simply outstanding and took such amazing care of us. Thando was also one of the staff who was a great guy and bartender.||Our guides were Bradley, Justin and Martin. All were highly skilled guides and were experts in finding the animals and giving great narratives on a variety of topics. We were fortunate to have been able to see all of the major animals we had hoped to see and a lot we had not anticipated.||The Safari Lodge is the most western of lodges on the game reserve so they offer a day at Addo Elephant National Park if you are spending 3 nights. We had visited Addo a few days prior so we opted to stay within Amakhala - glad we did as we saw the lions up close as well as the cheetahs for the second time in addition to the large male hippo.||The Safari Lodge is definitely a must when considering where to stay and Amakhala Game Reserve. We could not have asked for a better experience - it exceeded our expectations by miles and was...

We had an amazing three-night stay at Safari Lodge. The staff were so friendly, welcoming and helpful. As there are only 11 lodges, they get to know your name and preferences. Being vegan, we were very well catered for and enjoyed lots of great food (and wine!). Unato looked after us at breakfast, lunch and dinner, entertaining us with his singing and dancing!|The game drives start early in the morning, and it can be cold, but you are provided with warm fleece ponchos to wear (although extra layers and a hat are a good idea!). Both the guides (President and Desmond) are very knowledgeable and good fun - they really look after you. We saw lions, rhinos, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, zebras, many different types of antelopes, and so much more. The day at Addo Elephant Park was a real treat - we saw so many elephants, including a 3-month-old baby with its mum.|The accommodation is super clean, comfortable and quirky, with an outdoor shower, individual plunge pool and private terrace, where you can watch the wildlife pass by (we saw warthogs, giraffes, antelopes, baboons and vervet monkeys from our terrace). The bed was really comfortable, and it was great to wake up to birdsong early every morning. The mini bar was well stocked and there was gin, sherry and some oat snacks to enjoy. |We cannot rate this place highly enough and hope to return sometime in the future, to spot the elusive leopards! |Thank you to everyone at Safari Lodge for making this such a...