Madi a Thavha Mountain Lodge

Liked · We spent 3 generally pleasant nights. The bungalow is a real spacious house with a very large bedroom with bathroom, equipped kitchen and living room plus dining room. The location allows for hiking (from one hour to four hours) in the superb Soutpansberg range. If you like birds, just take a walk around the camp and you will be delighted. Didn't like · Let's say that there are a lot of staff for fairly limited efficiency, in particular more than 15 minutes to cook two eggs for breakfast but also at check-in at reception. Generally speaking, the mix between the tourist lodge and the agricultural activities of the farm sometimes leads (not very often to be honest) to having a tractor and a backhoe passing in front of the accommodation, the chainsaw just behind and a trampoline in front of the house. So we expect a little more calm in a place like this. In addition, the back of the building is a real dump plundered by monkeys who take garbage everywhere. Let’s add local groups of walkers who come for the day, and who are anything but discreet; therefore the birds escape easily.

Located near Louis Trichard this lodge is located at the foot of the mountain A quiet location is very pleasant, the park is very well maintained Our lodge was large, clean and spacious (5 people) We were not able to take advantage of the swimming pool However, the meals were far from living up to the reputation of the lodge, almost identical meals from one day to the next. We expected much better...

Unfortunately, we were not as enthusiastic about this stay as the reviews we read on Tripadvisor. It was fine, but that said it all for us. The garden is truly beautiful. There is a swimming pool, but it was closed due to... cleaning not available. The welcome was warm and the staff friendly. The food was okay but not as great as we've had in many other places. We got the same food two evenings, this seemed to be because the owner was not there. Gluten-free bread, etc. (due to celiac disease) was not available, so if applicable I would bring some food with me. Many drinks were out of stock and many were not cold, which would have been nice at a temperature of 30-35 degrees. The rooms were neat, clean and with air conditioning. Corona measures were not necessarily adhered to. People often said 'oops, forgot the mask'. Also by the woman who guided our Venda Land of Legend Tour while she sat in the car with us all day. We also found it special that this booked tour had to be in our own car and she got in. We expected to see more of the tribes in the area but unfortunately that was not the case. All in all, not bad, but certainly not the best either.

It can be reached by traveling a couple of km on a perfectly accessible dirt road. Our accommodation (a nice bungalow) was clean, comfortable and well furnished. Dinner was good although not particularly plentiful. The lodge offers activities and excursions but we were passing through because we were moving from Johannesburg to the Kruger Park and therefore were unable to participate. Good value for money. Kind staff. We recommend it.