Madikwe Safari Lodge

We had an amazing, almost other-worldly, four-day safari experience. We would do this again in a heart beat - the only time I have felt this strongly about not wanting to leave a place as an adult - and I am not even an animal person! The trip was split between about 6 hours of safari drives per day (each of which include a fun wine/coffee/cocoa/amarula stop) and being utterly pampered at the lodge! While it was somewhat hard to have set expectations given we had not been on Safari, we greatly exceeded our expectations. We weren't trying to 'check boxes' on animals, but we still got to see all of the big five except the elusive leopard. Perhaps the game highlight was seeing a male cheetah upclose for about 30 minutes on our last game drive. You will probably see all of the animals you want, and a bunch you might not be focused on that are so fun to see like baboons, jackals, hyenas, etc. I think the reserve is also known for African Wild Dogs (only 460 in the wild, with two packs in the reserve). Toward the end of the review but certainly not least, our guide Petrus was amazing - he had tons of knowledge about the animals, could entertain families (including an 11 yo and a 14 yo) and was clearly very passionate about his work. I could not pay him any higher compliments - he deserves them all. In addition, if you have the chance to do a bushwalk (age limits but included), you should. It is very safe, but you get to see how animals react when you are on foot. We saw a handful of giraffe, and clearly they reacted to 4 people on foot with much more wariness (from greater distances) than when you are in the safari vehicles. Byron took us through our bush walk and was full of knowledge (and obviously with very high certs to be able to take guests on such walks). The food is amazing and they accomadate off menu requests. There is also a nice fitness center if you can find time to work out with the full agenda. Small, but everything you need to work off all of the food. Which was amazing! Finally, I have to give a shout out to the watering hole, which is perhaps between 20 and 50 feet from the pool and a bit further from the lodge. In a one hour period one day between drives, I saw over 100 animals: herd of elephants including one a few months old; a baboon troop; warthogs; zebras; giraffes; and some birds. Pretty amazing. The rooms are great, and they have daily activities geared to younger kids (though both mine went in for at least one activity!)

This safari lodge is superb and one I would highly recommend. The facilities were fabulous and the reserve was stunning. The service is excellent and one of the best I’ve experienced. Genuinely couldn’t do enough for us. Whilst we were there we got engaged. They helped make it a moment to remember. Thank you. Final mention goes to our guide Jon Harry. He was brilliant and genuinely made our safaris great. Really personable and great fun as well as finding all the animals we wanted to see. He found lions every day, leopards in trees, The moment with the pack of wild dogs was incredible but the show stopper was his elephant whispering skills. Not today. Thank you to everyone at Madikwe amazing holiday. We will definitely go back.

Ryan was the nicest funniest smartest guide we could ever ask for. The lodge felt cozy and inviting. The food was delicious and the views of the elephants by the pool was out of this world!

The best ever trip I’ve taken. Super well maintained amazzzzzzing staff. Super child friendly. I took my 3.5 year old and it’s the best thing we’ve experienced with her. The staff went out of their way. The ranger for the games drive was incredible with her and it’s them who made the trip so amazing. The animals ofcourse are awe inspiring but it’s the staff, from reservations to check out to the chef to the servers to housekeeping to the rangers. I would rate them 100/5 they are that good. Better than any other country we’ve stayed with a child.

What a great place. We stayed as a group of 10 in may and have an amazing time. All the staff were fantastic and catered to all our needs. The food, facilities, pool area everything was 5 star. To top it off Mike our guide made this a vacation of a lifetime. Mike put so much effort into our daily guided trips and is a wealth of knowledge. 100% would recommend!

I recently took my mother to Madikwe Safari Lodge for five nights as i had always wanted to take her on a South African safari. We had a truly memorable time: the lodge and accommodation was great, and all the staff were very friendly, attentive and highly accomodating, particularly as my mother had certain dietary requirements that needed to be met - they looked after her so well and the food was always excellent. In addition to the excellent service we received from all staff at the lodge, our safari guide (Petrus) was fun, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and engaging and the game viewing was fantastic. I am fortunate to have been on safari a number of times before, so i had reasonably high expectations of the overall experience with Madikwe Safari Lodge, and those expectations were comfortably met. I would like to thank everyone at Madikwe Safari Lodge for giving my mother (and I) a most memorable experience - we would love to visit you again someday. Mark D