RichardInSF

Hi there, as noted above, I am just back (two weeks ago) from Singita Lebombo, on a private reserve adjacent to and north of Kruger. It is the most luxurious game camp I have been to. Initially I was worried because of the general feeling that there were fewer animals than in the older and more established camps in the Sabie Sands area. That belief may still be valid but our excellent guide and spotter still managed to find every species we could possibly want with the exception of cheetah and wild dog. Plus both the food and the unit we were in were excellent. The food would have gotten a listing in Michelin, in my view.

Contrary to earlier reports, all game drives were in an open vehicle and we never left the grounds of the huge private reserve although at various times we did drive along the border with Kruger (unfenced) and the national border with Mozambique (fenced). .

There are actually two camps here as Lebombo is right next to Singita Sweni. I did not tour Sweni but I suspect it is excellent as well.

threepointkid

My wife and I just returned from our honeymoon in South Africa on safari and we are already planning a return trip. We loved Londolozi Tree Camp, so we are set to return for 3 nights there. We are aiming to pair it with 3 nights at one of two lodges given that Londolozi is not available for 6 nights total. We are currently weighing 3 nights at Ulusaba (for slightly preferable dates and we’d go there before Londolozi) and 4 nights at Silvan (we’d get one night free, but the dates are slightly less preferable and we would go to Silvan after Londolozi). We can also book Londolozi Granite Camp which would be fun to try a different camp than the one we stayed at. Any insights on recent stays at Silvan or Ulusaba would be much appreciated! We loved Londolozi and are set on returning, but just don’t know if one of these itineraries is better than the other! Thanks for any perspectives!

SanDiego1K

I would check carefully before choosing Ulusaba. It's been 10 years or more since we've been there. I would not return. For one thing, it's at the far end of the preserve and you can see the village lights at night. But more importantly, Richard Branson believes in community dinners. We hated having to wait after a game drive for an hour of drinks and enforced socialabiliity. Then the chef came and told us what was for dinner. We'd finally sit down all together to eat. By the time we got to our room, we had insufficient time to sleep and be rested for the following day. Further, the staff seemed to have an assignment as to how many guests they needed to interact with. I really didn't want to spend my time regaling staff with an account of our animal sightings for the day. There was nothing intuitive about those interactions.

Zephyrous

It’s an interesting perspective - I personally loved Ulusaba. To this day I think we had one of the most passionate drivers/trackers we’ve ever had on safari whilst there (and we’ve done quite a few). It’s one of those things that a trip is more than just a product - it’s the other unquantifiable elements also and in that visit everything was falling right into place.

I actually also liked the communal dinners, but I had understood that this was optional only - possibly I could be wrong.

It certainly had a more “fun” almost cheeky atmosphere and quite enjoyed the other guests that we interacted with (which were about 80% English).

All of the above caveated by the fact that our last visit was almost a decade ago and would be highly unlikely that we’d ever visit again (mainly because I don’t think my partner would stay anywhere other than Singita in South Africa).

There are elements from our trip to Ulusaba that I do wish we’d encounter again in other camps (though not necessarily the communal dining).

threepointkid

Thank you both for detailed thoughts and perspectives on Ulusaba. I’ve heard rave reviews about Silvan and now I find myself leaning towards going that direction. I think the 4 for 3 deal is sweetening it for me. Londolozi is the driving factor for is wanting to go, so the other lodge is effectively a bonus. Has anyone stayed at both Singita Sabi Sands and Londolozi and can offer a comparison? I’m curious as to if Singita can justify the jump in price from Londolozi.

Zephyrous

I’m not aware of how the various Londolozi camps compare with Singita but would be the other motivating factor for me if I were booking two camps is the location. I.e If I were doing a Sabi Sands camp I’d chose either a camp that is on the opposite (extreme as possible) location of Sabi Sands or Kruger.

Smiley90

Just finished 3 nights at Thabamati, in the Timbavati. Wow. Just wow. The camp is stunning - it's very small, only 4 luxury tents, so feels very intimate. And for 2 of the 3 nights, there was only one other couple there. Camp only opened 2 years ago, so everything looks and feels (and is!) brand new, but it's done very well - lots of natural tones and wood. Staff and rooms are excellent. Since it's winter, hot water bags were waiting for us both in the car for the morning drive and in bed for sleep. Small things like that. There's a herd of ~30 elephants that came by the dam in front of the lodge every day.

We saw probably around 30 lions and 4 leopards, including getting a whole video of them mating, with just us being the only car there to witness it. Absolutely brilliant. I'll post some pictures once I'm back, but for now we're off to Sabi Sands (Arathusa).

For only 800/night (per couple!), I can't see how a 5x more expensive camp can provide 5x the experience we just had, because it was flawless.

SanDiego1K

That picture of the elephants is everything. I'd never want to move.

A4K

Thanks for posting, there are so many lodges and it is so hard to sort through them so it is good to know of good luxury lodges that aren't 4000 USD a night. Will also love to hear about Arathusa as that is in the same price point at around 1000 USD a night.

United747

Thanks for the review! Looks very intriguing

How was the food and beverage (wine?) looks like drinks aren’t included outside of sundowners?

Smiley90

Arathusa, while a nice lodge, is unfortunately nothing I'd call luxury. The rooms are very... Stale? Old? Service is very nice. The common eating area looks like a school cafeteria. Breakfast options are very limited. There's no wifi in rooms (yes, it's a safari I know, but damnit I need my wifi!) I'll write up more on it in another thread probably, but for better or worse, it's not luxury for the sense of this thread.

Now Thabamati though... The one thing I'll say - animals in the Timbavati were generally a bit more skittish than in Sabi Sands, where they're VERY used to cars. But I'll say that just adds to the experience.

There's very few lodges in the area, combined with them being so small, just gave it a more... Quiet atmosphere than a 15+ room lodge ever could. On the downside, you miss some of the "socializing" aspects that some people really like on Safari (e.g. the one other couple at Thabamati weren't totally on the same wavelength at us, while we got matched with 2 great other couples at Arathusa and got along very well with). But you don't have to interact if you don't want to, after all.

Also: the pool at Thabamati is not heated. And in the night temps dropped to like 15C, so during the day, air temps reached 35C.... And the pool didn't heat up that fast, which made it... Very refreshing


If I had to do it again, I'd pick Thabamati and a more pricey lodge in Sabi Sands, probably. For change of scenery and animals, mixing reserves just seems a better idea to me. (Or pick the eastern Singita properties within Kruger, I suppose)

Correct, the only drinks included area tea & coffee all day and obviously water. But frankly, drinks in SA are ridiculously cheap and they have an extensive drinks menu, including... Something like 30+ different whiskeys. I counted 5 differently aged Glenfiddichs. So we just got drinks a la carte and didn't worry about it. It didn't add much to the final bill. The rate also includes laundry (however many items however many times you want!), which was great for us as we stayed in the middle of a bigger trip.

They also have an actual espresso machine, unlike Arathusa...

Kagehitokiri

Tswalu update >
april 2021 opened Restaurant Klein JAN
tswalu.com/experience-tswalu/klein-jan
march 2023 will open Loapi camp, 6 'tents', each 'tent' has chef and butler
tswalu.com/our-camps/loapi
(even shows how far apart)

greatplainsconservation.com
july 2023 will open sitatunga private island camp, 3 rooms
looks like other new luxury camps since i last looked

presumably already noted here but singita opened rwanda in mid 2019, 8 rooms 1 villa

new website / details online (wilderness safaris) >
wildernessdestinations.com/journeys/our-services
including >
could ask any safari lodge company (that has multiple destinations) about that

jao renovated 2019, 5 rooms 2 villas
villas have private vehicle, chef, butler
IIRC wilderness safaris renovated all top botswana
mombo likely first in 2018, MacMyDay very positive except food

MacMyDay has covered a number of exclusive-use safari properties on his website. for non exclusive-use, seems he remains a fan of singita. could contact him or post here to find out more about wildlife at exclusive-use properties, as not much discussion here.

mainly exclusive land, as well as when lodges (like Tswalu) have private vehicle for every 'room'

also with only 4 rooms it is highly likely they will be able to rapidly increase their rates over time

Steven013

Was looking to book a five nights stay in Tree Camp for early 2024. Just curious if all the tree camp suites have their own vehicle for daily drive or did they go to the game drive with people on the other camps together?

threepointkid

When we were there in August 2022, we shared a vehicle with one couple for all 3 of our nights (6 game drives total). They were also a honeymoon couple and on their first safari, so this didn’t detract from our experience. We enjoyed the social aspect. We are returning in 2024 and will be traveling in a party of 4, so hopefully they’ll be able to give us our own vehicle on that trip! I’m not sure we are seasoned enough safari goers to require a private vehicle just yet! I hope you have an amazing time if you choose to visit Tree Camp. If you need any other suggestions or information, please message me!

Ericka

We enjoyed the shared vehicle when we went on safari as a couple and kept in touch with many of those people. When we went with our child, the private vehicle worked great in case our son was bouncing off the walls, we needed to shorten the drive, redirect the focus, etc. The usual kid stuff.