backdoc

Sean is our guide Trevor's younger brother.

http://www.ulusaba.virgin.com/en/ulu...ers#sean_james

SanDiego1K

Wow! Thanks for letting me know. That sly dog. He said his brother had worked there first, but was too modest to say who he was.

backdoc

I'll be volunteering with Pride 'n Purpose for a week then staying at Rock Lodge over Christmas, can't wait!

We had a library built at Mawewe High School

ps9a

We had the same combo and also thought they were fantastic, though we didn't run into anyone at Ulusaba who wasn't also thrilled with their ranger/tracker.

SanDiego1K

We left the lodge on a very rainy day. Our car was returned to us freshly washed, though its pristine condition did not last. Of the folks we talked to, I would guess about 1/3 drove themselves to Ulu Saba. All others appeared to have flown into the Ulu Saba airstrip. The airstrip has no lights, so weather conditions have to cooperate. When the airport is closed, folks are flown to Kruger Int'l Airport, then driven to Ulu Saba. We had great animal sightings as we left, from zebra to wildebeest to elephant. We had seen nothing on the drive in, and this was a great way to end our stay.

We drove out thru Newington Gate and went straight for a bit. We came to a T, with no indication of which direction to turn. Turn RIGHT. We turned left. In just blocks, a ranger with the canine unit flagged us down. We were headed deep into a township that he said was unsafe - and it certainly was not the route to Kruger Airport. Otherwise, the road had reasonable signage. It took us three hours to drive to the airport from Rock Lodge. This included the time to check out at reception and to gas our car. I had heard staff telling folks it was a two hour drive to the airport. OK, we lost five minutes on our wrong turn, but I've no idea how folks can do it in two hours.

Most flights at Kruger Airport go to Jo-burg, but there is one a day to Durban and an early afternoon nonstop to Capetown.

backdoc

SST

We had Sean and James, too. Splendid fellows, truly talented in finding the elusive animal-of-your-choice upon request, and a lot of education along the way. Ulusaba is a trip that grows on you after you leave. My trip report is here:
http://milepoint.com/forums/threads/...nesburg.67389/
..... But I am already contemplating either a few nights in Virgin's new Kenyan tented safari at Masai Mara, or the Kasbah in Morocco.... Sir Richard's operation is truly designed to spoil you while you're there.

Interestingly, while I agree that the communal dinners shorted me on sleep, I found the company so interesting that it never occurred to me to order dinner in the bungalow. Perhaps I'll try that for a night or two next time (and there WILL be a next time. We've just got to decide where, and save up a few more nickels...)

backdoc

Kasbah Tamadot is an hour outside of the city. There are no close restaurants so you get bored of the expensive food rather quickly.

The views are nice and the people warm, but its just kind of boring.

Steve

bgriff

Sorry to revive an old thread but don't see any more recent discussion of Ulusaba.

Curious if anyone has any particular opinions about the Master Suite or Makwela Suite -- I'm considering the choice between 4 nights in Master vs. 3 nights in Makwela and interested for any thoughts.

backdoc

backdoc

Between the choices, 4 nights wins out every time.

I've stayed in Master Suite 5 times and Makwela Dusk twice and Dawn once.

If you get drunk a lot at dinner stay at one of the Makwelas as the steps down to Master Suite can be treacherous, other than that I love Master Suite. The views are slightly better in the Makwela's but not worth staying a day less!

Steve

bgriff

Thanks for your thoughts -- think I'm going to change to the Master Suite for 4 nights. I couldn't find many good pictures of the Makwela Suites but from those I could find it didn't look too much more exciting than the Master Suite, and the Master Suite seems somewhat more private, so it seems like an easy tradeoff.

bgriff

Update: was able to get the safari room for 2 nights followed by the Master Suite for 2 nights, which was what I was hoping for all along to try both lodges. Wouldn't have minded a slightly higher room category for the Safari Lodge nights, but I think this will work.

Any tips from previous guests on what to pack? It sounds like the vibe is pretty casual throughout the experience which makes things a bit easier. I don't own much khaki-colored clothing, though some of the pictures on the Ulusaba site show guests in blue t-shirts and the like -- is "neutral" colors really all traditional safari looking color or does it more just mean nothing too bright?

I also see discussion on some other sites about bringing zip-off cargo pants that can convert to shorts, I assume because of the change in temperature as the sun rises/sets during game drives -- any thoughts on whether this is really worthwhile or whether lighter-weight pants would work just as well?

KI-NRT

When are you going? Neutral-colored clothing isn't required. Avoiding dark clothes is advisable when out on the bush, as it's said to attract mosquitoes (it's debatable whether this is actually true.) Bright, colorful clothing is said to attract and distract animals, but I call BS on that. When in the Masai Mara, many of the guides are out wearing their traditional Masai garb, and it doesn't seem to matter at all.

The only thing I'd recommend is that you bring quick-drying clothing, especially if you go in the Summer, and layer up - the temperature can vary up to 15 to 20C over the course of one game drive outing. As for whether you need zip-off cargo pants depends on your tolerance for heat: the Dec-Feb Summer period can get up to 40C, whereas the Summer months in Kruger rarely rise above 25C.

bgriff

Thanks! Appreciate your thoughts. We'll be there in May so expecting it to be on the cooler side.