Ivory Tree Game Lodge

My husband and I stayed here for 3 nights as part of our honeymoon and it was the highlight of our trip. From the moment we arrived the staff could not have been more friendly or accommodating. We arrived late morning and were advised our lodge wasn’t quite ready (as check in wasn’t until after lunch) but that we could sit anywhere we liked, have a drink and then join lunch shortly. At the end of our lunch we were provided our key and we could wander on over to our lodge, where our bags had been taken for us. Our lodge was beautiful. We were lucky enough to be in one of the larger lodges which included a living area, private courtyard with dining, and plunge pool, along with the bedroom, bathroom and outdoor shower. Every morning when we went for our morning drive, after breakfast when we came back to our lodge we were greeted with a cleaned lodge and bed made. And again in the evening after our afternoon drive we came back to the bed remade for the evening, along with a treat and bedtime story on our pillow. These lovely little touches just made our stay even more special! We did a total of 6 drives, all with Helen, who was fantastic! She was so knowledgable, friendly and funny. And also brilliant at being aware of who has seen what animals. Obviously everyone wants to see as many of the Big 5 as we can and she will try and make that happen for you all. On our 5th drive, we still hadn’t seen the buffalo and she was communicating with the other drivers about where they had been to try and find them for us. We eventually found them but it was pitch black and we could only see them very slightly in the bushes. She suggested we got out even earlier the next morning so we could see them as they left that area, which we all agreed and it was perfect! We were so lucky to see two herds of roughly 100 buffalo all travelling across the area we had left them the night before. If we had arrived at the normal time we would have missed them entirely - buffalo do not like to be out in the open so they’re really difficult to spot! It was all down to Helen that we had such a fantastic experience. Food wise, there is more than enough choice for everyone. We actually only went to lunch once because we found we had such a big breakfast, we didn’t need anything else, and we went back to bed after the morning drive. You get snacks and drinks before your afternoon drive too so no one could complain there isn’t enough food! We never went hungry. The food was lovely too and something different each day. On our final evening we enjoyed a braii, with traditional dancing too! It was brilliant experience! I believe this is put on twice a week for guests. Overall we had a wonderful time and I would to go back one day if we are lucky enough to!