Savanna Lodge

Savanna Lodge is an exclusive and rather unique top end luxury lodge located in the game rich 63000 hectare Sabi Sand Private Reserve which borders the world renown Kruger National Park in South Africa. Savanna lies in the southern areas of the private reserve and lies in an area supremely rich in the “Big Five” and especially the most beautiful of cats, Leopard. It is not unusual to see all the Big Five : Elephant, Lion, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino in one game drive and get really close to these amazing animals.

On top of the Big Five, you will find that the trackers and guides are just as enthusiastic to show you the smaller five as well as other species of mammals, birds and the other weird and wonderful creatures.  The emphasis of this lodge is all about the game viewing experience and there is nowhere as passionate as this.

Game viewing takes place mostly in specially designed open sided 4×4 Land Cruisers where you will have a game ranger who drives the vehicle as well as a tracker who sits up front.  They also offer exhilerating guided bush walks with an armed ranger  as a speciality. Your highly trained guides will get you on close and intimate game encounters.

Back in camp, you will find a supremely close knit team of staff ready to make your stay as comfortable as possible. This personalised level of service is also what makes this place so special, so much so that all people whom arrive as a guest, depart as a valued friend and fall into the fold of the Savanna Family.

Nine magnificent suites offer spacious and luxurious accomodation with seven of the suites having tented roofs and all blend into the bush environment making it sympathetic to the eye. You will find a combination of old world colonial style mixed in with all the convenienes of modern facilities.

The main lodge is built using local African textures of wood, canvas and overhanging thatch. The public lounge area with comfy sofas, library and local African games leads out onto a spacious patio area with views directly across the gardens towards the main pool area and a water hole at the end of the gardens which attract wildlife of all sizes, but especially the Elephant who love to come and drink from the waterhole.

The bar area to the side of the lounge area is where guests congregate after game drives and before evening meals where they discuss the sightings of the day and share stories of previous bush encounters.  Upstairs is a view loft where you can get a birds eye view over the gardens leading to the main waterhole and this area is a lovely place to relax in the afternoons where you can read, play chess or link up to the world via the lodge’s wifi.

Guests will often come to the bar at the end of each day to download their pictures of their favourite animal shots and transfer digital images, whilst comparing them with fellow guests or even seeking advise from the more knowledgable photographers amongst them.

Gourmet dining is an essential part of your safari experience. Breakfasts provide full English  fare plus fresh fruits and you have continental options too. An innovative lunch is often served on the outdoor patio, weather permitting, and this is followed by afternoon tea before heading out on your afternoon/evening game drive.  When you return to camp, you’ll have time for a fresh up in your room, or just head to the bar for a drink prior to what will be delicious evening meal. Focus on your evening meal is on quality of food, presentation and often complemented by award winning wines chosen from the cellar.

Savanna also offers a unique dining location in one of the original old Selati Railway line dining carriages which used to run through the bushveld in colonial times. Three course dining takes place in here which offers you a wonderful evening whisking you to a bygone era – it’s fabulous!

There are three types of suite categories at Savanna Lodge :

Luxury Suites : There are 4 Luxury Suites under canvas which nestle under indigenous trees which attract a variety of birds. The rooms are separated from neighbouring rooms by natural  hedgerows offering privacy from your neighbours. The bedrooms have draped ceilings, a bit like a luxurious bedouin style tent, filled with old world style furniture, comfy chairs and fabulously comfortable beds. Your bathrooms have free standing bath tubs, double vanities and separate indoor and out door shower as well as separate loo. On your private deck will be sunloungers where you can sit back and look down towards the open bush on the horizon.

Executive Suites : there are 3 Executive Suites which are simply larger and more spacious and therefore more extravagently designed in every aspect. Perhaps the nicest thing about these is that they have their own private plunge pool and enjoy views down towards smaller individual water holes at the ends of their garden. The bathrooms are bigger with double showers and larger indoor cosy sitting area.

Savanna Suite : This is your luxurious home away from home, built under thatch you will find two large beautifully furnished bedrooms either side of an inter-connecting lounge with each room enjoying it’s own private giant sized en-suite bathroom each with their own free standing 4-claw bath tub, double shower, double vanities, private toiler and outdoor shower. The bedrooms have glass doors leading onto a deck where you have your own plunge pool which overlooks your very own waterhole in the buh.  Your lounge area  offers comfortable sofas, TV with DVD centre and a little cosy reading area by the fireplace. Candle lit dinners can be prepared for you on your patio and you have your own small attached fully operational kitchen. This Suite is absolutely ideal for families with children or couples travelling together. You will also get your own private safari vehicle with tracker and ranger for the duration of your stay.

Savanna Lodge has a small but well equipped gym. Massage is available too.

Savanna offers the opportunity of being married in the bush! The lodge has three areas where wedding ceremonies can be conducted : a clearing in the bush, by the swimming pool with the waterhole as a backdrop or on the deck by the main lounge area. With their experienced team of staff all arrangements can be taken care of.

The lodge really does look after honeymooners exceptionally well and encourages private dinning whether in your room, on your deck or in a nice quiet corner of the lodge dining area.

Children of all ages are welcome with families when booking the Savanna Suite, however children under the age of 8 are not be permitted in the main lodge. The lodge has their own tailored “Bushbaby’s Programme” for children on safari which ensure that the little guests of the future remain entertained while learning and having fun.

Savanna is also dedicated to helping the local community secure a better future. It achieves this by employing 90% of it’s staff from the surrounding villages and promising individuals can get 3 months work experience in the lodge. Proceeds from your stay go towards the Mabahule Youth Choir who come and perform some evenings prior to dinner as well as helping local community projects and a care home in the village of Marbarhule which looks after 250 orphaned children between 3-17yrs of age.

We rate Savanna Lodge extremely highly because it genuinely offers the most welcoming and the one of the most passionate safari experiences of all the lodges. This is one place where the importance of delivering the ultimate game viewing experience supercedes everything else – this makes it one of our top lodges to stay at in Africa. Room 4 is the nicest located of the luxury suites and suite 5 is I think the better located of the executive suites and is closest to the main lodge area.