We stayed at the outpost for 3 days.
The outpost was amazing. Our rooms/ spaces had the most fantastic views. You wake up each morning to the sun rising over the valley. The staff were really friendly too.

I left the outpost with two negative points:
1. In this part of the kruger there is really hardly any game. You can go on a game drive and see absolutely nothing for hours. There are no herds of animals, and there are no giraffes in this area at all.

2. The owners of the outpost and their extended family turned up for the last day of our stay. Our guide, who was absolutely brilliant, stopped taking us on game drives so that he could take them instead. A temporary guide took our game drives. He did not know the area, and was just not as good. We certainly felt like we, the paying guest, were no longer the priority.

We stayed at the Outpost just before X'mas 2004 and found ourselves pampered with great hospitality and gourmet food. Although that happened to be a quiet week just before X'mas and so we were the only guests there out of the 12-cottage resort and so would have expected undivided attention from the staff there, we were still very impressed with the warmth and sincerity of the service, from the manager and his wife to every member of staff we encountered. We also stayed at the Phinda Forest Lodge (a supposedly highly rated safari lodge by the way, and which also won the best safari food award in the Conde Nast Traveller magazine last year) in the same trip right after the Outpost and the contrast couldn't be bigger - Phinda became so 'establishment' that service was very absent-minded and the property also needed maintenance (our air conditioner was leaking water, another room's air conditioner broke down completely), food was bland and tasteless and we also got food poisoning at the Phinda among other guests over their X'mas Eve dinner (I am at my wit's end how it got rated so highly on food!), game watching was also completely predictable because the animals have already got so used to humans, whereas at the Outpost, food was excellent and the local chef is clearly extremely talented since she only learnt Western cooking for a few short years and has mastered it so well. Although meals were communal and it was just ourselves and the manager and his wife dining, they kept great company and kept us entertained. As the Outpost was still a very new resort when we visited, the animals in the area were still shy and so you needed luck and stamina to see them - this also made it much more interesting and adventurous (if you just want to see everything in a predictable sequence, you may as well go to your local zoo), and we saw most of the Big Five anyway and a lot more. The staff really made a lot of effort to find us the animals. I'd say this is a great place to unwind, to enjoy the space, the views, the game sightings and gourmet food. I hope the Outpost gets recognised as among the best African safari resorts soon!

This lodge might not suit everyone (because its rooms are open air), but is absolutely stunning and we would both rate it as the best holiday experience we have ever had, anywhere in the world. The open air elevated spaces give privacy, while being open on 3 sides, and the most incredible views. To wake up with the sun rising at the foot of your bed at 5.30am on Christmas morning was something we will never forget. The food and service is also incredible and totally unexpected in such a remote part of Kruger...all the more special when you learn it is all made by local people who have been trained by management to take over the lodge when it reverts to tribal ownership in 15 years. Don't expect to see the Big 5, but expect to see incredible scenary, lush tropical forests, and learn more about wildlife and nature than you will in the more game-intense southern and central parts of the park. Because you don't see animals constantly the guides work harder to find them, and teach you more along the way.

The Outpost Lodge looks very unpretentious - until you enter the main "room": a concrete slab open on 3 sides. Smooth Italian design in the bush makes a real difference to the usual lodges adorned in african safari style. This is combined with excellent cuisine (well, it is a bit strange to travel 36 hours from Europe to the Krueger and then eat Norvegian Salmon which did the same trip). The view from our space (=room) extended over the Luvuvhu river and endless bush to Mozambique. The Outpost is the first lodge in this region, partly belonging to the Makuleke people who lived here until the 1960s, and now provide most of the staff.

Northern Krueger Park is much less visited than the South, and The Outpost rangers are allowed to use roads prohibited to the public. We thus rarely met other cars during the game drives, but saw lots of rather shy animals including elephants, leopards, black eagle or Nyala. Our guide and ranger were extremely knowledgeable and knew the area very well. Check out my travel diary including The Outpost, if you like:
http://www.pangolin.li/travel_sites/RSASwazi_Jan05/RSA_Swazi_2005_main.html

Summary: Excellent game viewing, cool design, fine cuisine - in remote and less-travelled parts of Krueger.