we travelled from the UK summer to the SA winter and arrived by private transfer from Jburg. As you fly into Ulusaba you pass across villages and we were concerned that this may spoil seeing the animals but when you arrive you are in another world.

The lodge is relaxed and informal with exceptional food. The game drives benefit from being in a private game reserve and the challenge for the rangers of showing us wild dogs was fantastic. For anyone going in this winter period the early mornings are cool and hats and gloves are useful although the lodge does provide hot water bottles and blankets.

Our fondess memory will be after supper talking about the stars and planets and the offer from a ranger to take us to the telescope observatory and see it properly. 4 guest plus a ranger one mile from the lodge lying on wooden chairs in the middle of the african bush.

we will be back.

So why get married in South Africa at Ulusaba everyone said??
Take a look at the piccys......
Well you only have to look at the most amazing views, sunset, animals (leopards inparticular) and add the food, the hospitality, the staff for the most awesome experience of a life time to remember!..... and not to forget that Ricjhard popped in for Christmas with his family on the day of our wedding.

There was no indecision about the venue, and dreaming of pictures on the deck.... the only question was safari lodge or rock lodge.....They are both very different....think we made the right decision the views from the Rock lodge and the family feel is amazing..... to sit and have lunch on the deck, see the bush moving and then spot a pack of lions chasing a herd or wilderbeasts...... We were unsure at first if we'd made the right decision and if it might be a bit stuffy and the other guests would be a little too refined for our liking but they were all great and socialable and made it a memorable stay.

We loved everything about it....the food, the staff were amazing.....
We were upgraded to the Rock Suite, lovelly suite, bathroom, far too big for the two of us but my wedding dress had a room of its own all week....

The game viewing was amazing....Greg and James did a great job, during our 3 days of drives we saw EVERYTHING!!!! Many amazing leopard sightings, lions, elephants, etc..... and the very evasive Wild Dog which even Mr B is still to see....

I had no idea what to expect of our wedding...... we chose Kings Rock, Al arrived by Landrover, followed by me 5 mins later..... they'd set up it up really well.....some sculptures, some canapes, strawberries, wedding cake and at least 4 bottles of my favourite Veuve Cliquet Champagne. The staff turned out and sang, the miister was hilarious. the staff doubled up as a video man, and the photographer was great and has put together the most amazing album. It was 36 degrees at 4.30pm in the afternoon but the breeze was lovelly, the rock lodge on the hill in the background, the hippo's snorting and the lions roaring........... You'd hardly of noticied we were the only guests........

Without doubt the best experience ever and I grinned and smiled all day it was beautiful.......... the day was finished off by an amazing sunset, dinner of out choice of favourite foods, copious amounts of champagne and a few drinks with our newly made friends.

Yes its not cheap, but its an amazing experience and you don't want for anything!!

Get saving and just do it! We'll be back!
It's a very special experience.

Sue & Al McLay

Although with friends I stayed on a single supplement basis in a Rock Cliff Room at Rock Lodge. Firstly let’s get the good, great and amazing things here first;

1. The staff at the lodge were fantastic; genuine, sincere and really helpful. They couldn’t have done more for us and everything they did do really seemed a pleasure rather than a chore. In particular Carmel, Vickers, Knox, Peggy and the wonderful guy behind the bar (he knows who he is!).
2. The location was outstanding, having gone down to Safari Lodge I am really pleased we decided on Rock Lodge it seemed more intimate and more of a boutique feel plus the views were spectacular and it benefited from the breeze.
3. Our Ranger (Stevie) and Tracker (Tulani) were amazing, they worked so hard to ensure we saw the animals on our game drives, made everyone feel special and included and made the best tea’s and coffee’s known to man ;) Our team were also the best at “off roading” and deep bush trekking which made for an even more exciting time. Other’s who need a mention are Greg, Stuart and Johann for making everyone laugh via the radio and their camera expertise 
4. The size of the lodge and accommodation was great; Room 3 is on two floors with a spiral staircase leading down to the bathroom which included a free standing bath overlooking the bush and a huge shower complete with some of the original kopje stones. The balcony overlooks the bush with great views to the lake and cross-country to the mountains. The room was very well equipped with a safe, hairdryer, repellent and fantastic toiletries, slippers, gown and a mini bar stocked with wine, champagne and beautiful snacks together with a super quick laundry service.
5. The food and wine were outstanding with something for everyone and a bar stocked with every drink known to man and some we have probably never heard of! The wine was varied and well chosen and Carmel or Vickers always had a recommendation which proved to be good.

Now for one niggle which made the experience a little less amazing….

1. The game drives were somewhat spoilt for me by the constant change of companion in the vehicle – 3 in all over 4 nights. This meant that as soon as we had all relaxed into each others’ company those people left and we had new people to bond with. This also meant that we repeatedly saw animals we had already seen on earlier game drives (for the benefit of the new people) when perhaps we could have spent this time looking for the more elusive animals we had rarely seen. However we did see most animals including leopards thanks to our fantastic team. I totally understand the logistics aspect with people staying for different lengths of time however it would just have been nicer if we had managed to stay with one group for more than a couple of drives. Comparing the experience to other safari’s this aspect of the drives did make the animal sightings a little repetitive and frustrating.

All in all a good experience made even better by the genuine service, friendly staff and location. Value for money as a single traveller? I’m not totally sure. Perhaps I will see again soon….