We really can't speak highly enough about the staff, game drives, food and accommodation at Ulusaba. The stay exceeded our expectations.

An African Safari was on my life list and I got to do it this year. It was all I dreamed of. Up close and personal experiences spectacular wildlife in a super small group setting. The staff at Ulusaba totally pampered us. Great food, fun and knowledgable guides and of course hanging out at Richard Branson private game reserve is pretty cool too. Highly recommended.

We booked to stay at Ulusaba for 5 nights in September 2010 after 6 months of vigorous research on various Safaris in South Africa to celebrate our wedding anivarsary!

Ulusaba comprises two lodges: Safari Lodge sits on the banks of the dry Mabrak riverbed, while Rock Lodge is perched on a hill with panoramic views over the bush. Both offer very different experiences of the bush - you can stay at one or the other or split your time between the two like a lot of the guests had. We choose to stay all nights at the Safari Lodge. All the rooms here are built tree-house style with a private deck from where we had unrivalled views of the elephants or the Nyalas ambling past going towards the watering hole. At the Safari Lodge we were right in the heart of the bush, a fact hammered home at around five each morning when the baboons started to party - screeching, scampering and jumping over our roofs and decks!!! One morning at 4 am we were woken up by the roar of the lions that were miles away but given how quiet the bush is we felt like they were right outside our door!!!

Right since our arrival we were made to feel very welcome! Champagne on arrival and cold towels to soothe us – everything had been well thought off. Our ranger and tracker for the 5 days were both there to welcome us. We were taken to our rooms and then shown around the place. The room is spacious, rustic, and bright and has everything you would want including indoor/ outdoor slippers, bathrobes and hairdryer. The bed was huge and extremely comfortable with lovely pillows. We didn’t have a TV in the room but really we only noticed that on the 3rd day as we were hardly in the room!! From the fully stocked Bar area outside, to the huge dining room, to the wine cellar as well as the open Breakfast area the Safari lodge is a beautiful place.

But the real draw, of course, was the wildlife and the beautiful animals. Although it was mesmerising to stand and survey the miles of parched savannah with a chilled champagne glass in hand there was no substitute for heading out into the thick of it. There were twice-daily game drives as well as bush walks. The first is at 5.30am when the open-topped Land Rovers come stocked with ponchos to keep us warm and the welcome hot-water bottles for the cold early morning! The hot chocolate with Amarula that our Ranger Sean made us every morning was big hit and has become my favorite drink to have on a cold day in London!!! After tea the second game drive heads off at about 4 PM in time for sundowners in the bush. Every little detail has been taken care off! You can tell that all the staff love working at Ulusaba which in turn means they do everything for you with so much warmth and affection that you feel like you’ve known them forever!!

We were lucky to have a great set of people with us on our rides. We were 3 couples that had never met before but we hit it off so well that it was a pleasure and a lot of fun going on our bush rides! We shared a lot of laughs over the course of our 5 day trip! With Sean the ranger at the wheel, and Jimmy the tracker perched on the fold-away seat on the bonnet, we bumped along the dusty tracks each morning and evening. We saw the Big 5 and also Cheetah, giraffes, wildebeest, Hippos, zebras, hyena, nyala, Impalas and baboons and more during our drives as well as many birds and scorpions under the UV light at night (brilliant!). One evening we watched 2 female leopards fighting over territory and tracked them for nearly an hour until they disappeared in the bush – Its one sight I’m never going to forget – A leopard walking into the sunset!!. One night we followed pride of lions through the scrubby thickets - An absolute highlight was sitting in the jeeps with a pride of lions under the stars waiting for them to wake up! We also saw a cheetah being driven away by a Hyena from the half eaten Impala she was having for dinner! It's truly amazing to be so up close and personal with these animals in their natural habitat.

The rangers and Trackers skill and knowledge of the bush is humbling. We heard so many of their experiences that were awe-inspiring as well as completely fascinating. At the Bush observatory one night, with the velvety sky pinpricked by stars, our ranger pointed out the different constellations - including Scorpio. Walking through the bush in single line, Sean and James, rifle to hand, had a story, a use or a warning for each tree and bush we passed. Plucking a handful of leaves from a bush, Sean added water from his bottle and rubbed them together, producing nature's soap. Twigs from another bush can be turned into a toothbrush after stripping away the bark. We lapped up their every word and our entire group always had loads of questions to ask which they answered patiently!

The food at Ulusaba was brilliant and there was so much food around the clock that we skipped lunch on all but the last day!! We were pampered and overfed! Breakfast was delightful; we would sit outside and watch the animals come to the watering hole while we enjoyed the huge spread! Dinner was like a huge celebration where we sat with all the guests of the Lodge! Dinner could be served in the rooms but we had all our meals with the group as it was so much fun! We had a special Boma dinner organized one night for the 2 of us to also celebrate my husband’s birthday and our anniversary!

We had a lovely wine tasting experience at the Wine cellar in the Safari Lodge – Dane gave us some excellent recommendations and also went out of his way to print some information on Cape Town where we were headed next. We also visited the Aroma Boma Spa at the Rock lodge with a room that overlooks the bush and has stunning views - Both me and my husband enjoyed a fabulous 90 minute warm oil massage!

For those that knock the cost remember that it is all inclusive! Its definitely not cheap but you wont pay for a drop of a drink or any of the fabulous food available around the clock , your night time trip to the lodge observatory , twice daily safaris ,gym, pool , daily laundry ,bathroom products, in fact all in all the amazing experience is worth every penny.

This was our first trip to Ulusaba but definitely not the last! The bush is a magical place to be and we absolutely agree with the first thing our ranger said to us when we reached Ulusaba – He said once you come to the bush you will keep wanting to come back to it!. Choosing to stay at Ulusaba was the best ever decision we took and we can’t thank the entire team at Ulusaba enough for making our trip everything we hoped it would be and more! Nothing was too much trouble, but most of all you didn't need to ask, it was just done. Not only were they all genuine, friendly and kind but also let us have our space when we wanted it! All in all we cannot wait to go back to this place. I could go on and on about how lovely Ulusaba is - but all I will say is do stay here and see for your self that this is indeed a gem!

Cheers to our best holiday ever!
A&S London