Kariega Game Reserve Main Lodge

To begin, the general safari experience was incredible. In every morning or evening game drive, there is no difficulty to witness lots of wildlife right from the beginning; within minutes of exiting the main lodge area you will see giraffes or herds of antelopes. These special journeys are surreal and the superb rangers are a main factor in this. They are always communicative, knowledgeable an unimaginably observant - the outstanding spots such as cheetahs throughout tall grass and lions among bushes truly make all game drives worth it. Our ranger Kyla was excellent! The accommodation is great; the rooms are spacious and furnished extremely well. The chalets are comforting and calming and some family ones have mini pools. Most of these chalets overlook a mesmerising lush, green landscape. Overall, the rooms are immaculate however my only minor issue is that cleaners do come at an inconvenient time occasionally: between noon and afternoon when you don't have a game drive. The dining is also very good. There is freedom to choose what you wish at the buffet style and it is very flexible, with options for many. The staff there are cheerful and very kind, which is an underrated part of the stay. One surprising, great feature here is the boma, where every other day you will be presented with a traditional cuisine and vibe. If you're lucky, there will be an enjoyable performance after your meal to end off the evening. To carry on from this, there are a bunch more facilities which are also excellent to occupy your time with: - A sports room with a table tennis table - A large pool where you can relax - A bar where you can have drinks - A spa for massages - A shop for souvenirs to remember your trip I was very impressed with the apparent conservation and funding to people in less fortunate situations, which we were informed about. To conclude, the stay here is one which I would 100% recommend to everyone looking to visit this section of the world. It is, in my honest opinion, a perfect highlight of a trip to South Africa.

Kariega delivered well above our expectations - even though the weather was unseasonably cold & wet, the staff were upbeat & friendly and our assigned ranger (Kayla) did a brilliant job of getting us to all the right spots at the right time - she allowed us to tick all the boxes and we had some awesome game experiences, the memories of which will live with us for a lifetime.

We are local South Africans, and wanted to do something special for our 30 year anniversary. Well, what more can I say, than, breathtaking views, accommodation was out of our world, staff were a delight to have around. Even the animals were friendly, it shows that this reserve has respect for the surroundings and the animals who live in it. We felt welcome in every way.

The first and hopefully not the last safari holiday and this experience, resort and location ticks all the boxes - I would highly recommend for a family

Wonderful lodge. Absolutely superb customer service and guest experience. We had 3 nights in 2 x luxury suites. Our lodges were adjoining yet private. Wonderful, far reaching landscape views. The solid timber built suites are tastefully furnished, large open plan spaces with private plunge pools. The Ukhozi lodge is an inviting communal space with open bar, fireplaces, relaxing & reading areas, and stunning infinity pool. We loved the dining experience, attentive service, high quality menu with an excellent variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner options. We were fortunate to have a private game drive for the four of us. The guide, Megan, was really knowledgeable, funny, and created a great atmosphere on our twice daily game drives, finding unique experiences for us and worked hard to show us as much as possible in the time we had. Her driving skills were impressive! The guides worked as a team to provide magic moments for their guests.

Could not stop eating the food was so good! All staff were welcoming and cheerful. Accomodation was luxurious and well catered. Guides were very knowledgeable and entertaining. They really cared about the wildlife and making sure we had a wonderful time. Big shout out to our guide AK who took us on wild safari adventures. Would highly recommend AK if you have a choice in guides.

Wow, we had 4 fabulous game drives over 2 days. Max was incredibly knowledgeable and obliging and he went out of his way so we saw as much as possible. The elephants though were definitely the highlight and a sight I will remember for a long time. The vehicles can be a little tricky to get in and out of for some people, but we were both fine with it even though my husband is 70 and me 64. It was chilly on the early morning drives, so take something warm, although they do provide blankets, I also had hat, scarf and gloves which was ideal. The accommodation was very clean, comfortable and well equipped, The restaurant served great food and Brendan went out of his way to provide me with gluten free options, even making me bread and muffins. Can’t fault their attention to detail. This is an experience everyone should try, as it wasn’t top of my bucket list but I am so glad we did it. Highly recommended, I would give it 6 stars if I could.

We had an amazing experience here. The staff and service were excellent. Can’t fault this place at all. The Chalet we had was very clean and had beautiful views of the landscape. The food was tasty and vast amounts of it. The evening shows every other night were really good around the fire. Just want to shout out to Wes our ranger. He made the Safari what it was. His knowledge was exceptional and he went out his way to make sure we were comfortable. He was amazing at following tracks to find the various animals we wanted to see. He turned up to collect us on the drives on time also.

It was an absolute great experience. The gigantic animal area was good maintained without being artificial. We have seen lots of animals. Our guide (Margoux) was really kind and hat so much knowledge about animals, plants and everything. It was absolutely worth it.