Woodbury Lodge – Amakhala Game Reserve

Had a lovely experience at Woodbury! Beautiful lodges and 5 star service - delicious food, beautiful views of the reserve, and our guide Nico was the best at finding the animals we wanted to see on this trip :) Would highly recommend it for a first safari experience!

A lovely lodge with welcoming hosts. The game drives at 5 am and 4 pm are very good and our guides Nico and Greg were excellent. We got to see all the animals and the reserve is very nice. This being our first safari (with 2 kids we didn’t want to go to a place with malaria or travel to Johannesburg) I couldn’t help but feel like this wasn’t the real deal in terms of safari experience. The guides constantly talked about controlling the environment and only allowing certain number of animals at given times due to the limited size of the reserve. The vision of boundary fences and driving across highways also gave it a less genuine experience for me (Again I reiterate I have nothing to compare this with other safari experiences). The food in the lodge is very good and we were looked after extremely well.

We stayed for three nights at this lodge in the Amakhala Game Reserve and enjoyed our time tremendously. We were the only guests for part of the time and were treated superbly. Food is very good and meals are eaten together with other guests and rangers. Alcohol is available at all times too and there is a pleasant indoor lounge for when the weather is inclement. Our room was comfortable and well maintained by the staff and the views from the lodge meant that you could often spot wildlife. We had six game drives with JP and enjoyed each of them. His knowledge and insight was amazing. We saw all the animals that we hoped to despite the cold, sometimes wet, weather. The three hours for each drive means that you are never in a rush to move on from one location to another. Excellent, and no need for malaria tablets either!!

There are just not enough words to say how fabulous Woodbury Lodge is from the minute you arrive. A warm welcome with fruit juices and got to meet our guide Rob who immediately took us out for a drive even thought it was 4pm. We were a group of three adults staying in a family lodge which was beautiful. The electric blankets and underfloor heating in the bathroom was very appreciated as it was chilly at night. Rob was our guide who went above and beyond to make sure we saw everything on our wish list. We saw lions, porcupine, caracal, elephants, cheetah, giraffes, hippos, rhino, warthogs, zebras and many varieties of deers. The reserve is ethical - you will never see large numbers of trucks surrounding the animals - I believe its a maximum of two at any one time. The staff wake you 30 minutes before your drive in the morning, you then have tea/coffee and a biscuit (whilst ordering your cooked breakfast for later) before your early morning drive. There is a high end coffee machine which was just amazing! mid morning you stop and have a hot drink and a breakfast snack. I highly recommend the hot chocolate its just sublime! You return to the lodge for breakfast; the cheese bread is very special! There is around 3 -4 hrs before lunch and the afternoon drive. Halfway through the drive you stop for snacks and a drink - alcoholic or non alcoholic your Rop always took our order before we left for the afternoon drive. Then it's back to the lodge to freshen up and dinner. There was always a choice of two meals at dinner. Dinner is communal with all lodge guests together and a member of the team always eats with you which is also nice. All the meals were delicious and cooked to order, there was some repetition of desserts in our 4 night stay but we were at the end of season so I understand the need to minimise waste. The bar room also has a small collection of games and reading material with good wifi access. There is a self-serve bar - which is an honesty bar if you are not all inclusive. The rooms are well furnished, with a viewing platform. The bathroom has a good shower and a bath that looks out over the plains. There is a fridge with a kettle and the team will bring you milk for your cuppa if you ask for it. If you are staying in June like we did bring plenty of layers, a hat and gloves as its chilly in the mornings. The pool area is beautiful but is was just too cold to use whilst we were there. One thing that struck me at Woodbury is how all the staff mingle with each other and genuinely seem to love their work. There was always laughter and smiles all around the Lodge. I was incredibly nervous about spiders as a huge arachnophobe but it was all good. There is a little gift shop at the lodge and they also sell hats/ gloves and sweatshirts in case you need them. If you go at this time I would suggest taking a rain poncho of some description, they do provide but in heavy rain they leaked quite a lot. If you are not self driving I would recommen

Woodbury Lodge was an amazing experience for our family and friends. Lenny our guide was fantastic, very knowledgable and respectful of the animals. We saw so much on our drives with him it was outstanding. Woodbury went way above our expectations on all we saw and the wonderful setting, surroundings and accommodations all beautiful. The staff at Woodbury lodge are a real credit to them. Thoroughly recommend Woodbury Lodge on all counts. Animals, our guide Lenny, lodges ( with your own viewing deck) drives with wonderful pit stops - coffee in the mornings and wine in the evenings, fantastic relaxation area with pool and viewing decks, campfire in the evenings, plentiful food and drinks and a wonderful welcome upon arrival. A truly magical experience.