Guests of Natasha’s embarked on an unforgettable adventure through Kruger National Park, revisiting the tranquil Shimungwe and the luxurious Thabamati lodges—both cherished favourites from previous stays—while adding a new discovery to their journey at the prestigious Inyati lodge. Their return to Kruger was a perfect blend of comfort, adventure, and discovery, immersing them once again in the beauty and wonder of South Africa’s most iconic wilderness. Here is their feedback:
Hi Natasha,
Great to hear from you:) We had a great trip overall. It was nice to spend so many days on game drives. On the whole,
We again liked Shimungwe with Lucan–the food as always is delicious and the staff so nice. The game drives were good; however, we didn’t see as many animals as we did last year. The first chef did a nice job with ensuring good vegetarian food; the one who came after wasn’t quite as knowledgeable; but we enjoyed our stay there. I love that they have rusks and wonderful vanilla-tasting cookies in the room!
Inyati was our favourite. The lodge actually spelled out “happy birthday, Peggy” with rose petals on my bed, and they had a lovely bottle of champagne waiting for me after dinner!! That was so special! Omega was a terrific ranger–so fun and funny! Joel was a great spotter. We saw so many animals and were fortunate to see a leopard take a kill up a tree, a leopard carrying a 3 week old baby, a herd of 300+ buffalo, and several lion kills. The lodge was so open and the rooms were great. I had a view of the river which was fantastic. The food was fine. Mitzi didn’t like it as much. They serve only buffet style. It would be nice to have a variety of ways to eat. When we return, I will request #9 again. Mitzi was in #8. We would also request Omega….we had such a great time with him.
Thabamati was really nice again…the resident hippos moved off the property and there were not as many animals that frequented the water hole, which was disappointing, but of course, the lodge can control that. We didn’t see as many animals in our six day stay as we would have liked; didn’t get to see a leopard but we saw two different cheetahs, one we saw twice. However, the staff is just so hospitable and nice! We also had a puff adder slither onto the patio–just before dinner–lucky that we were a ways away!! They had a wonderful breakfast in the bush for us–so nice! Like last year, Thabamati’s food is just incredible. The chefs really know how to cook for my vegetarian diet.
I’m attaching a few photos…hard to choose!!!
Thanks again for organising this trip for us–we’ll be in contact when we book our next trip!!!
Sincerely,
Peggy Albers
