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Bill Siviter
GB
Visited:
May 2012
Reviewed: Oct 8, 2012
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing experience
The animal and bird life I saw in one day was profuse and I took over six hundred photographs.
The Rissington Inn Hotel in Hazyview where I stayed was excellent. The accomodation was of a high standard as was the food.
Altogether a great experience which eclipsed all my other adventures in the Grand Canyon and Tokyo or Hong Kong.
Visitors to the southern part of the park must expect the heavy cover which is commonplace and not expect the open grasslands of say Kenya.
We hired a car from the airport at Joburg and the drive though tiring after our flight was easy even though some SA road
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signs are ambiguous or non existant in places. It is my second time in SA I loved my visit to the Cape and the wine tour I took but big game close up is an experience I wouldn't have missed for the world.
Tommy
US
Visited:
August 2011
Reviewed: May 22, 2012
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The perfect experience for anyone wanting to experience the South African Bush.
The food at Umlani was incredible as well- It was by far the best out of our month-long trip. Some of our meals included a delicious sweet potato and butternaut squash soup, casseroles, full english breakfasts, various meats, impala stew (try it!), and of course rusks. I was at Umlani during the Winter so the weather was nice
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although it had rained a few days before we arrived.The wildlife was beyond anything that I had expected. We encountered all of the big 5 many times and saw a huge variety of animals. My group was fortunate enough to see a lion kill as well as enormous herds of Cape Buffalo. The elephants were everywhere and seemed to not care about our proximity to them.
Umlani is located next to a water hole so that viewing animals is still possible in between game drives. About a mile away is another water hole where interested guests can stay in a tree house for the night! Thanks to encouragement from the staff, I summoned my courage and spent one night in a tree house in the bush.
Overall, The Timbavati Nature Reserve and Umlani specifically is the best place to go to experience the South African Bush. There are friendly staff members, good food, knowledgeable guides, beautiful scenery, and of course lots of wildlife to observe. I don't often check 5 stars in all categories but Umlani deserves it. Too see videos from my trip, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/futbol7t/featured. Make sure to make Timbavati and Umlani part of your trip.
Colleen B.
US
Visited:
September 2008
Reviewed: May 21, 2012
Email Colleen B. | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A fantastic, up close and personal experience in Africa -- a sense of adventure at every turn
Royal Legend Safari Lodge had beautiful accommodations, excellent food. Seeing animals up close and personal a thrill. Expert guides Fani and Rufus. The most awesome experience was when an elephant walked to our jeep, putting his trunk right in our faces! An experience no book or travelogue could ever duplicate.
In Gomo Gomo Game Lodge we have seen them all: Lions, leopards, hyena's, elephants, buffalo's, rhino's etc.
Ben Johnson
SG
Visited:
August 2024
Reviewed: Sep 1, 2024
Email Ben Johnson | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Timbavati was fantastic from an accommodation and guest experience, however the animal population felt much more sparse than at Sabi Sand. Overall still a great experience and I would love to go back.
Mary
GB
Visited:
October 2023
Reviewed: Nov 21, 2023
Email Mary | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The River Lodge which we stayed in was very good, but overall we were surprised that there weren't more animals in the Reserve, yet we did see all the Big 5. At the Lodge, we had elephants walking by our tented suite and one even drank from our plunge pool. Also had hyenas and monkeys close by.
guybaxendale
GB
Visited:
April 2011
Reviewed: Aug 14, 2012
Email guybaxendale | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Honeymoon in Timbavati
To give you some background as to what I benchmark Timbavati against i worked in a Safari lodge in Kenya in the past and have been on Safari in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The abundance of wildlife in Timbavati is exceptional and we saw the 'Big Five' twice over during our four day stay and plenty of plains game and birdlife. The food at Tanda Tula was excellent, particularly the bush breakfast. Our guide spoke perfect English and was extremely knowledgeable about the area and its wildlife.
For safari first timers that want to see the 'big five' this is without a doubt the best area I have ever been to. However, for people who have seen a bit of Africa you may feel that you are slightly part of a 'machine' and that the guides feel an obligation who need to 'tick off' the big five
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for each and every guest. The guides radio to each other constantly when they find game which means that you absolutely will get to see the animals. They have a 'queuing system' to see them as they maintain a policy of only two jeeps viewing at any one time to minimise stress on the animals (an excellent policy). This is not true true African wilderness and so i suppose the bush vibe cannot be expected to be 100% authentic but it was the only slight negative for me. My wife had been on safari once before and i think felt it slightly less than me.
Large variety of birds and animals, pretty scenery, high level of hospitality.
We were on a nightdrive, but saw only a few animals. The guide stopped at a fence where we could see the famous white lions.
Yamada Clan
NL
Visited:
October 2011
Reviewed: Dec 6, 2011
35-50 years of age
I would recommend everyone to start your visit with a trip of a few days to a private gamepark. It is more expensive then Kruger, but the bush feeling is much higher as there are very few other tourists, no asfalt roads and lots of game to spot.