South Africa blog post

sabi sabi earth lodge

It can be difficult to make a decision on which lodge/game camp to choose from in South Africa. I think the first thing you have to decide is whether you will pick a lodge/camp that does it game drives in a private game reserve or in Kruger National Park. There are pros and cons to each option and TripAdvisor has great advice. But basically, Kruger National Park is like any national park and can be done with a private vehicle. Just like other National Parks, there are rules and regulations on where you can go, the time you spend in the park and the amount of people around. With a private game reserve, you can go off road for the Big Five and can get really close to them. They also limit the amount of vehicles to 3-5 for the Big Five, so you are not fighting for the optimal spot to view the animals. There is no gate between the national park and the private game reserves, so the animals will travel between the reserves and the national park.

Ultimately, we decided on the private game reserves. We had a national park experience with the Serengeti and it was amazing, but we also wanted to experience an intimate game drive experience with a private game reserve. The next decision is which private game reserves to choose. We chose based on size and the fact that our lodge is able to arrange agreement with other lodges to go in theirs designated area if a Big Five is spotted. The next decision then becomes how much you want to spend. There is definitely a wide range of price ranges, from budget friendly to super Conde Nast-like luxury game camp. Other factors to consider, the size of the lodge, the location within the private game reserve (is it by a watering hole), amenities (gym, pool, etc).

Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge is definitely one of the most unique places we have stayed. They built the building to match and blend with the environment so it really makes for an earthy feel. This is not to say they skimped on luxury touches, because everything was thought out well. The cottages were super spacious. Everything you could think of needing they had.

The food and drinks were also equally amazing. The breakfast spread every morning was plentiful and the a la carte lunch and dinner options were always delicious.

We also had amazing game drives. We always had snacks and in the late afternoon, even treated with wine and mixed drinks if someone wanted. They also did small little surprises like we would drive by a tree with packages tied to a tree with our names on it. Inside the packages were food treats like popcorn or candy while we go on our night game drive.

I think the biggest difference, no having done both a National Park and a private game reserve experience is really the ability to get super close to the animals and being able to go on night drives.