Simply magical - I did three game drives total in South Africa and each were special for their own reasons but this was by far my partner and my favorite experience. Initially when I read the reviews I was really worried since we booked a stay on the reserve as well. A few things that made this ride special were the following: 1) it was cold and raining and the driver handed us all beautiful wool blankets and rain coats so a bit of rain and chilly weather were no longer an issue 2) you basically get a private tour in comparison to some of the more popular reserves closer to Cape Town. Because it’s private we got to spend more time with the animals and get pretty close. Our guide drove very slow not to startle the animals so we could get close. 3) The driver was incredibly knowledgeable about the animals but was a little shy so I just asked him tons of questions and that really made the experience and he always stayed to answer questions and not rush us like some of the other reserves 4) there are a wide range of animals but this was the only reserve we got to see 🦒s up close and personal. We also got to be so close to a heard of elephants 🐘 which was so cool. We even got to be closer than Addo game reserve which is known for its elephants. We also saw lots of ostriches, 🦓 s , hippos etc etc but no lion but i don’t think they have them? It was ok for us because our last game reserve near Cape Town had them. For some of the reviews where people were disappointed, it might be because they only did one game drive and didn’t stay on the reserve. For my partner and I it was just magical (the stay and the game drive). I hope this review might deter you from the negative comments and come visit this place!

Lovely mini-safari - We were two couples, one local and one from Canada. We were unable to go on safari but still wanted to see some animals. This was a great experience. We all got on to an open safari vehicle (elevated, open sides so you can see the most) and driven around the preserve for two hours. The ride is bumpy and a little uncomfortable but I can tell you from experience that these vehicles are very typical for even “proper” safaris. You are driving off road and can’t expect it to be like the motorway. We saw a great variety of animals. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the things we saw. He could also explain how the animals came to be on the preserve (many are rescues) and how their ecosystem works. One of our group was a keen birder and happy to borrow the guide’s binoculars and take advantage of his knowledge. Be sure to bring yours! It was also a pleasant surprise NOT to be assailed for tips, asked to purchase photos, or having to exit by a gift shop. This place is just about the animals and all about the animals. Highly recommended.

A Fabulous Experience - Ted our Ranger was very knowledgeable and gave us lots of information about the animals we spotted on the tour of the reserve. We had some very close up experiences of the Elephants, Giraffes and my favourite the Rhino - a fabulous experience. An excellent way to spend a couple of hours on our journey across South Africa.

June 2024 Nice Family outing - We took our own snacks & drinks (after reading reviews). We found the guide to be VERY knowledgeable and were given blankets (as it was a bit chilly). Apart from croc’s theres no predators but there’s plenty still to see (Elephants, hippo’s, rhino, zebra’s, nyala’s, Eland, springbok, water buck, ostriches, griaffe’s, white chested eagles and non native buck from Asia which I cant recall..). As per other reviews, theres no restaurant or gift shop but that’s okay as the main event is the game drive. Would we go back? Yes, definitely.

Average - Watch out for the road from gate to lodge, really only suitable for 4x4 vehicles. Nothing at the lodge when u arrive, so if u want any drink's, tea or coffee bring ur own. The 1 hour 45 minute drive was fine and the driver was knowledgeable but we didnt see all the animals allegedly on the site (we do understand that we wont always expect to see them) so that was fine. Average enough trip though.

Disappointing visit - At some point in time this would have been an amazing facility but now it is incredibly run down. Don’t arrive early as there is no seating area or no refreshments available Our guide was pretty good, knowledgeable and informative. However, while there were plenty of animals to see and we understand the bush doesn’t always provide, the blub implied we would see the big five. We booked to specifically see a rhino and saw only one of the big five - elephants. Even though there are beware of the hippos it would appear there was only one hippo on the property and it was hiding in the river.

Not like it was 10 years ago...limited animals and not interested in customers...not an adventure - Read some of the reviews after visiting. Like other people we visited here in 2011 and at that time it was a great experience. The current visit fell very flat. Limited animals and very few people visiting i think. The driver taking us around was just that a driver, he had no knowledge of the animals and didn't really want to interact with those of us on the drive. Few giraffe, cattle, one distant rhino, crocs...no real predators at all, and when we asked to see the elephants he wasn't really interested. Drove us to try and see them and then had to turn around as he said they were too hidden to see. Waste of time and money ! As stated bring your own drinks as they don't provide like some of the other drives we have been on. Children disappointed. We felt ripped off...definitely not worth the "half price" deal we paid let alone what they normally charge for the drive. Rather keep your two hours and save your money!

Run down. - Having been here 10 years ago it has gone dramatically downhill. Very few animals. Appear to be selling off animals. Not worth the price in my opinion.

Beautiful animals, poor guide - The animals were of course amazing and the place was beautiful. Worthwhile doing to get up so close with the incredible elephants. However the guide was clearly bored, disinterested and just going through the motions. This was our third game drive on the garden route and paled in comparison to the others

Waste of time and money - This was an expenesive waste of time. There was nowhere to buy drinks. The drive was adequate yet very few explanations. When we asked a question there were short snappy answers and some poor jokes The reserve is severly lacking animals for the amount of money we paid. No predators which was a huge let down. Some of the animals were to far away to get a picture. I do believe with a trained tour guide that could spot animal tracks, droppings, foot prints and explanations about the different species could have made this experince far more worthwhile