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Look there’s no need to make a complete scene, but do allow yourself a silent little weep when you encounter the heavenly food at Thonga Beach Lodge. How often does one find food that is truly delicious at the same time as being wholeheartedly healthy? Here you can camp out at the lunchtime buffet table,…
Read MoreSnake Whisperer
With a smile as broad as his heart, this tree-hugging local will charm you, just as he charms snakes into snake boxes when he removes them from locals’ homes at the edge of Lake Sibaya. From Thonga Beach Lodge, Bheki Tembe (a royal surname, he jokingly explains), is passionate about his environment – fauna and…
Read MoreThe morning after …
At exactly 5.30am we get our wake-up call from Joey, our dedicated guide. The suite is so beautiful with the dawn light just coming in over the trees on the other side of the river bed, that it is difficult to break the mesmerising spell. But we feel responsible for everyone’s early wake-up and force…
Read MoreThe night before …
We gather at the Rhino Post Safari Lodge bar for pre-dinner drinks and snacks, full of enthusiastic stories about our earlier game drive and sightings. We introduce the foreign guests to the joy of Amarula – a creamy African liquor made from the fruit of the Amarula Tree. It’s fruit, both fresh and fermenting, is…
Read MoreuMvubu Community Project
Kosi Forest Lodge is one of the most encouraging examples of genuine community collaborative tourism in South Africa, and has become a model of participatory ownership for other lodges. Blessing (Sibusiso) Mngomezulu, lodge manager and himself a local, explains the close connections between the lodge and the Shengeza community: We chose the name uMvubu for…
Read MoreWanderlust has led me here
As one born of wanderlust, I have been fortunate to travel to many different parts of the world. I have travelled from Scandanavia to Singapore and San Francisco, have bowed my head in cathedrals and temples in Europe, have been up close to calving glaciers in Alaska, caught my breath at the edge of the…
Read MoreTribute to Dr Ian Player (1927 – 1914)
We give tribute to a man who embodied the spirit of conservation, combined with respect for culture and spirituality. World renowned for Operation Rhino, which started in the iMfolozi Game Reserve, Dr Ian Player contributed significantly towards saving the White Rhino from extinction. He also achieved wilderness status for both iMfolozi and the St Lucia…
Read MoreBeautiful Balancing Act
The development of the first eco-friendly luxury lodge in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Reserve is nearing completion. Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge will be the only private lodge in the reserve, which spans 96 000 hectares of untouched African landscape. Isibindi Africa is committed to eco-friendly accommodation of the highest quality, and has worked together with Frencken & Associates, an…
Read MoreFood Safari
Clear the mind, nourish the body, soothe the soul: A review by Sue Derwent: For me, the difference between a great game safari and a mediocre one is not necessarily whether you see plenty of game and tick the big five off your list. It’s also not entirely about good service and comfortable accommodation at…
Read MoreCool Surfer Dude
Upon arrival at Thonga I ask “Who is the cool surfer dude around here?” Every respectable beach lodge should have one, and Clint Morkel at Thonga Beach Lodge fulfills all the surfer dude-inous criteria – hair bleached blond from the sun, tanned, fit and with a love of all things marine. I ask about his…
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