Tshukudu Bush Lodge

I don’t even know where to begin. I don’t usually write reviews for accommodation but I feel as though I need to. My husband and I visited the lodge in August 2019 for part of our honeymoon and I can honestly say I have never had an experience like it! From the first welcome, we knew we would love it here. The staff are so attentive and polite, ready to cater to your every need. Tshukudu really offers a personal experience- we were 2 of only 4 guests staying at the hotel at the time, which meant we pretty much had it to ourselves! The views from the lodge were out of this world; you could clearly see a large watering hole from the deck and your own room, which meant a lot of animals frequented it. People who moan about the steps- you are warned prior to booking and how else are you going to get those beautiful views of the reserve without them!! The food was amazing! We were pleasantly surprised to return from our game drive on the first night to a private dinner in our room, with the fire going and an absolutely delicious 5 course meal. I’ve read reviews complaining about the food and lack of it- we were never without it! I can honestly say I have never been so well fed during a stay anywhere, the cakes and sandwiches provided for high tea in the afternoon were delicious and plentiful. Also, little extras in the room like bottles of Amurula, nougat and boxes of fudge kept us going- plus the mini bar was always topped up with soft drinks, beer and wine. Oh and the biscuit tin was topped up twice a day which we loved! Breakfast was lovely with lots to choose from- myself and the other guests had a conversation about the traditional SA breakfast ‘mealie meal’, the next day the staff had prepared us some to try! Nothing was too much trouble. The second night we joined the other guests for a dinner by the fire pit overlooking the beautiful views of Pilanesberg. The facilities of the lodge are definitely 5 star- the rooms were so cosy and welcoming and the bath with the window that opens to overlook the game reserve was just priceless. Now for the game drives!! We had the absolutely fantastic guide Michelle for our drives. I felt the drives were very personal; there was only 4 of us in the jeep at a time, and I am told that they only ever have a maximum of 6 people in the jeep at a time. This is much better than the other vehicles we saw from other lodges who seemed to cram in guests. Michelle left no stone unturned during our drives- we saw all of the big five and more! Michelle takes her service very personally, she is determined for you to get the most out of your experience and stops at nothing to show you the best! After 3 game drives we still hadn’t seen a leopard, but on our final one Michelle went above and beyond to track one down, making sure we got the best view around all the annoying private vehicles. She was extremely knowledgable and I learned lots of new things about all of the animals. The sundowners were a beautiful experience- definitely one to remember. We were taken to some beautiful spots with picturesque views over Pilanesberg. The only other thing I have left to say is that I WISH we had booked an extra night! I would recommend this lodge to everyone and anyone- it was the highlight of our honeymoon and I was so sad to leave. Read less

We could live here and die happy. I don't even know where to begin. From the beginning of our trip, we were greeted and welcomed so lovingly as staff here is genuinely kind. You get a feel for how much they love and respect the animals, in addition to experiencing a true sense of being disconnected from the normal hectic city bustle. While you stay at Tshukudu, you hear... nothing. It is golden silence, with a crackling fireplace if you wish. The watering hole view everyone mentions truly is fulfilling as you will see the animals up close. Stay in the nicer Lux Suite as the room is just heaven. You can dip in your private pool... and have conversations with the baboon, who will sit a couple feet away from you as you share your balcony. Don't forget to leave your room and make your way up the stairs into the dining/firepit area and mingle with the other guests or else you'll just end up being one happy camper in your room forever haha (seriously). The dining times are well planned and the meals are wonderful, and you can even try local meats if you desire a unique taste of the country. The game drives were cold and brisk but worth the 6am start time. Personally, I enjoyed the morning drives more than the evening ones because the sunrise is stunning. Brace yourself as the traffic is wild (literally) and you will get stuck behind an elephant for a full hour. Tips: Read everyone else's tips and you'll be set ;) Read less

We only stayed for 3 nights and wished that we had more but unfortunately we couldn’t fit it in our schedule. We arrived later then most guests due to our flight from Zimbabwe to Joburg then the transfer, we checked in at Bakubung which was a very smooth process, we were then greeted by our guide Michelle, after loading our cases into the back of the vehicle we started the drive to the lodge, on our way we had an Elephant blocking the road whilst they ate and a jackal ran up the road, there were lions in the area so we made a little detour around the water hole where we we may not have seen the lions but we did see the white rhino. We then headed up the stairs, a big thank you to the staff who carried our luggage all the way up due to the lion sightings and not risking the luggage lift you guys were great. The food was amazing - we never made the full 5 courses in the evening, we didn’t have anything that we didn’t like, but I’m sure if there was they would have found an alternative, couldn’t fault the attentiveness of the staff at all, the lodge was quite whilst we were there so as a party of 4 we spent most of our time between drives up in the main area and were provided with drinks whilst watching the watering hole. We did go prepared for the cold, but were very grateful for the hot water bottles and thick blankets provided on the morning drives and it was pretty chilly! It was lovely to stop in the rest areas around the park during our drives to have a hot drink & snack in the morning and a drink of your choice in the evening along with snacks, we would have been happy to have paper/plastic cups but to have proper china cups and glasses was just another plus point. Michelle was an amazing guide and her knowledge of the animals and patience was fantastic, we could not have asked for a better guide at all! Thank you Michelle!! The rooms were lovely and well the view was something that you have to see to appreciate it, we had our fire lit for 2 of our evenings and it just added to the feeling. I loved not having phone signal, having WiFi was great but it would also be good if you wanted to do a digital detox - just don’t connect to WiFi. We didn’t want to leave and are definitely planning on coming back in the future, the steps are not for the faint hearted and not suitable for those that struggle with mobility, but we are glad that our travel agent omitted to tell us this until 2 weeks before our trip, so we didn’t ask to change due to the short notice! Thank you to all Read less

Myself and my husband recently visited tshukudu lodge for 4 nights as part of our honeymoon. Our guides name was Jann-Rick (JR) and we could not praise him enough. His knowledge is vast, and from our first drive it was clear to see the passion he has for the animals. We loved every minute of this holiday, and cant wait to come back some day. We went in July and the mornings and evenings were quite cold, so anyone going this time be sure to pack warm, comfortable clothing. Also bring binoculars!! Thanks again to all at tshukudu lodge Lee and Amy. Read less