Shepherds Tree Game Reserve

I don’t even know how to start this review other than WOW! I came here with my best friend and our 2 dads as part of a once in a lifetime safari experience and shepherds tree game lodge more than exceeded my expectations! I had done plenty of research into this place before booking and after a few emails back and forth they said the had the 2 bedroom private villa available for the days I was looking for, this consisted of 2 double/twin bedrooms, 2 private bathrooms, a living room, private pool, outside sunbathing/dining area and a private fire pit. We arrived there after a 3 hour transfer and were greeted by Nombulela with hot towels and a lovely personalised welcome and arrival drink. After checking in she showed us to the dining room for lunch before it ended, we were seated swiftly and given menus and wine recommendations which we gladly took note of. Whilst at lunch we were approached by our tour guide who introduced herself for our stay as Mingo, she asked what drink we would like on our game drive and told us where to meet her and at what time. After lunch we were again greeted by Nombulela then have us a tour of the whole complex and explained everything we needed to know during our stay such as meal times and game drives etc. she got us a buggy to our room and we were transported to our stunning villa which are bags had already been dropped at. The private villa and pool was absolutely stunning! The rooms were able to be made up as either doubles or twins and both rooms had a private bathroom with outside shower and joined together by a living room which led onto the private outside area, pool and fire pit. I will say the outside shower in the moonlight in the nighttime was such a surreal experience looking out into the national park! The whole complex was so well kept and ALL the staff were pleasant and went above and beyond for us whenever we needed anything. It is truly the most stunning place I’ve ever stayed at and I’ve travelled to a lot of hotels around the world. The food on offer is out of this world and a different menu was created each day so we never had the same thing twice. For all three meals of the day it was a la carte and there was something for everyone in our group. Drinks were an additional charge but the staff were trained enough to recommend different wines for different dishes which we took them up on a few times. We were served by Simba and also Mkay who were two members of staff who stood out particularly well for us and made our dining experience all the more personalised. We also noted Mike who I believe was the restaurant manager and he took a great interest in our day and was overall very attentive while we were in the restaurant. On the final evening we spent we had commented on the chefs cooking and she came out to thank us for stopping by and for our kind worlds which I thought was a lovely touch as I’m sure she was very busy. We had done a safari a few days before coming to shepherds tree at a D

Stayed in Shepherds Tree Lodge for four nights at the end of January. We were in a detached villa with a private pool which was absolutely fantastic. All staff were extremely friendly and helpful and the food in the restaurant was outstanding. The game drives were amazing and our guide Thabo was very knowledgeable and a pleasure to be with. The whole experience exceeded our expectations and we would definitely stay there again.

We had a fantastic stay at the Lodge! We came to celebrate my partner’s 30th birthday. The staff at the lodge were friendly, professional and in general would always go out of their way to make our stay fantastic and memorable. The staff always remembered our drink orders. Although the lodge is full board, lots of drinks were in fact provided by them! The game drives were phenomenal! Our ranger -Njabulo - was very knowledgeable and I have found out so much about the animals. He made our drives special. In total we did 5 game drives and it was never repetitive! Each drive was unique. The food was excellent! We are both vegetarian and we always had 3 vegetarian options to choose from. Presentation of food and taste is comparable to many high end restaurants (if not better!). We will definitely come back to South Africa and stay at the lodge again!