Founders Lodge by Mantis

Second to none - Founder’s Lodge has been absolutely wonderful. Craig and Glynnis are just the best hosts. Service is personalised and personable. Food was delicious. Your experience really matters to them. The guiding was terrific and we saw Lions, Giraffes, Black Rhino, White Rhino, Warthogs, Impala, Springbok, Kudu, Buck, Zebra, Mongoose, Gennet and much more. Watch the animals from your bedroom as they visit the waterhole. Beautiful pool overlooking the waterhole. Enjoy a Braai/Barbeque with other guests. With over 28,000 hectares there’s a huge expanse of land and animals for you to discover. We cannot recommend Founders highly enough.

What an exceptional place, and what an exceptional experience. It’s a small hotel with about seven rooms, so you are pretty much introduced to all the staff on arrival. The initial vibe of the rooms is colonial, but there are some great modern touches, like the swimming pool, and the underground hide, that allows you a view of the waterhole. We got face-to-face with rhinos while they were drinking and rolling in the mud. Accommodation is spacious and comfortable, with generous complimentary snacks and drinks in the room. The morning and evening game drives were customised as there were only a few of us in a vehicle. The highlight was seeing a cheetah hunting, but we also saw a couple of male lions, rhino, zebra, giraffe, impala, kudu, buffalo, etc. sadly,no leopard, but they did look for them for us. The game drive is about 3 hours with a comfort stop part way through, which includes drinks and snacks. After the drive, the team join you in the bar for a drink so there is plenty of time for questions. The food at the hotel is excellent, but they do have a limited menu on any given night, so make sure you let them know any dietary requirements. They also did a ‘romantic’ meal for us, which was a little ill-judged, as we were in the library surrounded by candles on a sifflingly hot evening! Breakfast, on the other hand, was generous and extensive. It was also served outside so we could watch the rhinos wander past on the way to the waterhole. From the grounds you can see rhinos, giraffe, zebra and warthogs. All in all, a fabulous place and well worth a visit.

I stayed here for a few days my wife and my six year old son and only left today - had to write a review immediately to say thank you and how wonderful things were. Really couldn’t see how things could be better. People so friendly. Room beautiful. Awesome wildlife!