Hlosi Game Lodge - Amakhala Game Reserve

Bukela was a real disappointment – there is a lot of potential, but it needs money spending on it. The tents were lovely and the outlook superb but inside the tents it wasn’t to 5* standards, the showers were dreadful – there were bare wires from a light in the shower exposed, green mould and flaking paint, the floor was so uneven and painful to walk on and looked very dirty. The staff were all very friendly and seemed happy in their work, but the property was woefully understaffed – one night for dinner service there was supposed to be 6 staff on duty – there were 2 including the barman, this was the same the previous day. As a result, mealtimes took a long time. The toilets in the bar / reception area are unisex and as result smelt and the seats and floor surrounds were sprinkled – why do places particularly 5* ones have unisex toilets, I’ve yet to find a female who likes them!! During our 3 nights here, there were no paper towels available. As far as the Game Drives were concerned, we declined 2 of them as having sat on the back row of the vehicle on our first morning, which wasn’t pleasant. This is because the vehicle operates at maximum capacity (3 across), we were less than impressed, we’ve had better at far less expensive lodges. The Guide allocated to us too, Lucky, was one of the worst guides we have ever had. There was no/little communication with the clients, no information as to what we were seeing etc. In addition to which when positioning the vehicle to view animals it was done so that he could see and often we were behind a bush unable to see! It's not a Lodge I would be recommending – of those in Amakhala if you want an authentic experience opt for Quartermain’s 1920’s Camp or for a more traditional one HillsNeck,

It may not be the most glamorous of lodgings but it is what is says it is; it’s a nature reserve where zebra come to the waterhole only to be scared off by the hippo all whilst we had breakfast. Elvis and his staff were great and Abby our ranger was so knowledgable. We got to see buffalo elephant lions giraffe all in 3 hours ( with a couple of beers thrown in). Yes the entrance road is a bit bumpy (our travel agent flagged up to us that a 4x4 should be used and that’s what we did). Food was fine: it’s a game reserve not a Michelin star restaurant!! Finally do yourself a favour and take in the dark sky after dinner!!

Our tent was cozy and comfy with an outdoor shower and impala right outside our patio. We enjoyed coffee with the hippos in the morning. We were greeted with an incredible song and dance after Safari one afternoon. Our guide “B” made us laugh and quickly found many of the big 5.