Woodbury Lodge – Amakhala Game Reserve

A lovely lodge with welcoming hosts. The game drives at 5 am and 4 pm are very good and our guides Nico and Greg were excellent. We got to see all the animals and the reserve is very nice. This being our first safari (with 2 kids we didn’t want to go to a place with malaria or travel to Johannesburg) I couldn’t help but feel like this wasn’t the real deal in terms of safari experience. The guides constantly talked about controlling the environment and only allowing certain number of animals at given times due to the limited size of the reserve. The vision of boundary fences and driving across highways also gave it a less genuine experience for me (Again I reiterate I have nothing to compare this with other safari experiences). The food in the lodge is very good and we were looked after extremely well.

We stayed for three nights at this lodge in the Amakhala Game Reserve and enjoyed our time tremendously. We were the only guests for part of the time and were treated superbly. Food is very good and meals are eaten together with other guests and rangers. Alcohol is available at all times too and there is a pleasant indoor lounge for when the weather is inclement. Our room was comfortable and well maintained by the staff and the views from the lodge meant that you could often spot wildlife. We had six game drives with JP and enjoyed each of them. His knowledge and insight was amazing. We saw all the animals that we hoped to despite the cold, sometimes wet, weather. The three hours for each drive means that you are never in a rush to move on from one location to another. Excellent, and no need for malaria tablets either!!

There are just not enough words to say how fabulous Woodbury Lodge is from the minute you arrive. A warm welcome with fruit juices and got to meet our guide Rob who immediately took us out for a drive even thought it was 4pm. We were a group of three adults staying in a family lodge which was beautiful. The electric blankets and underfloor heating in the bathroom was very appreciated as it was chilly at night. Rob was our guide who went above and beyond to make sure we saw everything on our wish list. We saw lions, porcupine, caracal, elephants, cheetah, giraffes, hippos, rhino, warthogs, zebras and many varieties of deers. The reserve is ethical - you will never see large numbers of trucks surrounding the animals - I believe its a maximum of two at any one time. The staff wake you 30 minutes before your drive in the morning, you then have tea/coffee and a biscuit (whilst ordering your cooked breakfast for later) before your early morning drive. There is a high end coffee machine which was just amazing! mid morning you stop and have a hot drink and a breakfast snack. I highly recommend the hot chocolate its just sublime! You return to the lodge for breakfast; the cheese bread is very special! There is around 3 -4 hrs before lunch and the afternoon drive. Halfway through the drive you stop for snacks and a drink - alcoholic or non alcoholic your Rop always took our order before we left for the afternoon drive. Then it's back to the lodge to freshen up and dinner. There was always a choice of two meals at dinner. Dinner is communal with all lodge guests together and a member of the team always eats with you which is also nice. All the meals were delicious and cooked to order, there was some repetition of desserts in our 4 night stay but we were at the end of season so I understand the need to minimise waste. The bar room also has a small collection of games and reading material with good wifi access. There is a self-serve bar - which is an honesty bar if you are not all inclusive. The rooms are well furnished, with a viewing platform. The bathroom has a good shower and a bath that looks out over the plains. There is a fridge with a kettle and the team will bring you milk for your cuppa if you ask for it. If you are staying in June like we did bring plenty of layers, a hat and gloves as its chilly in the mornings. The pool area is beautiful but is was just too cold to use whilst we were there. One thing that struck me at Woodbury is how all the staff mingle with each other and genuinely seem to love their work. There was always laughter and smiles all around the Lodge. I was incredibly nervous about spiders as a huge arachnophobe but it was all good. There is a little gift shop at the lodge and they also sell hats/ gloves and sweatshirts in case you need them. If you go at this time I would suggest taking a rain poncho of some description, they do provide but in heavy rain they leaked quite a lot. If you are not self driving I would recommen

Woodbury Lodge was an amazing experience for our family and friends. Lenny our guide was fantastic, very knowledgable and respectful of the animals. We saw so much on our drives with him it was outstanding. Woodbury went way above our expectations on all we saw and the wonderful setting, surroundings and accommodations all beautiful. The staff at Woodbury lodge are a real credit to them. Thoroughly recommend Woodbury Lodge on all counts. Animals, our guide Lenny, lodges ( with your own viewing deck) drives with wonderful pit stops - coffee in the mornings and wine in the evenings, fantastic relaxation area with pool and viewing decks, campfire in the evenings, plentiful food and drinks and a wonderful welcome upon arrival. A truly magical experience.

We stayed for two nights which included 4 Game drives and we stayed in Giraffe which was comfortable with a separate private viewing platform. The food was good - the staff very friendly - the Game drives excellent with Nico as our guide who was very knowledgable - we saw so many amazing animals. It isn't often that you are dissatisfied with an experience that is advertised as lasting 3 hours but in fact lasts 4 to 41/2 hours but a morning Game drive leaving the Lodge at around 7am after a small biscuit and hot drink and having nothing else available until returning to the Lodge for Breakfast well after 10am was extremely uncomfortable. It was a similar experience for the afternoon Game drive although of course this time we had the benefit of lunch before leaving the Lodge. Arriving well after everyone else had returned meant a very quick change but still arriving last for Dinner. There was basically no down time - something that other guests travelling with Nico commented on. Nico seemed to be focussed on being the last driver back to the Lodge every time - perhaps he thought this offered good value for money - it was just very uncomfortable and we only took advantage of 2 of the 4 Game drives because of the very long durations

Woodbury Lodge was just great! We were so thankful that there was air conditioning in our rooms, because the temperature was over 100 degrees one of the days we were there....but our room was comfortable, and the pool was cool. But - what really made our visit there so wonderful was the staff and the many animals. Our driver, Lenny, was SO knowledgeable and so good at knowing where to look for the animals - and at maneuvering the crater-filled roads. We were exceptionally fortunate that the lion pride had decided to come to the Woodbury section of Amakhala, that the entire rhino group showed up at the water hole by the camp, and that we found the 3 cheetahs before and after their kill. Amazing sunsets & sunrises. The trail up to our room was a little dicey for my husband, who uses a cane - but he managed. We definitely recommend Woodbury Lodge.