We had the privilege of staying in this beautiful manor house in Hoedspruit. The manor house is owned by the gentlemen who owns quite a bit of land in the area and he happened to be on site when we were there. We were welcomed with a delicious juice with a splash of grenadine (my daughter’s new favorite drink). We were literally staying in this gentlemen’s home that he has turned into a lodge. It is beautifully decorated and as you walk through the home onto the deck, facing the infinity pool that looks out over the veld and the mountains, it was definitely a ‘wow’ moment. We saw zebra and impala at the watering hole within minutes of arriving. Not sure how many people were staying there but it didn’t seem crowded at all. We had our own table for meals. We paid for the afternoon game drive and were in a truck with one other local couple. Though the reserve is not very large, we saw rhino, lions, zebra and giraffe. The game drive was very reasonably priced. If your main priority is wildlife viewing, I don’t think that you need to stay here more than one evening; our game viewing in Sabi Sand and Kruger was much more diverse but this was a great introduction. All the meals were very good with very large portions. Of all the places we stayed we think that the food at Khaya Ndlovu was the best. I believe that their restaurant is also available for reservations to locals in town. The service is very personal and intimate. We had two rooms in a separate wing of the house that had its own sitting area and a shared bathroom. The bathroom was very nice and the beds had mosquito netting over them that were drawn down for us in the evenings. We didn’t see any mosquitos but it was fun to sleep under a mosquito net for the first time. Wi-Fi was strong. This was a great way to officially start our trip.
