Impodimo Game Lodge

We went here especially to see the painted dogs (African wild dogs) and we were lucky to see them on our first game drive, we also got to see a great number of lions , also elephants, and cheetahs and other animals and birds, our guide Maria was exceptional, this was our 5th safari and would say she was one of the best guides we have had. Accommodation was excellent, large comfy bed, inside and outside showers, hot tub and overlooking the water hole, we saw impala, hyena and jackel from our balcony. Food was excellen, high tea not to be missed, quality was exceptional. Staff great, wonderful stay Would certainly recommend and visit again

It’s difficult to know what to say or where to start this review of Impodimo, because everything is perfect, I’m not exaggerating, it really is perfect. The staff are amazing, in a league of their own. Nothing is too much, if you want it, they make it happen. They are so friendly and professional, on a level I have never encountered before, I cannot praise them highly enough. The rooms and other facilities are amazing, with everything we could ever have needed provided. We stayed in room 3 which had a hot tub on the decking which was quite the experience, being able to sit in the water with a glass of wine watching elephants, giraffes, warthogs and more wander past to the watering hole. We had an all inclusive package and made very good use of the mini bar. The dining and social areas are also beautiful, with dinner being rotated around different areas. The swimming pool was also great, we spent a happy hour or so floating around watching a family of dwarf mongoose play close by. I guess the standout always has to be the Safari drives and this more than met our expectations. Sebastian and Eron were tireless in their pursuit of animals for us to see and we did see 4 of the big 5 (no leopard), but did also see many other very interesting animals, the highlight of which was two cheetahs attempting to hunt zebra. The vehicle was also comfortable and we always enjoyed the sundowners. As I said at the start, I cannot praise Impodimo highly enough, it was incredible and I would return without question.

Come for the safari. Remember the people. We were a family of five – my dad, my father-in-law, my wife, my son and myself – and flew into Madikwe by prop plane after spending the previous night in Johannesburg. From the moment we landed, the experience started. We were met at the airstrip by Sebastian, who would also be our ranger throughout our stay. What was supposed to be our transfer to Impodimo very quickly became our first mini game drive! When we arrived at the lodge, we were given the usual briefing – meals, timings, game drives, etc. Then came one instruction that we didn’t quite understand: At night, you cannot walk between your room and the main lodge without being accompanied by a ranger. It didn’t take long for us to understand why. Shortly afterwards, while Sebastian was accompanying us to our room, our path was blocked by an elephant. Welcome to Madikwe! 😂 Impodimo sits along a route used by elephants travelling up and down towards the waterhole. So yes, you can quite literally have elephants wandering past the lodge. It is an incredible experience, especially for kids, but also a reminder that you are very much a guest in their home. ~ THE SAFARI ~ Sebastian was our dedicated ranger and Mpo our tracker, and having both of them with us on every game drive was fantastic. For anyone going on their first safari, there is something important to understand: This isn’t a zoo. The animals aren’t sitting around waiting for your vehicle to arrive. Nobody makes a phone call and asks the lions to come out. 😂 Madikwe is MASSIVE, and finding wildlife takes patience, experience and sometimes a fair amount of luck. So let your ranger and tracker do their jobs. Watching Sebastian and Mpo work was part of the experience itself. They read tracks, prints, broken vegetation and even dung to understand where animals had been, what direction they were moving and what they might be doing. You realise very quickly that what looks like absolutely nothing to you is giving them a whole bunch of information. And that knowledge comes from years of experience. One of the reasons we chose Madikwe was also the diversity of the landscape. As you drive through the reserve, the terrain changes significantly, which means you get to experience different animals within their natural habitats rather than simply ticking animals off a checklist. I’ll let the pictures do a better job of showing what Sebastian and Mpo managed to find for us. ~ THE LODGE ~ Impodimo itself is beautiful. The rooms are absolutely five-star, the setting is spectacular and the food was excellent – beautifully presented, delicious and easily at the standard you would expect from a luxury international hotel. But once again, the thing we will remember most wasn’t the room or even the food. It was the people. The entire team was warm, hospitable and incredibly helpful throughout our stay. And then my dad lost his camera lens. Not a lens somewhere inside the lodge. He had left it ON THE PROP PLANE WE FLEW IN ON 🤦🏻‍♂️. We only realised this after arriving at Impodimo. We spoke to the General Manager and from that point onwards, she basically took ownership of the problem. She started tracing our journey backwards – contacting the hotel we had stayed at, the company that transferred us to the airport lounge, and eventually the operations team of the airline that had flown us into Madikwe. She found the lens. More importantly, she then coordinated with everyone involved to work out how to get it back to us. Once she was handling it, we genuinely stopped worrying. She was meticulous, kept us updated and somehow managed to get the lens back to my dad before we even left Impodimo. He actually got to use it for our final day of safari. That, to me, is five-star service. Beautiful rooms can be built. Great food can be prepared. But when something goes wrong that has absolutely nothing to do with the hotel, and someone says, effectively, “Leave it with me” and then solves it for you – that’s what you remember. ~ WOULD WE RECOMMEND IMPODIMO? ~ 100%. Come for Madikwe and its incredible diversity of terrain and wildlife. Come for the experience of having elephants casually walking past your lodge. Come for Sebastian and Mpo and the incredible skill involved in finding animals across such a huge reserve. But you’ll probably leave remembering the people. One tip: take the earliest prop plane you can into Madikwe. Arriving in the morning means you can settle in, have lunch and still make the afternoon game drive on your first day. Don’t waste a safari day travelling if you don’t have to! For families wondering whether kids will enjoy this – absolutely. My son loved it! And for anyone going on their first safari: be patient, trust your ranger and tracker, put the phone down occasionally and enjoy the search. Sometimes finding the animals is half the adventure. Thank you to Sebastian, Mpo, the GM and the entire Impodimo team for taking such good care of our family. We came to see the animals. We left talking about the people.