Sanbona Wildlife Reserve

There are stays away, holidays and adventures. But Sambona is more than all of these … it creates unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime memories. You know you are visiting a remote area by the length of the journey from the main highway to Dwykers camp. It all feels very strange when you arrive, but by the time you leave, you’ve gained a unique appreciation and familiarity of the reserve’s landscape and all the important conservation work they do here. ALL the crew we met were friendly and focussed on giving us the best experience possible. They work tirelessly to achieve customer service excellence, the genuine kind (not flight attendant false smiley). Special shout-out to Angus and Ethan, who looked after us the whole of our stay. The Rangers are no exception, our guy Marco, was a giant of a man in his passion and knowledge of the reserve. He truly elevated our game drives to an extraordinary experience. He could spot wildlife 10s of miles away and when he went into tracker-mode nothing earth would stop him getting us close to the action. We admired him for his singular passion of putting the wildlife first, along with our safety, and everything else (including our tourist needs, rightly) second. When you listen to his explanations about the lengths the reserve teams go to on sustainability, security, anti poaching and regeneration, it’s utterly inspiring. Our accommodation was comfortable, the tented lodges are well designed to provide exclusive privacy. The outside shower and plunge pool are nice touches. The inside shower was messy. Wifi worked unexpectedly well. Meals are eaten together in the main lodge restaurant. The standard of food is generally high. The standard of service, even higher. Was it all perfect, no. We had several issues with things not working in our tent, some hot meals were served cold and timetable information wasn’t always clearly communicated. BUT, none of those minor things mattered, when you remind yourself you’re out in the remote bush and the overall experience we received exceeded our preconceived expectations. Thank you Sambona, you are a magical place …. we made memories that will last our lifetime …

We had the most incredible stay at Sanbona for our honeymoon. The staff were all incredibly friendly and any request was never too much for any of them. The Dwyka Tented Lodge was amazing and like nothing we've ever stayed in before. The food was truly 5 star from breakfast, lunch and dinner. One evening we even had Braii/BBQ outside around a log fire after our game drive. The game drives elevated the whole experience entirely. Our guide Zede was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the animals we saw. Not just the 'big five' but everything we saw. We can't thank him enough! On top of the twice daily game drives we also had the opportunity for a bush walk on foot where we saw multiple animals including the white rhinos. The trip of a lifetime, we couldn't have asked for more!

We would like to thank Jaylee, Johan, Alphonzo and the cleaning staff for delivering exceptional service. This was truly a spoil — 5 stars all around! You will definitely be seeing us again.