A bite-sized, slow-cooked lamb-filled, short crust pastry tart shouldn’t be the first thing that comes to mind when recalling a safari trip. But add to it a glass of extraordinarily good red wine, a walkway of glowing lanterns, and a caracal casually strolling past the fire, and you have the start of a jolly memorable first impression.
The lodge, in the Welgevonden Game Reserve, is intimate … just five free-standing units accommodating up to 16 guests … all romantic mosquito nets, en-suite bathrooms and outdoor showers, fireplaces for chilly evenings and air-conditioning and ceiling fans for steamy Summers.
What’s more, it’s one of the relatively few lodges which welcome – heck, encourage – children of all ages, and which has a couple of three-bedroom units, making it an obvious choice for multi-generational family trips.
The lodge is set up to be family and group friendly … with a communal lounge, open living areas, an expansive deck with comfy loungers. Meals – really delicious wholesome, slow-cooked, served shared family-style – are eaten outdoors on the deck, or around the fire in the boma, where you’re bound to be entertained by the staff, who put on fun impromptu dances.
Young explorers are well catered for with a spacious playroom and a children’s programme of appropriate educational activities.
With around 36 000 hectares of bushveld, criss-crossed with streams and waterways, Welgevonden is ranked up there amongst South Africa’s largest private game reserves. And the game viewing is plentiful. With an incredibly successful anti-rhino poaching unit, there are rhino at every corner … and it would be unusual to not spot hippo, antelope, dazzle after dazzle after dazzle of zebra, lion and ellies on one of the two open vehicle game drives offered each day. With more than 300 species, great birding, too.
There are options to book a two-hour bush walk with a ranger, and the newly introduced late night game drive where you can search for nocturnal animals like the elusive pangolin and leopard, as well as porcupines, aardvarks and owls … as well as some truly spectacular stargazing.
The Tintswalo group is known for the incredible attention to detail, and for ensuring every visitor is well catered for. So lovely, but no surprise, that the lodge offers a fully Kosher safari option, with Kosher catering prepared on site in the dedicated Beth Din certified Kosher kitchen, supervised by a licensed Mashgiach. This kosher option is tailor-made for small family groups or exclusive group lodge take-overs.
From first impression (those tarts!) to last … the ones at Tintswalo Waterberg are exceptional … as a family, it’s a destination you won’t forget.
We never tire of a romantic, lantern-lit safari boma dinner … where the meals celebrate local and are served shared family-style.
Sleeping out under the stars in the bush is the most incredibly exciting and romantic experience. And we can’t rave enough about the Tintswalo Waterberg’s Stargazing Sleep-out Deck. You’ll be dropped off after dinner at this magical open-air deck for two … with a luxurious king size bed draped in protective insect netting, lit by the warm glow of lanterns and the moon, it’s hidden in a secluded spot overlooking a waterhole, not scarily far from the lodge, and you can drift off listening to the sound of the nocturnal animals. And it’s within the electric fencing of the lodge, so perfectly safe. Bucket list stuff right here!
Stuff you need to know
The area is malaria free, and the lodge does have WiFi. Rates are from R5920 per person sharing per night, which includes accommodation, full board, two safari activities per day, house drinks, well-stocked mini bar. It excludes premium branded alcohol, transfers, conservation fee, and daily reserve entry fee. Kosher kitchen is extra, as are the late night drives. The Stargazing Sleep-out Deck is comp for honeymooners, but for all other guests has an additional cost. Children of all ages welcome, those under 16 years must share with an adult. Children between 6 and 15 years are charged 50 per cent, no charge for younger. Only when exclusive use of the property is booked will children six years and younger be allowed on game drive. Details: www.tintswalo.com, Instagram @tintswalo_waterberg, Facebook @tintswalowaterberg
