Can you choose a safari destination because of the food? Hell yes. We did. And we weren’t sorry. We’d heard Luke Dale Roberts had spent some time at Mhondoro Safari Lodge & Villa in the Waterberg, inspiring the menu, training the staff, doing his magical foodie thing … with the result being a spectacular offering of designer dishes and menus alongside the game viewing and safari experience.
And you know you’re in for something special from the moment you arrive at the reserve. Not, as with the other lodges, at the Welgevonden main gate and dusty car park. Instead, guests arrive at the lodge’s luxurious reception and welcome lodge, a few kilometres up the road. A glass of homemade lemon juice and then a tour of the impressive Mohondoro Eco-Farm, which produces the organic veggies, herbs, fruits and edible flowers for the lodge. Half an hour or so of picking veggies and marvelling at the fruit-laden pawpaw, banana and lemon trees, lunch is served – all homegrown fare and freshly baked breads, before a ranger arrives to take you to the lodge – about an hour or so drive through the reserve in an open game viewing vehicle.
This Eco-Farm isn’t the end of the self-sustainability vision at Mhondoro. There’s also a Farmhouse Production Kitchen on another of their properties nearby. Along with being the home for the sheep, cattle and free-range chickens – free-range eggs for breakfast – this is the culinary hub, where staff are upskilled, creating deli items like rusks and jams, pâtés and pestos, gourmet ice creams, and a selection of cured and aged meats. Between the two farms, most of the ingredients for meals the lodge’s guests enjoy are supplied. All with no pesticides, synthetic fertilisers, nasties. And in line with its eco-friendly practices, all excess waste at the lodge – glass, cans, paper and food – is 100 per cent recycled and repurposed.
There are plans – hopefully before year end – for lodge guests to visit the production kitchen for traditional cooking classes and farm lunches served on the riverbank. And with no dangerous game on this farm, the excursion may also include the use of e-bikes, quad bikes and various hiking and walking trails for guests who wish to be more active and add another dimension to their safari stay.
The food may be a highlight. But it’s one of many. Mhondoro is all high luxury and pampering and superb game viewing.
The five-star lodge is a fusion of African chic and edgy European design influences, everything is intentional, and no detail regarding comfort or aesthetics has been overlooked.
Private and very exclusive, the lodge sleeps only two dozen guests, with accommodation options including the exclusive-use villa, two-bedroom family and executive suites, luxury pool suites, or the ultimate honeymoon suite with private spa pool and deck with a daybed overlooking the waterhole.
There’s a gym and heated swimming pools and a Spa with a private, outdoor deck and spa bath overlooking the plains.
Massively romantic in an Out Of Africa way, there’s a custom-built, stargazing star deck, and a waterhole with underground game viewing hide that is reached from the main lodge by a tunnel. Comfortably furnished, you can make a coffee or pour a glass of wine, and watch the animals come and go … since it’s at ground level, the hide provides sensational photo opportunities, and you feel as if you’re right there … up close and personal with the ellies, the warthog, the antelope as they drink from the waterhole.
Children are well catered for … there’s a cheerful indoor playroom with loads of games, a dedicated open-air play area protected by an elephant fence, and baby-sitting and special children’s activities can be arranged.
Details: mhondoro.com
Besides supplying the lodge with fresh ingredients – around 65 varieties, the two farms have created new jobs for people in the local community, who also benefit from any surplus produce, which is donated to those in need.
The veggie bowls blow you away … and when you ask for a banana, a paw paw, a lemon, it’s picked straight off the tree. Breakfasts range from those free-range eggs in a Benedict or a don’t-miss-it Shakshuka, to Nutella-stuffed croissants. Dinners kick off with ‘kitchen gifts’ … biltong and nuts and tiny lamb rotis and farm to table options include Luke Dale Roberts inspired dishes like springbok shank pie with a pear and honey jus, and sublime charred broccoli served with spicy butternut broth, peanuts and coconut shavings.
Sweet, sweet endings. Like Mhondoro citrus ice-cream with burnt orange caramel. Or an amazing cheese board. And the presentation of all dishes is next level!
The Mhondoro welcome lodge, where you refresh after your drive in, and have lunch before heading into the reserve.
With 36 000 hectares of protected land, it’s home to the Big Five. We had daily black and white rhino and buffalo viewing, there were zebra at every crossing, and while we got up close with a cheetah, the leopard lived up to his elusive name. 50 different mammals, 350 birds – a Black-chested Snake Eagle swooped low overhead, there’s always something to see. Like a grumpy chameleon.
Sitting on the deck of the main lodge or Villa, guests are thrilled when the ellies arrive. Bored with the waterhole, they often stroll up to the eco-friendly pool for a drink of clean water. Insta-worthy pics right there. #poolellie.
For small groups of family or friends, a top-notch option is the Mhondoro Villa. Set away from the lodge, overlooking a waterhole, it has its own lounge, dining room, kitchen and outdoor area, a magnificent, generously sized master suite and two additional jolly luxe bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms. There’s a private gym, massage room and heated pool, and your own private chef, butler, ranger and game viewing vehicle.
