Sebatana Reserve – A Bucket List Trip
Our customer shares their unforgettable bucket list adventure!
We finally arrived and WOW, what a place! As you drive through the Jurassic Park style gate, you enter the start of the Sebatana Reserve. The oohs and ahs from around the minibus as we saw our first giraffe were great. The expectations of the week ahead growing by the second.
We arrived as the sun was setting and were given cold towels and a welcome cocktail.
The hotel was stunning. 3 pools of varying sizes and temperatures (only the brave went in the big pool), but the smallest was basically a jacuzzi so definitely something for everyone unless you are an avid swimmer!
The attention to detail at the hotel was incredible. There were beautiful wood carvings of elephants, rhinos, giraffes etc round the communal areas and the beauty of the surroundings wasn’t lost on anyone.
The set up was great. As you drive through the main gates into the grounds there are animals roaming free, however, the actual Lodge area is all fenced off to prevent animals entering the guest area, so you are free, and safe, to wander round all areas of the Lodge.
We had been given our room numbers at the airport, so it was then time to get our keys, go to our rooms, where our bags were waiting to have a quick shower and change before the Managers welcome and dinner.
Dinner was lovely, beautifully presented avocado salad followed by Kudu steak and crème brulee. The serving staff and kitchen staff got together and sang for us, and we all sat enthralled by the wonderful, shared experience we were having.
We had pre-booked the all-inclusive drinks package when we booked the holiday, but this was something that you could add on when you arrived. They offered both alcoholic and non-alcoholic packages, though both people in the room had to have the same ones. I believe they were €250 and €150 + 20% VAT respectively. On the all-inclusive, they didn’t serve wine by the glass, just by the bottle but they wrote your room number on and kept the bottle on ice for you. The staff couldn’t do enough for you!
The next morning, we had breakfast. There was buffet style with sausages, bacon, meats, cheeses, cereal etc as well as freshly cooked eggs and omelettes. The staff did joke about us being fed constantly, and they really weren’t joking! With full bellies we headed out and jumped in one of the 3 jeeps. If you have started to make friendships, make sure you get on the same jeep as you stay in these groups for the rest of the week. We drove to a wooden gazebo for a wildlife talk, which was basically the Rangers introducing all the activities for the week and a chance to sign up for all the weeks activities. It’s cheaper to sign up for all the activities even if you’re not sure about some of them, but once you get into the South African experience you get FOMO so have to get involved in everything!
We then headed back for a buffet style lunch. On the way back we drove through the Lion Lodge and Elephant Lodgewhich are other lodges on the reserve and stopped for a look at the Spa facilities and the gift shop. The afternoon was our first game drive. This one was just on the Sebatana Reserve, so a chance to see Kudu, Impala, Giraffes, Crocodiles, Zebras, Warthogs, the Leopard, Wildebeest, Sable Antelope and monkeys to name a few! We spotted all except the Leopard and Zebras, not a bad start and this is the reserve without 4 of the Big 5!
Day 3, Sunday, at the reserve and reality of a safari hits! We were split into our groups for this optional tour. 2 jeeps went out in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. We were one of the early groups, so breakfast was 5.30-6am with departure for the Welgevonden Game Reserve at 6am. Our Rangers from Sebatana took us on this drive as it was only a 20-minutedrive away and they then borrowed jeeps when we got there. It was a chilly start and having a thin jumper wasn’t quite enough. Fortunately, the reserve supplied blankets which we gratefully made use of. It was a pretty good start to our Big 5 spotting experience. We wanted to see Zebras as we hadn’t seen any the day before and others had so when we saw some within 5 minutes of being in the reserve we were delighted. So today we saw Zebras, monkeys, Warthogs, Red Warthogs, a lion and 2 lionesses eyeing up some warthogs for lunch, hippos in the water, 2 rhinos with their huge horns in-tact, 2 Cheetahs lying under a tree, loads of buffalo and some monkeys. We stopped for a drink and a snack, because we hadn’t eaten for a few hours, and actually got off the jeep on a plain with zebras, wildebeest, warthogs and rhino in the distance. I can’t tell you what a pinch me moment it was. It was so surreal. We had heard about the lionesses making a kill over the radio so our Ranger took us back to see if we could see the lions eating. We were near the end of our 3-hour game drive, but our Ranger took us to see the lions again.
There was another jeep with 2 Park Rangers in, and our Ranger asked if they knew where the lions were. They guided us round the plain where we had been 100-200 yards away from them earlier and there was the lion. He looked at us, moved and lay down by the side of the track. Our Ranger slowly turned the jeep round and got us to about 10 feet from the lion. We were all just stunned we were so close. The people on the side of the jeep closest to him were a little nervous, especially when he growled, but apparently lions don’t jump, he would just have swiped the jeep, so all was fine. I got the most amazing photos but when I showed our Ranger he asked if anyone had got a video of him growling! It was 10am and we were definitely past our 6.30-9.30 timeslot. I loved that the Rangers always stopped to let you see animals and take your photos and didn’t move until everyone had finished and was ready, even when we were over out timeslot, they would always stop and let us see the animals, we were never rushed, and let’s face it, we are all there to see as much wildlife as possible.
We ended up leaving Welgevonden at 10.51. On the way back to the Lodge we also saw 3 Emus that live at Sebatana which was a great way to end our game drive. We got back to the Lodge about 11.15 and had the rest of the day to chill in the sun by the pools until the night safari and bush dinner (optional tour) at 7.30. The afternoon group had left after lunch at 1.30 for their game drive. The bush dinner was an absolute must. We were driven through Sebatana to an area where there was an open fire and tables for everyone. The barbequed wildebeest was the most incredible meat I have ever tasted. It was a cross between fillet steak and a venison steak, incredibly lean and very tasty. The night safari was disappointing in terms of animal sightings, however, it’s still quite exhilarating driving through the bush with everybody desperately trying to get sight of that elusive leopard! Sadly, no such joy! For anyone that didn’t do the optional trips, meals were still laid on at the Rhino Lodge. Believe me, nobody went hungry and if you didn’t fancy the food, unless you were incredibly picky, there were always options.
Day 4, Monday, started at 5.30-6 with a continental breakfast before the walking trail round Sebatana at 6am. There were 2 options, a longer walk and a shorter walk for those that weren’t fit enough. We all opted for the longer one which took about 2 and a quarter hours and started with us seeing the beautiful sunrise. We were shown animal tracks, trees, poo, birds, giraffes and impala, it really is about what is about at the time. Having arrived back before 8.30 we had time to get changed for a day round the pool before our cooked breakfast at 9am. The day was our own until the tribal evening optional tour at 7.30. This was the one part of whole trip that didn’t really enjoy. The food was very basic, as it was an authentic historical tribal evening, but we also had to eat it with our hands, which is fine until you’re trying to eat mash potato and the equivalent of baked beans with your fingers. We did all feel like it would have been good to have tried this and then be given cutlery and something to wipe your hands with. Fortunately, it was just round the corner, so we just walked back to the Lodge.
Day 5, Tuesday was the game drive at Pilanesberg National Park. It was about a 3-hour drive from Rhino Lodge so was a full day excursion. Breakfast was 5-5.30 with a 5.30 departure time and as it was such a long way we were driven in the minibuses. As always, a comfort break was factored into the journey, giving everyone the chance to get off the bus and buy snacks from the service station if needed, though we had been given packed lunches as we left. We arrived early at 8.20am and had another comfort break before getting on a large jeep with a Ranger from the Pilanesberg Reserve – this one big enough for the entire group to be on.
What a day of sightings! Within 30 minutes we had our first elephant sighting (some of the other groups had seen elephants at Welgevonden) and what a sighting it was! We saw a family of Elephants, with a 5/6-day old baby trotting after it’s mother. I cannot tell you how thrilled we all were. It was just the most incredible, beautiful and sweet thing to see! We were all cooing over it like a newborn baby, even the men! We saw more elephants throughout the day, believe me, you can’t ever see enough as well as hippos out of the water, which bearing in mind they only do for about an hour and a half a day, was quite something! We saw a lion apparently eating a zebra. It was quite camouflaged by the trees but apparently there were 2 lions and 6 lionesses all chomping away on it. Although we couldn’t see much, we could hear the roars as they were fighting over it. We also saw loads of Zebras, Rhinos including a group of 4 together, a crocodile in the water, Hyena from afar, Impalas, Kudu and Antelope. Although we didn’t see as many animals today, we saw 3 of the big 5 and they were all amazing sightings and pinch me moments. After a full day of animal spotting, we headed back to Sebatana to shower before dinner.
Day 6, Wednesday, was the safari at Sebatana with champagne brunch. In the morning, we set off at 7am (breakfast 6.15-7), a relative late start with our Rangers to forage for things to make a hat to try and win the hat competition. Crafty things aren’t really my bag, but we set about getting twigs, flowers etc from the bush and then making a hat which one of the team had to wear and then we also had to put on a presentation of some description. The team all got really involved, and then we went to the location of the Champagne bush brunch. It was basically an open sided thatched roofed viewing platform above a watering hole. It was stunning. We stood in awe looking down on about 30 animals, zebras, wildebeest and impalas, all grazing together. It was absolutely spectacular. Sebatana Reserve is such a well-run resort and just offered such incredible experiences. After lunch in this beautiful location, we headed back for a few hours before heading out again for another game drive in the reserve with a stop off at an observation deck near another watering hole. As the sun started to set, we got to the observation deck. We were all quite disappointed when we pulled up and saw Wildebeest and Zebras walking away, however, within minutes of being settled in our seats, they all started wandering back so we could see them all. We were so close to them all, sitting there with our cameras snapping away at them all. Just beautiful and the first time we had managed to get really close to the wildebeest and so many Zebras. We went back to the Lodge for cocktails with the Rangers and a chance to talk about highlights of the week.
Day 7, Thursday was our final Game Drive. This one was at the Reserve next door, so was a 10-minute drive from Sebatana. Breakfast was 5.30-6 with a 6am start and then we were on our way to the Kaingo Game Reserve. Was this the day we were going to see our elusive Leopard and complete our Big 5 sightings? We arrived to see the sunrise, a spectacle in itself. Our Ranger was on true tracking duty, finding footprints and trying to spot as many animals for us as he could. He did pretty well too. We saw 4 of the big 5. Lots of elephants including 2 at a watering hole, 2 lionesses, hundredsof buffalo and a group of 5 rhinos. We also saw the usual suspects, warthogs, zebra, kudu, sable antelopes and impalas. It was another truly bucket list day which we will never forget. We got back to the Lodge just before 11 and then had until 5pm to chill round the pool. 5-7pm we went out for the last time to watch the sunset at Sunset Rock, yet another beautiful experience.
Day 8, Friday, the dreaded departure day. It was with great sadness that we had to leave Rhino Lodge and the Sebatana Reserve. We settled up (you have to pay for your additional tours in Euros) and left tips for the staff (there were envelopes to give tips to the different groups of staff – housekeeping, serving staff including kitchen, rangers which could be in euros or South African rands were equally acceptable) and got ready to leave. We all agreed it was an absolute bucket list trip, an experience of a lifetime with more pinch me moments than I could have ever imagined when we booked the trip. We left to the chorus of the staff all singing and forming lines for us to walk between. The journey back was long, broken up by a short visit to the Apartheid Museum, however the feeding continued with pack ups on the coaches.
I know it is all about luck in terms of what wildlife you see, but if you have always dreamt of a safari and fancy as reasonably priced safari with the opportunity to experience incredible wildlife and pinch me moments as well as incredible service by wonderful people in a stunning location, I will recommend Rhino Lodge every day of the week. It was absolutely superb!
💡Top Tip - You need to take African plugs rather than European plugs as there is only one socket in the room for European but about 5 for the African type M plugs.
Penny Price
