Kariega River Lodge

Reviews

"We had a wonderful weekend at the River Lodge with top class accommodation, service and meals. The game drives were amazing and we had close encounters with 4 of the big 5 as well as many other animals. We really couldn't ask for a better weekend away."

- Taryn

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"Awesome place, we felt like in a different world. The staff took care of everything, the food was awesome and the safaris just great. Bianca, our guide had a lot of information about the different animals. Also The river cruise is very recommendable. Perfect holidays"

- Frank

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"We stayed for three nights from the 21/11 all the staff made you feel you had been long lost friends. We were with my daughter & her husband. David was our ranger and had been told my wife may have problems getting into the land cruiser. He provided a stool to help and sat her beside him checking to make sure she was coping with the tracks he was on. His knowledge of the birds, animals and plants was amazing. David, we all thank you for your care and passion for and welfare of the animals. Thank you all at River Lodge for three wonderful days."

- George

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"My mum and I went in mid September and stayed for 5 nights at the river lodge. It was my 3rd time to South Africa and my mums 1st and what a first experience it was for her. We decided to stay here for 5 nights and I highly recommend to anyone wanting to come here that staying here this long allows you to see the whole reserve and enjoy the true beauty of the place and its wildlife everything from the lions, elephants (who were amazing especially seeing them having a bath in the water) to the birds and even the insects including watching the dung beetle. Every game drive and boat ride was truly an unforgettable experience and more than we could of ever expected. Seeing the sunsets with the giraffes walking across the sunset is an image I will never forget. Our ranger Chris was brilliant he was very informative and helped make our time there very enjoyable. The rooms were comfortable and more than we expected. The food was amazing, the dinner under the stars was a special experience and definitely one of the highlights especially it was on our last night on the reserve. All the staff were lovely and very friendly and helpful. I highly recommend the river lodge to anyone and everyone it was truly a beautiful place and can not wait to buy my plane ticket back to South Africa and to Kariega."

- Lizzie

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"Our stay at River Lodge was the finale to a birthday/anniversary trip around South Africa and turned out to be a highlight. Staff at the lodge are friendly and welcoming and we felt very spoilt. Rooms are huge and the rustic style bathrooms were delightful. Our guide, Victor, took us out twice each day. He was always cheerful and patiently answered even our dumbest questions. The camaraderie which developed among the group made for some interesting conversations over dinner! Victor is passionate about animals and has an extensive knowledge of all the large mammals and birds. He made every drive different, encountering different animals each time and he builds up the drama leading to each sighting very effectively. It was his skill and knowledge that made each drive so enjoyable. He is a great driver and negotiated some tricky tracks very deftly. He got us up close and personal with most of the animals including an impressive male lion with his lionesses and an absolutely huge bull elephant. He perfectly judged the right balance of respect and fear when getting us close to wild animals. For us this made our holiday and was a perfect ending to a visit in which we fell in love with SA."

- Terry

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"We stayed for two nights as a party of six. The lodge was beautiful, great quality furnishings. Rudi was our guide, he was so knowledgeable and couldn't do enough for us. All the other guides we spoke to had such respect for him. If you want to be up close and personal with the wildlife this is who you need to be with. The food was excellent, and all staff were so happy to talk and share any experiences with you. Our only negative I could bring to this review would be two nights is not enough. We will be back."

- Lesley

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"We stayed at kariega river lodge for 5 days. We had a fantastic guide/driver Zulani who was very knowledgeable and good sense of humour. All the staff go out of way to make you feel at home here. Roaring fire to come back to on the chillier eve drives. Food excellent. Lovely relaxing area overlooking river for drinks, breakfast etc. our lovely thatched lodge was kept spotless and bug free by cleaning staff. There is an abundant amount of animals to see on drives. We have taken home memories of a lifetime!"

- Sharon

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"We traveled to visited Kariega Reserve as part of our family vacation this summer. Our experience with our ranger JV was spectacular. We spent 4 nights and had morning and evening safari drives each day. The reserve has four of the big five (no leopards) and we saw it all. Our safari experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity and the staff was amazingly accommodating to all of our needs. The food was abundant and very good. I would suggest trying the various game that they serve at each of the meals. My son also caught a fish in the river that they served with dinner one evening."

- Craig

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"A most wonderful experience. Such a beautiful location with excellent service. We were made to feel really welcome. We arrived at 3.40 pm and were told we could go out to spot Big Game at 4.00pm, with a big dash we made it. Our Ranger, Dave Fraser was fantastic. so informative and knowledgeable. We spotted so much on our first drive, Lions, Elephants Black and White Rhino to name but a few. We were really sad to leave and would return in a heartbeat!!"

- Sandi

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"Had a brilliant holiday at River Lodge. Game Drives were excellent so many animals to see and Ranger David very knowledgeable and good fun too. The staff at the lodge really looked after us the food and service was top class. Would recommend River lodge as the holiday couldn't have been better."

- Rachel