3-Day BIG 5 Mabula Game Reserve 2hr Self-Drive Safari

Overview

Distinctly African in style, Mabula Game Lodge offers comfortable suites with luxury finishings. The soft, neutral bushveld colors are complemented by large windows that bring the African bushveld indoors. World-class cuisine in various dining venues combines the enjoyment of rich, tantalizing menus with the tranquility of the bushveld. Numerous activities such as open vehicle safaris, bush walks, and horse trails ensure that Mabula is a place where memories are made. Your trip includes a two-night stay at Mabula Game Lodge, all meals, two safaris daily, and car hire for the duration of the trip.

Itinerary

Day 1: Johannesburg to Mabula Game Lodge

Your journey begins with collecting your rental vehicle at Johannesburg airport, followed by a two-and-a-half-hour drive to the malaria-free Waterberg region in the Limpopo Province. Mabula Game Lodge offers comfortable thatch-roof accommodation with luxury finishings, featuring soft, neutral bushveld colors throughout and massive windows that bring the African wildlife indoors. Guests will experience unprecedented relaxation while enjoying the sights and sounds that Mabula Game Lodge offers.

Settle into your room, which is luxuriously equipped with an en-suite bathroom and endless views of the bush. The charming sight of warthogs nibbling through the bush can be seen, and the delightful chatter of birds can be heard.

In the afternoon, you will head out with your guide for a game drive through the reserve in search of wildlife, including the Big 5. Expect an uninterrupted game-viewing experience in untouched African wilderness. Arrive back at the lodge in time to freshen up before enjoying a sumptuous dinner.

Accommodation: Mabula Game Lodge

Day 2: Activities and Relaxation

An early morning wake-up call starts the day, followed by a freshly brewed cup of tea or coffee and rusks before setting off on a morning game drive.

The varied habitats on Mabula Private Game Reserve provide ideal conditions for a stunning selection of large mammals, including the Big Five, other predators such as hyenas and jackals, and various antelope from red hartebeest to eland, gemsbok to blesbok. Not to mention the elusive cheetah, cheeky honey badger, and omnipresent crèches of warthogs that flit across one’s path during your safari at Mabula Game Lodge.

For panoramic views of the beautiful Mabula Private Game Reserve, nothing is more special than heading up Dicks Hill. See impala, zebra, giraffe, eland, and ostrich all graze together on the vast open grassland plains. Watch a herd of elephants crashing through thick bush to get to the succulent leaves and a shy hippo pair hiding everything but their protruding nostrils under the water. Admire the resident lion pride lazing under an African thorn tree after a tiring hunt, or watch silently as the beautiful, yet terrifying, golden orb spider spins her thick web across two silver cluster leaf trees.

Mabula offers a phenomenal array of activities, including hot air balloon rides, quad biking, bush walks, and horseback safaris. There is always an adventure awaiting.

Later in the afternoon, you will head out on your afternoon game drive, which may continue beyond dusk, returning to the lodge to enjoy dinner and some reminiscing about the day’s sightings.

Accommodation: Mabula Game Lodge

Day 3: Departure

After one final game drive and a warm, heartening breakfast, you bid farewell to the African bush. Depart Mabula Game Reserve and continue your onward journey back to Johannesburg airport, where you will return your rental vehicle and continue with your own travel arrangements.