Shepherds Tree Game Reserve

We were originally booked into Thakadu in Madikwe but due to floods in Madikwe AHA transferred us to Shepherds Tree. I cannot recommend highly enough Shepherds Tree. From our arrival to departure our stay was perfection - the staff were always helpful and friendly, the food was superb, and the game drives (with Mingo) could not have been better. We even saw Leopard and Caracal! If you are looking for a great game park experience the Shepherds Tree will provide it

Stayed in Shepherds Tree Lodge for four nights at the end of January. We were in a detached villa with a private pool which was absolutely fantastic. All staff were extremely friendly and helpful and the food in the restaurant was outstanding. The game drives were amazing and our guide Thabo was very knowledgeable and a pleasure to be with. The whole experience exceeded our expectations and we would definitely stay there again.

Be prepared for a busy day! Every day there are 2 game drives to cover sunrise and sunset as they are the best times to see the wildlife. Our typical day started at 4 AM with a wake up call from reception, don't forget to book it! A quick freshen up and then set off to the meeting point by the poolside bar. First food of the day! Snacks, fruit, coffee and cold drinks are provided to see you through the next 3 to 4 hours. Check with reception to find out which Ranger you are with. At around 5:30 AM everyone gets into their allocated vehicle and a quick brief is given about safety etc. when near the animals. Sighting the animals is a joint effort, the more eyes looking then the more chance of spotting them. The animals are very good at hiding in plain sight! After a couple of hours you stop for coffee at a rest stop, some of the rest stops have hides where you can view the wildlife in the lakes etc and also the birds. A bit more driving around looking for more wildlife whilst heading back to the lodge for breakfast. After breakfast there is plenty of free time to have a shower, go for a swim or just relax either by the pool or in your very comfortable lodge. It was lunch time on the day we arrived so we went straight into lunch, that was the only day that we went to lunch! The food at every meal is first class and there seems to be an endless supply of meal times. We felt that the only way we could reduce our food intake was to skip a meal and even by doing that we still managed to increase our waistline. You most definitely never feel hungry whilst at the resort. If you do go to lunch, you will have an hour or 2 after lunch to relax before heading back to the meeting area by the pool bar for more snacks etc prior to setting off on the evening drive. You can order a drink for the refreshment stop on the evening drive which will be charged to your room. The drink can be a soft or alcoholic drink or just water. It is nice to stop and chat with people from other groups and even people staying in other resorts. Arrival back for dinner is around 8:30 PM. You can order wine by the glass or the bottle. If you get a bottle and only drink half they will put it away for you for the next meal. After dinner you can go to the bar or back to your room depending on how you feel. There is a very affordable spa at the lodge offering a variety of treatments. I had a one hour massage on my neck and back and the increased mobility afterwards was amazing, definitely worth it at R1150.00 (about £50).

We had a fantastic stay at the Lodge! We came to celebrate my partner’s 30th birthday. The staff at the lodge were friendly, professional and in general would always go out of their way to make our stay fantastic and memorable. The staff always remembered our drink orders. Although the lodge is full board, lots of drinks were in fact provided by them! The game drives were phenomenal! Our ranger -Njabulo - was very knowledgeable and I have found out so much about the animals. He made our drives special. In total we did 5 game drives and it was never repetitive! Each drive was unique. The food was excellent! We are both vegetarian and we always had 3 vegetarian options to choose from. Presentation of food and taste is comparable to many high end restaurants (if not better!). We will definitely come back to South Africa and stay at the lodge again!

Amazing stay at Shepherds tree game lodge. Everything about this lodge was a perfect 10/10. The lodge itself was stunning, the food was amazing and the staff were incredibly kind and friendly.