Location:

Amakhala is a 8,500 hectare private reserve which began life in 1999 as a joint conservation venture, joining up with the Lion Roars Group in 2011 to now include ten different lodges for guests to choose from. It is situated in the Greater Addo and Frontier Country area of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. This is a malaria-free region which is easily accessed from Port Elizabeth airport. Though Port Elizabeth airport is relatively small, it is well served with regular flights from the major South African cities. From the airport it is just over an hours drive to reach the reserve.

Bukela is a five-star rated Lodge owned by the Lions Roar Hotels group and consists of four thatched suites and ten luxury safari tents each privately located separate to the main lodge. Tucked away into indigenous trees and bushes at the top of a hidden valley at Amakhala it is the perfect destination to get away from it all within the peace and tranquility of the South African bush.

Our room:

Having booked one of the four thatched suites we were allocated the ‘honeymoon suite’, lodge number 4. Connected by a wooden walkway our suite was located furthest away from the main lodge at the peak of the site, with an amazing view over the whole camp. On entering the suite there was a small hallway area housing a well stocked fridge and tea/coffee making facilities, complete with a Lavazza coffee machine. The fridge contained a variety of cold canned drinks, fresh milk and water which was restocked on a daily basis.

Moving into the main room to the right was the sumptuous four poster bed, complete with mosquito nets on each side, flanked on each side by a bedside table and the all important phone used by guests to call the main lodge when it was dark outside so that a ranger could accompany guests on their walk to the main lodge - this is an open safari lodge after all, and you never know who may be crossing your path! To the left of the main room is a lovely seating area with two very comfortable arm chairs, a large coffee table, side table with a decanter of sherry, and a cosy wood-burner, well stocked with logs, kindling and fire lighters. Leading out of the seating area is a large, completely private decked terrace, complete with two outside chairs and two loungers, with gorgeous views over the camp.

Back in the suite the seating area is enclosed by a half wall behind which is a rather sumptuous free standing bath with a fully opening widow directly behind it so guests can take a bath whilst enjoying the outdoor flora and fauna. Behind the bath is the indoor shower area which also has an external door leading to the outdoor shower. To the right of this area is the sink vanity with a large mirror over it and a dressing table opposite. Beyond this area is a large 3 door wardrobe containing robes, slippers and safe and the separate toilet opposite.

The Main Lodge:

Upon arriving at the large parking area at the main lodge you are instantly greeted by one of the reception staff with the reception building conveniently situated at the top of the site, meaning a warm welcome awaits you every time you arrive back from a game drive. Next to reception is a small treatment room should you choose to partake in a spa treatment during your stay. Walking down a few steps from the parking and reception area you come to the main lodge area. On the left of this area is a large outdoor sitting room with two very comfortable sofas, two armchairs and a funky table. We loved this area and spent a lot of our free time here looking out at one of the two swimming pools and the watering hole beyond.

At the entrance to the outdoor sitting room is the other swimming pool with an infinity edge looking out over an outdoor dining circle set around an open fire, perfect for a braai. Each of the swimming pools has four sunbeds and parasols for sun worshippers to enjoy the warm weather between their game drives.

Beyond the pool is the main lodge building, comprising of two main rooms, the bar and lounge room and the dining room where breakfast, high tea and evening meals are served. Both rooms have cosy central wood burning fires for colder evenings and wintery days, and fold back doors to open up the rooms to the outside during the day and summer evenings. The lounge room has plenty of seating options, both inside and just outside on its verandah, and though the bar is small it is well stocked and staffed all day round for hot and cold drinks. All the public areas have excellent wifi connectivity, as well as each suite having their own wifi booster.

The experience:

We arrived at Bukela at around 2pm which was perfect to allow the staff to show us around, explain the amenities and show us our room, giving us just enough time to quickly unpack before heading to the dining room for high tea, served between 3 and 4pm. High tea is served every day at this time and consists of a buffet type meal of salads, snacks and a sweet dessert. After our first high tea we headed to the lounge to enjoy a drink whilst we waited for our ranger to come and introduce himself. We were fortunate enough to have the fabulous Lungelo as our ranger who introduced himself and then took us to his jeep where we met with our fellow ‘jeepers’.

We soon headed out on our first evening drive. We were all so excited that poor Lungelo had to stop every time we saw any type of wildlife, which was a little strange when for the first half an hour of the drive all we saw were termite mounds and warthogs! So imagine our excitement when we stumbled upon zebras, giraffes and then two rhinos! We stopped for our sundowner gin and tonic alongside half a dozen or so giraffes, with us humans getting to know each other as the giraffes munched their way through the nearby bushes. Having ticked off one of the big five and with the wind giving us all a bit of a chill we adorned the rather lovely fleece-lined ponchos and made our way back to the lodge full of excitement for the next day.

We arrived back at the lodge with about an hour to spare to get ready for dinner. When we were ready we called the main lodge for a ranger to come and collect us and walk us down to the main dining room. With the wind still having chill to it and light rain coming and going, the dining room was looking and feeling particularly cosy as the wood burner burned away in the middle of the room. We had made our dinner choices and selected our dining time earlier in the afternoon when the high tea was served which meant that we didn’t have to wait long before our food arrived. The meal was delicious and though there were limited options, both the vegetarian and meat options we choose were delicious, and all served with a lovely local white or red wine. Once dinner was over we took the short walk to the lounge area, with its own central woodburner, to enjoy a nightcap before retiring for the evening.

With all the excitement of the day we were in bed and fast asleep by 10pm but not so soundly that the sound of an elephant trumpeting near our lodge in the early hours didn’t wake us up. The next morning we were up at 4.30am to get ready for our early morning start. At 5am we made our way to the main lodge for some much needed coffee and cereal to tide us over until we returned from our drive. At 5.30am we set off, the first jeep to leave the lodge that morning. We were glad to hear Lungelo tell us that there was a herd of elephants near the lodge and know that we hadn’t dreamt the elephant trumpet in the night. We hadn’t been driving long and we found the herd of elephants, including some very cute babies and a rather intimidating bull, walking along the track not far from the lodge. We tracked them for a while before driving to the more open plains in search of other wildlife.

Before long we had found the two resident female lions and tracked them as they hunted down a pack of zebras. Thankfully they obviously weren’t that hungry as they didn’t manage to make a kill. Having ticked off two more of the big five before the sun was completely up we headed to a safe, open area for our morning coffee/hot chocolate and biscuits. And as an aside, if you’ve never tried hot chocolate with a shot of Amarula in it then you should make this a life goal as soon as possible, its become a regular weekend treat in the Visit With Us household.

We finished our morning drive with more zebras, impala, eland and kudu as we made our way back to the main lodge. Upon arrival at the lodge we were greeted (as we were after every drive) with hot towels to wash our hands and faces and breakfast laid out read for us. Breakfast consisted of plenty of ‘cold’ plates of rolls, cuts, cheeses, fruit and yogurts, as well as a choice of freshly made hot dishes, including things like a full ‘English’, omelette, French toast etc.and my favourite, croque monsieur. After a leisurely breakfast and plenty of tea and coffee we made our way back to our room to get changed for a relaxing few hours by the pool.

Having had a late breakfast and afternoon tea, there was no lunch as such, but staff were always on hand to make a snack for guests if they required it. Otherwise we were happy to just relax in the outdoor lounge and round one of the two pools for the few hours we had to spare before getting ready for afternoon tea and the evening drive. That evenings drive was completely different to the previous evening with the weather being a lot warmer and the heavens treating us to a wonderful typically South African sunset as we tracked down more wildlife including hippos, otters, fish eagles and cheetahs.

We were at Bukela for three full days and had six game drives, including our last evening drive where we spent a good half an hour following the three resident lions (the two lionesses we had seen earlier on in our visit and the male) as they woke from their sleep to start their evening hunt for food. We returned from our drive half an hour late but none of us minded, we had had the most amazing experience and all felt truly blessed to be guests in their environment, just watching and observing their behaviour.

Overall, we had had an incredible three days at Bukela. The lodge and accommodation were lovely and luxurious, the food was plentiful and delicious, the service attentive and personalised and the game drives were beyond description. Our ranger was determined to give us the best time he could in the time we had and totally made our experience. He was personable, fun and most of all knowledgeable. We were lucky to have six jeep mates that we got on really well with and we thoroughly enjoyed their company, both on our drives and during the ‘down time’ at the lodge. We really couldn’t recommend a private game safari enough and, in our limited experience, Bukela lodge and Amakhala reserve exceeded our expectations. Thank you Bukela, we hope we see you again soon.

We stayed at Bukela Lodge in February 2020 in a Luxury King Suite on an all inclusive basis, including six game drives. We booked our stay through Trailfinders and took advantage of a 3 nights for the price of two offer, paying just over £2000 for the 3 nights.

If you enjoyed this review and would like to read about the South African cruise we took we before coming here, why not start with Part 1 of our 2 part blog.

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