Thanda Private Game Reserve

Thanda Private Game Reserve is situated in northern Zululand near the Indian Ocean, and offers one of the best safari experiences in South Africa. The inimitable integration of South Africa’s best climate and rich bush land has made Thanda home to an amazing variety of wildlife, including over four hundred bird species. Encounter the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo) and then the Little Five (elephant shrew, rhino beetle, leopard tortoise, ant lion and buffalo weaver).

The guides and trackers are experts in the circle of life, and how it spins both slowly and frenetically in the African bush. They will offer you wildlife lessons from their own cultures and knowledge. With 14 000 hectares to explore, you’ll see diverse wildlife including cheetah, hyena, warthog and the occasional wild dog, as well as abundant bird and plant life. photographs communicate what words can’t. Thanda’s resident wildlife photographer, Christian Sperka, is an expert in the art of catching the perfect moment. In a 90-minute session, he’ll teach you how to set up your digital camera for wildlife photography and introduce you to motion photography - the best way to capture wildlife on camera. Perfect for families, kids are invited to complete The Junior Rangers Course during their stay at Thanda. Other activities include hiking trails, golf, bird watching, horse riding and fishing trips.

Thanda Safari Lodge, Thanda's flagship product, is known for its nine luxury bush villas, each with private heated splash pools and bomas, ideal for intimate open-air dinners. The outdoor salas are impossible to resist for an afternoon siesta amid views of the surrounding unfenced bush. Each villa the height of luxurious exclusivity and African abundance with luxurious bathrooms have oversized baths, and indoor as well as outdoor showers.

There is also Thanda tented camp offering an authentic bush experience, built in colonial safari style with minimal lighting and no artifice. The 14 luxury, beautifully furnished tents have four-poster beds, en-suite canvas bathrooms and magnificent views of the game reserve. Within Thanda Tented Camp lies Thanda’s Jabula Tent. Meaning 'happiness' in isiZulu, it is romantic and private, yet beautifully spacious. Decorated in sophisticated safari chic, it is ideal for bridal couples, honeymooners, special occasion travellers as well as families wanting to share with each other under one canvas roof.

Villa iZulu with five suites is ideal for celebrities, families and those with a special taste for privacy; it is an exclusive bush residence beyond any traditional understanding of extravagance and service. Public facilities include an intimate dining tent and boma, an outdoor lounge and a plunge pool for cool relief on hot summer days.