Umkumbe Bush Lodge

My wife and I stayed at Umkumbe Bush Lodge for four nights during our tour of South Africa. Umkumbe was an outstanding lodge in a beautiful area. Before even arriving to the lodge we were greeted by a pride of nine Lions right next to the dirt road. Then when we arrived at the lodge on the way to our room for the very first time there was a Leopard walking past the pool. The rooms and facility were excellent, the food was very good, and the entire staff did an amazing job with every aspect of our stay with attention spent on every little detail of room cleaning and services provided. As perfect as our stay and the services were, I must say the shining star of our trip was our guide Pieter. Pieter is undoubtedly the best guide in the industry and was our favorite part of the entire trip. While on game drives Pieter would hear a slight bark of an Impala, Monkey, or specific chirp of a bird and just like that would tell us there's a Leopard or Lion over there and every single time, no matter how hard we had to search, Pieter would put us within feet of the predator for an amazing viewing. Pieter was extremely professional, intelligent, funny, and patient with every single game drive and bush hike and made it such a great experience. I cannot brag enough on the lodge as a whole, but I can also say that my next trip to the African Safari will start with seeing where Pieter is and planning accordingly.

What an amazing experience! Were here in early September and the camp and rooms were amazing, food was wonderful and the game drives and our guide (Ananja) were GREAT. Overall, I highly recommend and would absolutely return! Thank you to the whole staff for making our first safari experience so memorable.

Our stay at Umkumbe was great. You never know what you will get on game drives but patience is key. Our guide Frikkie was absolutely amazing, very knowledgeable and friendly and truly made our experience. Delicious food and nice tented rooms. The only issues we encountered were with the office with the transfers and bookings, seemed unorganized - thankful to the guides and staff which helped to mitigate those issues.

We weren’t guests here - however we did do a game drive with Frekkie here and I must say this man is a national treasure. He is so passionate about conservation and really geeks out about the wild life in the area. A+ to him for our wonderful sunset game drive.

Wow! Pieter, Phineas, Sharon, Africa, Nnanza, Leita, Abigal and all the others fantastic staff were quite amazing and highly rated in customer service/hospitality. Game drives seeing many leopards on lovers lane, all the big 5, so many elephant and giraffe and more think than we had planned for during our trip. The bushwalks with Pieter and his fellow guides were so cool! The gardens and grounds of the property are beautiful and just seem to make you happy!! Perfect balance between nature, peacefulness and service from a warm, homey and friendly staff. We could go on and on. My family has worked in hospitality and only had compliments!! Can't share all my photos but here is some from our fun, relaxed and super enjoyable time at the umkumbe bush lodge. Bravo peeps!

Wonderful experience! Everything went smoothly from airport transfers, to check-in, to game drives. All guests generally follow the lodge's schedule, with a morning wake up call followed by morning game drive, then breakfast, lunch, afternoon game drive, sunset drinks, and dinner by a campfire. The guides are passionate and knowledgeable, able to share tidbits about the animals that we spot and also being able to go off-road, up-close to the animals without scaring or aggravating them. Managed to spot all the Big 5 within 1.5 days of game drives (of course, also depends on luck). Tents were very comfortable, heated and with the usual sanitary fixtures. The animals often come very close to the lodge as well, it is possible to see elephants, warthogs, impalas, nyalas just a few metres away, from the tents. No regrets at all choosing to go with Umkumbe!

My husband and I loved our three nights at the bush lodge in June (winter). We stayed in the luxury and standard tents and were very comfortable in both (although the standard tent was easier to keep warm at night since it was smaller). The hot water bottles at turndown and on the morning rides were very much appreciated. Our guides, Ananja and Elzaan, along with their trackers Fineas and Thembe, really made the trip— they were so knowledgeable and attentive and great at spotting! We saw so many animals, including giraffes, rhinos, lions, duiker, leopard, and even a cheetah! Many great birds as well. We really appreciated their accommodating our request to switch safari cars to be with people who wanted similar experiences. The food was incredible and the dinner at the boma around a fireplace was fun. Massages were also among the best we’ve experienced! Also we LOVED the outdoor bush gym! It was great to have the opportunity to be active between the game drives.

It was my first visit to Africa and Umkumbe Bush Lodge blew me away with their great food, welcoming environment, and knowledgeable staff. Frikkie was an excellent bush guide, getting us close to the animals for great photos and sharing his endless knowledge in the process. He also made sure to stop at night and teach us about the endless stars visible in the African bush. Overall, my time at Umkumbe Bush Lodge was fantastic, and I hope to return someday!