Ulusaba Rock Lodge

We have just left and missing it already amazing experience we had the most amazing ranger Stu accompanied by the tracker David what a team the knowledge they had is fantastic and the things they find from the large to small animals is amazing they can see them and every animal Stu would give us a complete explanation about it. Made extra special with the family we shared the jeep with The high light was seeing a mother cheeta and her 3 cubs Managed all the big 5 a few times highly recommend everything about Ulusaba Read less

Incredible game viewing, fantastic service and team! Our guide Brandon was just phenomenal as was our tracker Eric! Knowledgeable, fun and interactive with us and the kids each drive was full of fabulous sightings of all the big 5 multiple time and extras! Lodge staff were amazing, helpful and made our stay very special - hope to go back! Loved it and highly recommend! Read less

Another wonderful visit to Ulusaba Rock Lodge. From the “meet and greet” at the airstrip to the wonderful send-off at the end of our stay we were treated like royalty. Everything is designed to make our stay as perfect as possible. The Lodge managers, Anel, Godfrey, Danielle, and Patience are always making sure that everything is perfect, and it always is! Each evening the rangers are on “bar duty” after the evening drive, then the chefs (Ian and Thembeka while we were there) and the hostess read out the menu and the wine they suggest for each course selection. Sometimes they struggle to make themselves heard over the guests’ excited exchange of sighting experiences, but they always persevere and succeed eventually. The meals are wonderful of course, that never changes, and the waiting staff are efficient, caring, and unobtrusive, thank you all. In Karl’s temporary absence, Vickus assumed overall control and in spite of all his administrative duties still found time to circulate amongst the guests to make sure everyone was happy…. they were! Our room was always spotless, and every time we returned from game drives Thembi had made our room look like we’d never been in it. Laundry was returned, clean and perfectly ironed, usually within 24 hours. Brilliant. Our ranger Henry and his friend and tracker David were amazing, seeing sightings long before any of the guests were aware of anything, and always anticipating exactly when and where the sightings would appear or reappear. The humour and banter even exceeded those of our previous nine visits. Sightings included the beautiful leopards almost every day including two young cubs playing in, and falling out of a tree, and a very persistent mating couple being caught unawares by some hyena and being chased up a nearby tree. Lion sightings included one pride with a couple of youngsters wrestling over a piece of hessian sacking, another pride being harassed by a herd of elephants, and of course several sightings of prides sleeping off the previous night’s kill. Coupled with sightings of all the stunning game animals, impala, kudu, nyala (at the Lodge pool and “car park”), water buck, bushbuck, klipspringer, steenbok, and duiker etc., the camera was never idle for more than a few minutes. All the Big Five were spotted on many occasions of course, the aforementioned lions and elephants, also rhino, hippo, and buffalo, along with the elegant giraffe, crocodile, warthogs, baboons, monkeys, civets, cervals, dwarf mongoose, squirrels and too many beautiful birds to mention. On several days we followed a pack of wild dogs with ten pups who seemed completely oblivious of our vehicle as indeed did all the animals including one leopard that actually passed under the Landrover while stalking her prey. One day the dogs were sizing up a small herd of zebra but were being kept a bay by the adults with bared teeth and threatening kicks when a herd of elephants turned up and with much trumpeting and charging made the dogs finally decide that they would be better off somewhere else. All in all, it wasn’t a great day for the dogs as we saw them chased off a kill by a pack of hyena. Behind the scenes there have been a least a couple of changes. Shelbeigh has taken over the booking enquiries for both Lodges and we can confidently predict that any communication will now be acted upon very quickly, something that has been a problem in the preceding couple of years. The communication is quick, concise, and friendly; well done Shelbeigh. Returning guests and followers of Ulusaba on social media will have noticed a huge increase in ‘photos and videos from the Lodge, and this is down to Lauren who has taken over the social media and marketing side of things to excellent effect. Like all of the staff at Ulusaba she is a passionate advocate of conservation and protecting the wildlife and environment. If you would like advice on how you can help with the conservation effort and give something back to the environment, just speak to Lauren. Keep up the great work Ulusaba family, we’ll be back in May. Read less

Wow, where do I even begin? Ulusaba Rock Lodge was easily the highlight of our South Africa trip! The scenery is absolutely one of a kind, offering a breathtaking and unique view of the Savannah. We have never experienced such incredible personal hospitality—this was truly a luxury experience while still feeling down-to-earth and welcoming. The food was delicious, fresh, and memorable, and the rooms were beautiful, with accommodations that exceeded all expectations. The spa treatments were unbelievable, especially with the stunning view you wake up to each day. It was such a serene and rejuvenating experience. The game drives were truly rewarding—we got to see the Big 5! Orange and James were fantastic, sharing their deep knowledge of the animals and the landscape, making every moment exciting and educational. We felt so lucky to have them as our guide and tracker, constantly going above and beyond our expectations. A special shoutout to Danielle, the manager, who was so kind, hospitable, and helpful at every moment. She, along with Orange and James, made our stay absolutely unforgettable. We cannot wait to come back! Read less

We spent 5 nights at Ulusaba Rock lodge as part of 3 generations of our family celebrating a 70th birthday milestone. It was just perfect in every respect. The location is stunning and the trip up to the lodge in the safari Land Rover is an experience in itself. We were met at reception by our ranger and tracker Brogan and Sipho and they quickly became firm friends and gave us a fantastic experience on the game drives where we saw much more than expected entirely due to their knowledge and experience. We even learnt some new vocabulary to bring back to UK!! Brogan was there at every turn from getting us a drink after the evening game drive prior to dinner to discussing our sitings over breakfast. The quality of our accommodation was first class. Very clean and comfortable with views that were just stunning. We had 1 family lodge for 4 and 1 double lodge both equally first rate. Laundry was completed promptly without even asking. Food and drink was off the scale and the communal dinners were a great way to share experiences with fellow guests. On our last night we were offered private dining in the wine store. Another highlight of our visit. The introduction of each nights dinner and wine by Ian and Sidney was a great touch and the comment of our stay from our Grandson was telling when we were watching a pride of Lions consuming their kill: ‘ I can understand why the lions like that because I loved it when Ian cooked us a Kudu steak last night!!!’ Overall a fantastic experience for the 3 generations of our family made better by every member of the team. We all would recommend Ulusaba without reservation. Read less