Shepherds Tree Game Reserve

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).

I don’t even know how to start this review other than WOW! I came here with my best friend and our 2 dads as part of a once in a lifetime safari experience and shepherds tree game lodge more than exceeded my expectations! I had done plenty of research into this place before booking and after a few emails back and forth they said the had the 2 bedroom private villa available for the days I was looking for, this consisted of 2 double/twin bedrooms, 2 private bathrooms, a living room, private pool, outside sunbathing/dining area and a private fire pit. We arrived there after a 3 hour transfer and were greeted by Nombulela with hot towels and a lovely personalised welcome and arrival drink. After checking in she showed us to the dining room for lunch before it ended, we were seated swiftly and given menus and wine recommendations which we gladly took note of. Whilst at lunch we were approached by our tour guide who introduced herself for our stay as Mingo, she asked what drink we would like on our game drive and told us where to meet her and at what time. After lunch we were again greeted by Nombulela then have us a tour of the whole complex and explained everything we needed to know during our stay such as meal times and game drives etc. she got us a buggy to our room and we were transported to our stunning villa which are bags had already been dropped at. The private villa and pool was absolutely stunning! The rooms were able to be made up as either doubles or twins and both rooms had a private bathroom with outside shower and joined together by a living room which led onto the private outside area, pool and fire pit. I will say the outside shower in the moonlight in the nighttime was such a surreal experience looking out into the national park! The whole complex was so well kept and ALL the staff were pleasant and went above and beyond for us whenever we needed anything. It is truly the most stunning place I’ve ever stayed at and I’ve travelled to a lot of hotels around the world. The food on offer is out of this world and a different menu was created each day so we never had the same thing twice. For all three meals of the day it was a la carte and there was something for everyone in our group. Drinks were an additional charge but the staff were trained enough to recommend different wines for different dishes which we took them up on a few times. We were served by Simba and also Mkay who were two members of staff who stood out particularly well for us and made our dining experience all the more personalised. We also noted Mike who I believe was the restaurant manager and he took a great interest in our day and was overall very attentive while we were in the restaurant. On the final evening we spent we had commented on the chefs cooking and she came out to thank us for stopping by and for our kind worlds which I thought was a lovely touch as I’m sure she was very busy. We had done a safari a few days before coming to shepherds tree at a D

Awful service. They incorrectly overcharged me for an extra room. It's been 3 months since I got back and I'm still chasing them for the refund and I'm beginning to think they have no intention of refunding me. A complete ripoff. Don't go there please... not worth the hassle.

My friends and I were guests at the lodge for one night. The facility is well maintained and clean. You feel very welcome from the first second. All the staff are so helpful, caring but most of all so welcoming. Our ranger Peter in particular was our highlight for us. He gave us the best safari of our lives. Peter knows so much, shares his knowledge, can read tracks, is so personable and sweet. We'll be back! Thank you for this experience

We had the most amazing two night stay. All the staff were so friendly, helpful and welcoming. We stayed in the executive suite which was out of this world. Everywhere was so clean. We had four game drives, two morning drives and two evening with the same Ranger which was great because he knew where he’d taken us the time before. He was very experienced and so informative. I can’t recommend Shepherds Tree highly enough

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