Tshukudu Bush Lodge

Myself and my partner have just come back from a 6 night stay at Tshukudu for my 30th birthday, and it was truly a trip we could only dream of. Simon and the team were absolutely fantastic. They were all extremely friendly, attentive, courteous, you name it. Our glasses were never empty and we always had a drink in our hand. The chefs Elvis and Johnny made the most incredible food every day, and took extra care to attend to both mine and my partners special dietary requirements, which they both did extremely well. This was much appreciated! For my birthday, we had a private dinner in our room, which we came back to find all set up and ready with the fire lit after our evening game drive. Regardless of all the steps, the team still provided the most amazing 5 course dinner for us. For our daily game drives, we had the pleasure of having Humbu as our field guide. Humbu is truly an asset to the Tshukudu team. His passion for what he does every day is infectious and makes the game drives that much more of an experience. Not a day went by where he wasn't making us all smile and laugh, he's truly a brilliant character. Thank you all, for the most memorable 30th birthday I could of ever asked for. We will most certainly be returning in the near future. Read less

We have just left Tshukudu after a 3 night stay (5 night in total if you include our night flights to and from the UK) and were blown away by the experience. We went for my husband’s 40th birthday and I notified the lodge in advance of this. On arrival we were upgraded to a suite with our own plunge pool, which was amazing. We sat in the pool on the veranda and watched elephants every day (amongst other game). The food was incredible and the staff so friendly were attentive. I was never without a drink (they even bring your favourite tipple on drives and you stop for sundowners mid way through the evening drive or coffee/ hot drinks in the morning drive). You can expect A LOT of food and a 5 course dinner each night, with springbok and impala on the menu (chicken and fish were available as alternatives). The game drives were amazing. Our guide, JR, is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the animals and park. We saw all of the big 5, apart from leopards. He was respectful of the animals and did not harass them like some other guides/ vehicles in the National Park. We had a walk by by a pride of 8 lions (they were in touching distance) and an even closer encounter with an elephant. Friends who have been on safari several times before cannot believe the video footage of encounters we had. The Tshukudu vehicles are smaller than others and we only went out with 1-2 other guests so we had a much more intimate experience. I think your guide can make or break your safari experience, and ours truly made it. We were attracted to Tshukudu as Pilansberg is a malaria free area and is only a 2 hour drive from Johannesburg airport, so is suitable for a short safari (we have 2 young children so could not leave them with grandparents for too long). Although we only had 3 nights in Tshukudu, we managed to fit in 6 game drives (each approx 3-4 hours). It feels like we were away for much longer due to the amount we saw. As other people have stated, the stairs are unsuitable for those who are less mobile. However, this was not a problem for us and the views are so worth it. The lodge is not near any others and sometimes when we were driving it felt like we had the park to ourselves. Other times, over the weekend, the park felt busier and you should note that because it is a national park members of the public can drive around within certain times. So if you don’t want to see other vehicles then perhaps you should opt for a private reserve, although this comes with a premium. Overall, the other vehicles didn’t impact on our experience and we had excellent encounters with the animals. Book it, you won’t be disappointed. Read less

Myself and partner have just returned home from what I can only describe as the most amazing holiday I have ever, and I think I will ever go on! Tshukudu bush lodge is somewhere I could only have dreamt of! The staff are amazing! Everyone always has a smile, they know you by name and are always ready and happy to help you with whatever you need! We would often go to the main deck area and staff would know what we’d have to drink before we had a chance to even tell them! The rooms are incredibly and all have amazing views of the plains! We were lucky enough to have an upgrade while we were there! I have to say the chalets are beautiful (this is what we had originally booked) but the suites are quite honestly something else! There’s something truly magical about standing in a heated plunge pool while watching elephants play at the water hole! The food was delicious! I had emailed ahead as my partner tends to get hangry when he doesn’t eat regularly and we were worried how he’d cope with the gap between breakfast and high tea! Now for most people you reach high tea after having breakfast at 9am(ish) and think I’m not sure I’m even hungry yet as you can have to much to eat at breakfast! But high tea was always so delicious I’d always have to eat! Safe to say I have put on some pounds 🙈 but in order to cater for my other halves eating requirements staff would ensure he had snacks to eat through the day between main meals which was amazing! Dinner was brilliant and the food was always cooked beautifully! Again this is a 5 course meal but we never made it to the cheese boards! My other half also doesn’t tend to drink milk so the lodge went out and bought him some oat milk which is what he usually drinks! They were so accommodating! Nothing was too much trouble! The game drives! I honestly can’t explain how magical they are! From the awesome scenery to the animals and the sometimes interchangeable weather they are just spectacular! They are made even better by the game drivers! We stayed for a week and JR was our guide and I cannot even begin to explain how amazing he is! He knows the park inside out and back to front! He can tell you all sorts of information about not only all the animals (quite a few of which he knows by name!) but also the plants, grass, trees and weathers! He really is such an incredible guide and we had such a laugh with him too! We saw all the animals we wanted to see and more but please remember they are wild! The guides can’t click their fingers and make them appear - this is why staying for a longer period of time is so worth it! The one thing we would both massively recommend is if you’re thinking of going for just a couple of nights add a couple more nights on! We were never bored and on every drive we something different! While we were there various people came and went as they stayed for shorter amounts of time than we did but we felt so much more relaxed and happy to go with the flow as we had more time! To conclude - if you want to go on safari go to Tshukudu! You will not be disappointed! I’m not generally an emotional person but when it came to leaving I had to stop myself from getting upset, it honestly is such an amazing place with such amazing staff and we feel like we have made some brilliant friends! Tshukudu - thank you! Read less

Excellent service, ammenities and staff. We had 4 nights here and enjoyed the whole experience. We didn’t get to see all the animals however the morning and evening drives were always filled with exploration and excitement. Loved every minute and our guide Humbu was so knowledgeable. Food great rooms fantastic. Only downside about 165 stone steps to the main dining and bar and lounge area. Though once there the view is just amazing. Read less