Jock Safari Lodge

We absolutely LOVED our stay at Jock!! The staff was AMAZING!! Our room was in perfect condition, the food was high quality gourmet, the the game drivers were very knowledgeable and great at finding the animals! (We are partial to Lazarus, but all were great) I can't say enough about our stay at Jock we 100% stay here again!! 100% worth every penny!! Plus they made me feel extra special for my birthday!! Read less

Oh my goodness this place far exceeded our expectations! The room was fabulous. We sat for hours on our private deck watching the animals passing along the riverbed. Unfortunately it was too cold to use the outside bath, shower or bed but what amazing options. The service was amazing, all the staff were wonderful and the food was great and so much of it! First time on safari and we saw all the big 5 - including a leopard from our deck and a lion kill - and more Our knowledgable ranger, Patrick, who took us on all our game drives even picked us up from the airport. Only 4-5 people in the vehicle so nowhere near full, plenty of space. I can't say anything negative Thank you to everyone Read less

From the moment we stepped out of our transfer, we knew we had been transported to a different world, one we had only dreamt of with the highest of expectations. Busi greeted us and gave us the lay of the land. That welcome was accompanied by a hot towel and a delicious fresh drink. Traveling with our two teenagers, we wanted comfortable separation. We got that in two adjacent rooms, with their own private terrace with a plunge pool, outdoor shower and bathtub as well as fully netted outdoor sleeping area. Our guide to Jacob soon appeared with a deep voice and a big smile. He was our game drive guide for the next three days. And he never disappointed. On our very first drive, we saw elephants, giraffes, and lions. By the end of our three days, we had seen the big five and more. A nighttime leopard In a tree was a highlight. I’ll always appreciate that when we were getting packed out on our last morning and Jacob came rushing in (after the drive we had skipped) to get us and bring us to right outside the property grounds – there was a fresh Cape Buffalo lion kill. It was truly a remarkable moment. His personal interest and passion is such a credit to him and to Jock. All of the staff seemed committed to their work and to genuinely care about the guests. So much so that on our first night, they celebrated our 20th anniversary/50th birthday at a Boma. The staff dancing out with drums playing, and a small custom cake in hand. That was specially done for us. It was truly a wonderful gesture. All of the food was delicious. We were especially fond of the breakfast, which was exceptional. Precious always offered a smile and was incredibly hospitable. Gavin, the food and beverage manager seems to run a happy, efficient and customer oriented shop. We also greatly appreciated the small gym as well as the spa where we had a few fantastic massages. Our last night, we had an open air dinner on the river bed. A star-lit night we will never forget. Highly recommend this Safari lodge if you’d like to have an authentic, comfortable and remarkable Safari experience. Read less

We had always wanted to go on safari and were not disappointed, as soon as we arrived we were greeted by friendly faces and were looked after. We had 4 rooms as we were 7 people and they were lovely. The drives were great and our ranger Mayneth went above and beyond to make sure we saw the big 5 (plus baby big 5) to the point on our last drive he drove a long way to make sure we saw hippos as my husband had never managed to see any on any of his other safaris through work trips. And the food was excellent especially the BBQ on the beach. It was truly a holiday of a lifetime. We will definitely return, we said we might try others but not sure they could ever live up to our experience at Jock, we’ve been spoiled. BEST HOLIDAY EVER!! Read less

We have just finished a 4 night stay at Jock Safari lodge (which is a not for profit organisation where all profits go back into Kruger Conservation) and what a truly special experience it was. After a 36 hour journey we landed at the picturesque Skakuza airport we were met by Jan our guide for the next 5 days and after filling out some forms (signing our lives away) we jumped into one of the lodges Jock vehicles and began the drive to the lodge. From the get go Jan was brilliant with us and with our two daughters (12 and 14) as well as my 75 year old mum. He really knew how to get a laugh from all of us. The drive back was peppered with a range of animals - crocodile, giraffe, warthog, elephant, baboon and impala galore. Upon arrival at Jock lodge which is set in its own concession (meaning that the lodges vehicles can travel off road to get closer to the animals) we were greeted by a Jurassic park gate. The lodge itself is beautiful and sits above two river tributaries which were both dry when we arrived. We would absolutely recommend this as it is special going off road whereas in the main park you stick to the drives. We were greeted by the lovely TK and Busi who took our bags, gave us some cooling towels and a drink before being shown to our rooms. The rooms were amazing, felt like five star luxury without losing the feel of a traditional game lodge. With lots of wonderful little touches that surprised and delighted us. The evening set up was drinks in the bar where we were looked after brilliantly by Khaya and then into the restaurant called to dinner by drums. Food was prepared by Oprah and her team and the menu announced by her and one of the management team Gavin we were also very well looked after by Albert. You will not go hungry here. The food is of an excellent standard and there is simply sooooooo much of it! Each day follows a very similar routine. Wake up for us started at 5.00am for a 5.45-6.00am drive. Jan gave us wake up calls every morning (although we were awake by then) and then we set off on a different drive each day. Sometimes in the concession and sometimes in the wider Kruger park. Drives finish around 9.30 and then we headed to breakfast where we were looked after by the lovely Precious who again made sure we needed a crane to lift us out of our seats!!! We then had free time until lunch where we were again fattened up for the lions even more and this was followed by more free time until afternoon tea and our afternoon game drive where we left between 3.30 and 3.45 pm. Return was about 6.30 to 7.00 and then the evening meal rituals commenced again. On safari, it gets cold in the mornings but my female companions all took the hot water bottles found in the room and used the blankets in the vehicle. We cannot thank Jan enough for the banter, the stories, his knowledge and his ability to see animals not visible to us mere mortals. He found us lions (tracking their prints in the road), elephant, giraffe, buffalo, kudu, baboons, jennets, bats, two leopard kills, rhino, warthog, water buck, steenbok the list goes on. The two stand outs for us were seeing a pack of painted dogs being followed by two hyena where we followed them for about 25 minutes and were able to let one of the other lodge vehicles know where to find them and also sitting watching a leopard with a kill in a tree on the concession for 2.5 hours. Truly amazing experience. Nothing was too much for Jan and he spent so much time answering our questions and sharing his knowledge. The final special touch for us was when on the last night the Jock team came out singing traditional songs and dancing to celebrate my mother’s 75th birthday, despite that being 7months ago this was a birthday present for her which she had told them on the first day. Little did we know that they had ‘banked’ that knowledge to again go above and beyond to surprise us on our last night. You will all never know how much that will have meant to my mum. Thank you all so much. I know I have named a few people here but I have missed out all the other people whose names I didn’t ask or catch but you were all amazing nothing was too much and you all made this trip amazing. Thank you so much for everything. I wish we could visit every year but we can’t but we will certainly never forget the year we did! Top tip - don’t drink too much in the afternoons as it’s not always safe to have a wild wee after dark and you’ll want to enjoy the sundowners! Read less