South Africa Safari

Kruger

Day 5-7: Lion Sands Reserve, Kruger National Park, South Africa Depart the hotel in a private vehicle for your transfer to Cape Town International Airport where you will connect to your flight to Kruger Airport (flight excluded).  From Kruger connect to your flight to Skukuza where you will be met and transferred to the lodge. River Lodge is the soul of Lion Sands and has been built on the banks of the Sabie River, positioned on a site with trees dating back 800 years. Facing due east, the lodge catches the sun as it rises over the Kruger National Park. Hosted by a family of staff that make it feel like home away from home, the lodge is about spirit, warmth and nature. Here you are invited to relax and experience African hospitality at its finest. The public areas at River Lodge offers guests the following: a private lounge and bar with fireplace, an outdoor safari lounge, 2 swimming pools (heated in winter), wooden viewing decks, a secluded bird hide, a magnificent River Island Deck built on the river, a conference room, Lalamuka Health Spa & gymnasium, curio shop & both an indoor and open-air (Boma) dining area.   All the rooms at River Lodge offer respite and protection from the Lowveld heat. The interior is a tranquil cream, beige and sea green haven, cool in the summer, cosy in the winter. The new modern bathrooms, with romantic standalone bathtubs, complement the bushveld well. We now offer guests two room types; 12 luxury rooms and 8 superior luxury rooms. All 20 luxuriously thatched bedrooms with en-suite bathroom have private wooden viewing decks and the bedroom area is air-conditioned with an overhead fan. The rooms are linked to all areas by raised wooden walkways. Activities: Guests are taken on early morning and evening open land rover game drives. Prior to departing the ranger will assess the guest's fitness level and will structure the walk accordingly. During the summer months the walks are done in the early mornings and form part of the morning game drive. In winter the walk is done after breakfast but to ensure the best walking areas are accessed, the guest will leave the lodge in a Land Rover until the optimal walking route is reached. Once everyone (maximum 8 guests) has settled into the walk the ranger will start to talk on a wide variety of subjects ranging from the medicinal uses of certain plants to the basic skills of tracking animals. On returning to the vehicle light refreshments are served. This is a highly recommended activity in both summer & winter. Often the guests do not get the chance to see the hippopotamus during either their morning & evening game drive as the Land Rover's traverse the interior of the reserve, focusing on the inland animals. This tour offers the guest a chance to observe this amazing creature in its natural habitat. There is also a good chance of seeing the enormous African Nile crocodiles (12/14ft), which inhabit the Sabie River. Guests are driven to either the river hide or one of the open plains where breakfast is served. A full table is set and the guests are invited to join the animals, which can often be viewed from the breakfast venue, whilst savouring a full continental breakfast. Guests are driven to either a dry riverbed or under the African sky on an open plain. Lit by only paraffin lamps and a big open campfire, this dining experience makes for one of the most unforgettable memories of a visit to Africa. Listen to the night sounds and enjoy a sumptuous meal cooked on the open-coals of the bush fire. Guests can request for a picnic lunch at either one of the River hides or Waterhole hide. This activity is only offered during the winter, dry season months, as this is the time when wildlife are seen to congregate around these points. A unique treehouse was built at the original site where Guy Aubrey Chalkley had climbed into the trees and set up camp to escape from predators roaming the plains below. The treehouse is a secure bush bedroom under the African stars, with all the comforts that a guest can experience at a five star safari lodge.   Guests are taken to the treehouse at sunset, where drinks and a delicious picnic dinner await them. They then enjoy the hours of African dusk relaxing and absorbing the beauty and sounds of the bushveld as it transforms from day to night, before turning in for slumber beneath the stars. As dawn breaks, guests are collected by their ranger for a morning game drive, followed by a delicious bush breakfast at one of the many animal and bird hides. The privacy and seclusion of Chalkley Treehouse allows guests to be completely alone in the wilderness - a unique experience that few places in the world can truly offer. Chalkley Treehouse is built around a majestic 500 year-old Leadwood Tree, wi