Bukela Game Lodge - Amakhala Game Reserve

A very welcoming resort without fences where animals can roam around. We had a phantastic stay in the tent adjacent to the waterhole (No. 11). We enjoyed the great hospitality of the entire team with resort manager Jennie and Duty Manager Zusiphi. Delicious food and drinks were provided all day. During the game drives with Ranger Wonga we were able to see the Big Five and many more.

I spent a week here in 2023 and want to return this summer, but ... It's been extremely difficult making reservations and getting advertised rates directly with the hotel. I've been quoted several different rates but none of them match the website. This is my #1 destination and it's been very frustrating. My trip in 2033 was the best vacation I've ever experienced from arrival to departure. Staff was friendly and professional, accommodations are 5 star ++, every meal was delicious and featured regional offerings, but the game experience topped everything. Our guide was so knowledgeable and we saw every type of animal in the most beautiful setting in the world. Really hoping I can work with their reservations staff so I can return.

Perfection from the moment we arrived. The welcome to our STUNNING tented accommodation to the gorgeous staff and our brilliant guide Evans. It surpassed all our expectations - striking lucky straight away with an amazing early morning elephant sighting - so close you could almost touch them. Highly recommended x

We have just left the most perfect 3 day-stay at Bukela, celebrating our Honeymoon. Having been swapped from another lodge at last minute, we really didn’t know what to expect, but all I can say now is I’m so glad we were! Our stay was, simply, perfect. Stunning, intimate surroundings, beautiful rooms and public areas, amazingly familial staff, great food, great drinks, and most importantly, fantastic game drives with our first-class ranger Evans. 3 days was not enough, but neither would 4 or 5 be - simply breathtaking, we can’t thank you all enough for making our holiday so special.

Bukela was a real disappointment – there is a lot of potential, but it needs money spending on it. The tents were lovely and the outlook superb but inside the tents it wasn’t to 5* standards, the showers were dreadful – there were bare wires from a light in the shower exposed, green mould and flaking paint, the floor was so uneven and painful to walk on and looked very dirty. The staff were all very friendly and seemed happy in their work, but the property was woefully understaffed – one night for dinner service there was supposed to be 6 staff on duty – there were 2 including the barman, this was the same the previous day. As a result, mealtimes took a long time. The toilets in the bar / reception area are unisex and as result smelt and the seats and floor surrounds were sprinkled – why do places particularly 5* ones have unisex toilets, I’ve yet to find a female who likes them!! During our 3 nights here, there were no paper towels available. As far as the Game Drives were concerned, we declined 2 of them as having sat on the back row of the vehicle on our first morning, which wasn’t pleasant. This is because the vehicle operates at maximum capacity (3 across), we were less than impressed, we’ve had better at far less expensive lodges. The Guide allocated to us too, Lucky, was one of the worst guides we have ever had. There was no/little communication with the clients, no information as to what we were seeing etc. In addition to which when positioning the vehicle to view animals it was done so that he could see and often we were behind a bush unable to see! It's not a Lodge I would be recommending – of those in Amakhala if you want an authentic experience opt for Quartermain’s 1920’s Camp or for a more traditional one HillsNeck,