Sibuya Game Reserve and Lodge

If you're only interested in wildlife and scenery, Sibuya delivers. But if you're expecting a well-rounded 4-star experience—including food, hospitality, and comfort—you may want to look elsewhere. I'm originally from South Africa and planned a 4-star safari as the highlight of our trip to visit family. After comparing multiple game reserves, we chose Sibuya based on glowing reviews and recommendations. The bush lodge was 'booked' (later discovered it was under renovation), so we opted for the forest camp, trusting that the price would reflect the quality. Unfortunately, while our ranger and game drives exceeded expectations, nearly every other aspect of our stay was a disappointment—and ultimately led us to leave a day early. What Went Well Our ranger, CJ, was phenomenal. Knowledgeable, passionate, and engaging, he made each drive memorable. We saw four of the Big Five in their natural habitat. Game drives were intimate and personal, especially on the first day and a half when we were the only guests. Forest camp cabins were cozy and bug-free during the winter season. What Undermined the Entire Experience Food & Beverage Failures The “complimentary” bar was never staffed. Getting a drink often felt like an intrusion rather than an amenity. Morning coffee was a self-service station with dirty pots, old grounds, and missing essentials like sugar. Staff were absent, so we cleaned it ourselves. Our request to take a wine bottle to the table was denied for unclear reasons—yet no quantity limit was enforced. Meals were abundant but uninspired: burnt meats, repetitive dishes, and a bizarre absence of local staples like mielie pap. Even the milktart felt like a failed imitation. To our disgust, the same salad that was swarmed by flies on Day 1 appeared again on Day 2. Substandard Service The staff—especially our host—were often missing or glued to their phones. Reasonable requests (like lighting the cabin fireplace in winter) felt like too much to ask. Our room was superficially cleaned (the bed was made) but lacked fresh drinking water and a clean bathroom. When we reported a leaky kayak to management, it was met with a chuckle instead of concern. Ambience Undermined Sibuya marketed itself as an immersive wilderness escape, but the illusion was shattered by the sound of chainsaws, hammering, and loud chatter from ongoing construction. Piles of renovation debris surrounded the lodge. One stack of wire fencing sat exactly where guests disembarked from game trucks—unsafe and unsightly. Departure & Aftermath The contrast was jarring when new guests arrived: suddenly, the coffee station was clean and stocked, cereal appeared before the game drive, and a new host was introduced. It was clear standards could be met—but we were already too fatigued, hungry, and frustrated to continue. When we voiced our concerns to the manager (Chris), he offered no resolution beyond saying he’d speak to the team. We were refunded for our shortened stay, but t

The friendliness of the staff, the accomodation and the experience of the lodge itself was great - helpful and client orientated. The guide that did the game- drives for our specific group was not up to standard with regard to safety of guests, knowledge of the animals (told a really rubbish story about lions for example that has absolutely no basis in facts), was just chasing the big five, and mostly ignored other fauna, had little respect for flora whilst driving. When he did explain something that was more than an irrelevant little anecdote he generally gave very vague explanations to European clients that didn't understand. Thank goodness because his explanation of getting true south using the southern cross was wrong and actually indicating north. His stories tried to entertain rather than inform people about the beautiful and majestic African bush. Was really disappointing

Incredible stay at Sibuya! Every aspect of this trip was phenomenal. From the beautiful rooms and lodge with stunning view of the river. The lovely helpful hostess team with friendly faces, who created unique welcome drinks every night after the afternoon game drive. The food was so good, many options at each meal and local South African cuisine included was so special! However the best part of the trip was the game ranger Nicolas, extremely knowledgeable and so passionate about what he does. We couldn’t have asked for a better stay! Thank you!

We spent 2 nights in the tented forest area, and it was absolutely wonderful. All the staff were lovely friendly and knowledgeable. We had Brian and JP on our drives and they went above and beyond to ensure we saw as much as possible and we did see the big 5. The team in the lodge does a great job of ensuring we are all fed and watered The tents are very comfortable with very good showers and decent beds. Overall I would very much recommend it and would love to go back someday

Very disappointed in this lodge. Booked last minute as needed to attend a funeral, nowhere on the ******* site did it mention that the only way to get to the lodge was via boat and latest at 15h30, we were landing from the UK after this. We also needed to be able to get to and from the lodge early saturday back and forth to assist in preparing for the funeral and to attenn the funeral and this would not be possible if we have to get a boat. ******* are happy to refund if the lodge agress but they have taken our money and refuse to refund. Even on the Sibuya website it not firstly clear that you need to get boat transfers either - not transparent at all.