A couple of weeks ago, I complained to a friend that I never have good big cat sightings when I go on safari. (I know it’s an absurd thing to complain about. But I’m a travel blogger in South Africa, after all.) The very next day, I received a last-minute invitation to Thanda Safari, a five-star game lodge in KwaZulu-Natal.
It’s a sign, I thought to myself. My bad big cat luck will end now. And it did.
With or without the big cat sightings, a media invitation to Thanda Safari is a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to visit Zululand, the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal and the ancestral home of the Zulu nation. It was more beautiful than I could have imagined, especially at this time of year.
Thanda is one of the most luxurious game lodges I’ve ever visited. The service was impeccable, the food was delicious, the weather was perfect. And we got to stay at Thanda for three whole days, which meant six game drives — an incredible luxury for a safari holiday of this caliber.
I apologize in advance: This is going to be one of those posts in which I gush on and on about how great the trip was and show you a million photos, none of which do justice to the real thing. I have no choice though; this was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience and I must document the hell out of it.
My Stay at Thanda Safari
The Thanda reserve is about 14,000 hectares (nearly 35,000 acres). It was just us (a group of six journalists), the Thanda staff, a couple of other guests, and the animals on the reserve. I stayed in a luxury “bush suite” only slightly smaller than my entire house in Joburg, with my own plunge pool, spectacular indoor and outdoor showers, and a boardwalk leading out to a huge daybed overhanging the emerald green hills of Zululand.
Thanda has nine bush suites in the main section of the lodge, as well as a luxury tented camp and family-style villa (currently unoccupied) in other sections of the reserve. And there is a spa, of course. I had a fantastic massage there.
I would have been more than happy just to spend the days hanging around my gorgeous suite, eating gourmet meals and sipping great wine at the lodge, getting spa treatments, etc. But the Thanda game drives were another level of spectacular. We had fantastic guides — Ephraim, Ronnie, and Ben — who know the reserve like the backs of their hands and tracked down all the best animals for us every day. Ephraim and his crew, as well as the animals themselves, felt like family by the end of the trip.
The Animals of Thanda
We had so many amazing wildlife sightings on this trip: lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, and many more. (Thanda has the Big Five and we saw all of them except a leopard.) I’ve tried my best to whittle down the photos but there are still a ton, especially of the elephants and lion cubs. I’ll break them down into sections so you can scroll past your least favorite animals, if you so choose.
Lions
Cheetahs
There are five cheetahs on the Thanda reserve, all of whom are collared as part of a conservation program. (Cheetahs are critically endangered.) We saw the same pair of brothers twice.
Giraffe
Rhinos
Thanda has both white and black rhinos (black rhinos are quite rare in South Africa, and I was excited to glimpse one from a distance), also part of an active conservation program. Most of Thanda’s rhinos are de-horned to discourage poaching.
Zebras
Elephants
There is no better game drive sighting than a big herd of elephants and we were lucky to visit two large herds, complete with several tiny, insanely adorable babies.
I’ve flooded you with too many words and photos. But I still don’t feel like I’ve sufficiently communicated how much I loved staying at Thanda. I am very, very lucky to be a travel blogger.
And thank you, Big Cat Gods, for ending my bad luck sighting streak.
My trip to Thanda was courtesy of Thanda Safari (thank you thank you thank you), Ford South Africa (who provided a comfortable Ford Everest for our seven-hour drive to Zululand), and Theresa Gibbon PR. Opinions expressed are mine.
It looks like a wonderful trip and so lush and green!
Yes. It was hard for my eyes to comprehend that level of green-ness.
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing
It’s a total pleasure.
You clearly had such a wonderful time there that I can’t even be envious!! Thank for the blog and the great photos! Mind you – can we have another one about the food please?? ????
Hahaha, the food was fantastic! I just wasn’t happy with the photos I took of it and didn’t want to overload my post with too much description. But the menus were all a la carte, with a choice of starter and main and one dessert for each meal. The thing I liked most was that there was nearly always a fish offering, and I took that every time because I LOVE fish.
What a wonderful post! Feel so grateful to have spent 13 years in Zululand xx
I had never been north of Durban before this. It was so pretty! Already mentally planning my next trip there.
What a great opportunity, your photos of the lion cubs are awesome.
Thanks Gail 🙂
hello Heather, thank you for bringing this wonderland and experience into my very own home to enjoy, I totally share your enthusiasm. I would like to encourage you to keep up this special and important work you do. Thank you
Thanks so much, Anneliese. I hope you’re doing well.
Fantastic photos and great write-up of a well-deserved safari. Zululand is amazing. If you have a chance, try to see the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi reserve, Cape Vidal/iSimangaliso Wetland Park, and the Kosi Bay and lakes area. Truly some of the most spectacularly beautiful parts of South Africa.
Thanks Enrique. Yep, those places are definitely high on my list! I’m looking forward to going back to that region very soon.
Looks like a wonderful safari camp and the green, yay! And those cubbies are completely adorable – wonderfully close too (as well as the baby ele). Looks like a great trip – so happy for you (did poor Thorsten have to stay home?)
Thanks Nancy! Yes, Thorsten had to stay home 🙁
Well. I know where I want to go on safari now. Is this the best time of year?
Well, it depends on what you like. Winter (in this part of South Africa) is actually better for spotting animals because there is less vegetation for them to hide in (and they have to go to the big water holes to find water. But the lush green is so beautiful!
Reading this, my wanderlust reminds me it’s been way to long since I’ve been on Safari. Beautiful photos.
Thanks Hitekani!