Lake Eland Game Reserve
D219 Oribi Flats East, Oribi Gorge, Port Shepstone 4240 South Africa
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#1 of 6 lodges in Port Shepstone
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Adrenaline options and accommodation in a privately owned game reserve on KZN's South Coast. Slide our Zip Lines (the longest tour in Africa), walk the suspension bridge, eat at the restaurant, stay overnight in charming water-front self-catering chalets.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Pool
Bar / lounge
Children Activities (Kid / Family Friendly)
Conference facilities
Meeting rooms
BBQ facilities
Gift shop
Outdoor pool
Restaurant
Breakfast available
Non-smoking hotel
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Room features
Kitchenette
Microwave
Refrigerator
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Family rooms
Good to know
HOTEL STYLE
Mid-range
Location
D219 Oribi Flats East, Oribi Gorge, Port Shepstone 4240 South Africa
Getting there
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155Reviews5Q+A23Room tips
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Great place I ever visited in South coast from receptionist to all stuff are friendly mmmmm their cabins n activities they out of this world, next I'll make sure I bring my whole family to enjoy weekend away together ,thank you so much to lake owner
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Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Can I start with the positive which is seeing animals in their natural environment. We have made a point of visiting here , setting out from our holiday base in Umhlanga in 2017 and 2020. When I went to buy tickets for the self drive ,I thought the staff member walked away to get me some information, turns out she decided to do something else.. There was no suggestion of where I might view certain animals, be careful as the roads are treacherous ( more like mountain tracks ) or did I require a map of the reserve. The roads are just shocking,I know there have been awful floods in SA, I think that maybe this reserve should have closed for repairs. The signage is poor and I felt that this once enjoyable reserve is badly in need of investment. It stated in the brochure that there are giraffe in this park, never seen one in any visit, maybe it is a soft toy in the gift shop. My suggestion is that maybe this reserve should have a guided tour in a 4x4 at a certain time each day .…
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip: Better to have a 4x4 for self drive
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
We spent 3nights here in one of the chalets. Were so impressed with the resort, comfortable accommodation, great meals in the restaurant which were amazing value for money, the spa was lovely, had a pedicure and manicure, also very well priced. There’s so much to do; horse riding, zip lining, hikes, game drives etc. would highly recommend staying here, great for all ages, one can just relax and enjoy the surroundings or be active and do the activities on offer
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Paradise40709929842 wrote a review Jan 2023
Excellent escape from the buzz of the city. Very tranquil and family friendly. Ideal for family gateway as there are plenty of activities @ Lake Eland and around. There's the wild 5 adventures nearby which also offers many activities and breathtaking views of the gorge. Daily servicing of the rooms was appreciated. There's also a Spa, I thoroughly enjoyed my hot stone massage. More attention is needed in the hygiene of the showers, there was grime on the shower floor tiles which was very disappointing.
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Date of stay: December 2022
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: Sadly the pool was in a neglected state
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
+1
We had a fantastic experience and even better than last time we visited the pipe. This time it was expanded, with the fridge and the benche top inside. The space to pack our staff was bigger and we could stand inside and out cooking. It's suitable for only two people for now which is downfall. But myself and my son, enjoyed the whole experience. I will go back again if I want safe and easy camping.
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Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Accommodation was spacious, clean and comfortable. The food was delicious. We used the hall and it was spacious and comfortable. Overall a great weekend. Will be back in October. The game drives are popular and all sorts of wildlife can be seen.
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Date of stay: May 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Visited April 2022. The place is located at a very beautiful place surrounded by nature and tranquility. It is quite a drive from N2 but offers the best views. Their chalets. Are stunning. Well equipped with all sorts of cutlery and pots. Our chalet even had an outside shower! 🥰🥰🥰 I didn't like that they don't include stuff like irons in their chalets and it becomes a challenge getting one seeing that the chalets are very far from their reception and there is no landline to be in touch with the staff from your room. With the chalets being by the dam, we had a problem with ants in their kitchen countertops. Just avoid leaving food outside the fridge. They also had no charging adapters and we had to charge in the car so advisable you bring your own. Besides that, the place is so amazing and has alot to offer. We also did horse rides which was an amazing experience riding through out the reserve. 🥰🥰😍…
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Date of stay: April 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
We have been going to Lake Eland for about 8 years now, 3 or 4 times a year for a quick weekend escape when we feel we need to be back in the peace of nature, it has it's awesome adrenaline junky side of things too for the more adventurist, the accommodation is just perfect if you are getting a log cabin, especially winters when you get the cabins with the fire places, how do you describe the coziness of a warm fire place inside a log cabin on top of a lake in winter with a warm mug of coco or a glass of red wine, watching the giraffes roam. Seriously, we love this spot. We are not sure if new management took over, but over the past two years we noticed the super friendly always helpful staff had all left and there was now some new staff that can be unfriendly at times and make you feel unwelcomed. (From the booking, to getting there and signing in, to trying to get past the boom gate, makes you want a refund and to go home, on more then one occasion), but if you can put that behind you, it all melts away with the nature infront of you.…
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Date of stay: December 2021
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip: All the log cabins are nice, but in our opinion, the cabins on the bottom lake are a bit more...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Having just returned from a 2 night stay at Lake Eland I feel that my experience needs to be recorded. Having seen & read lots of signage about not making loud noise or music, I find it difficult to understand how this is not policed & enforced. My second evening was a total nightmare, some new guest arrived late afternoon, it would seem that they had occupied at least 2 units if not 3. Approximately at 1700hrs loud music was turned on at an uncomfortable level & could be heard all over the site. This was only the beginning of an uncomfortable evening as they started shouting & screaming until close to Midnight. No thought given to other guests. Overseas visitor.
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Date of stay: December 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
2 Helpful votes
Helpful
+1
Let’s get right into it. We love a luxury stay, all the fine things… but, sometimes the finest thing is camping with your favourite humans and, when you get to share your love of camping with first time campers (sister-in-law and niece who are more the glamping sort…and even that at a push), it’s a weekend packed with family fun and adventure. Yes, we’re HUGE fans of camping and Lake Eland has it all and more for camping and outdoor enthusiasts. On the ‘Richter scale’ of best camping spots in KZN, this scores right up there! Booking We’re not limited for great camping spots in KwaZulu-Natal, but Lake Eland definitely ranks very highly for us as one of the best camping spots in KZN as there is so much to do for the entire family. This particular trip was our third time camping there and we always choose to go for the non-electrified campsites. We shall pretend it’s because we want to rough it and be ONE with Mother Nature but if we’re honest, it’s probably more to do with wanting to try out all our nifty camping gadgets. Booking is fairly easy and we’ve booked all our stays over the phone but, for first time visitors we suggest you take a look at the map and plan exactly where you want to stay before making that phonecall. There are so many options and it’s a good idea to get a feel for what would work best for you by visiting their website which has a map to show you the lay of the land. On our first stay there we were shown a few options by the then manager and opted for the non-electrified campsites, more specifically, campsite number one which is the closest to the boom gate, has a tree for shade and is right on the dams edge which is teaming with fish (the man does love a bit of fishing). It is quite a distance from the main lodge, restaurant and shop area but, we love an excuse to jump in the landy and take a bumpy cruise. Plus… this was the first time that the sister-in-law and niece would be camping and we wanted them to have the ‘real camping experience’. Cards on the table…we were secretly thinking nothing could persuade the non-camper glampers that this was fun and when we broke the news that we forgot the coffee plunger, we thought they would be making a drive back to Durban but they surprised us and, we think they surprised themselves as well. Camping can do that to a person. Surprise you in a good way. The road there Making your way towards Port Shepstone, you take the Oribi Plaza off-ramp following the N2 inland towards Kokstad. We suggest that you switch on your GPS here if you are as ‘direction-challenged’ as the navigator who writes these blogs. Once you are off the N2, the road is incredibly scenic and as you make your way through the valley put your phones down and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you. Some of the road is dirt road but even then, we made it in just less than two hours from Durban… in a slow and steady landy. You may be persuaded to veer off here and there but keep following the signs and the Elands (not real ones of course – statue like creations and sign posts) that dot the landscape here and there and you’ll make it to Lake Eland Game Reserve. At reception we checked in, bought some ice for the writer’s wine, a slush puppie for the man child and some bait for the Man who wanted to try his hand at Catfish fishing that night. The man has been watching some show called Catch, Cook and Eat on YouTube and wanted to try Catfish (commonly referred to as a Barbel here in SA) and…he wanted to eat it. I bought some goodies before leaving like chilli bite mix etc., ingredients he insisted were needed to prepare the fish. Firstly, this one writing right here, does not eat fish and will certainly not eat Barbel but, I wasn’t telling the Man this as you can’t crush another’s dreams. We made our way down to the campsite and setup camp. Now we’re here… The glampers were only joining us the next night as two nights camping were too much for them they insisted. The man threw a line in the water and setup all that was needed for a night’s fishing. The man cub was on his bicycle and had made a few friends from a campsite further down so I was left to my own devices and nested. Again, there is absolutely no electricity at the actual campsite thus, you need to make sure you pack enough lighting (we may pop up a camping list and some of the gadgets we have that have become essential for our camping – maybe a future blog). The communal bathrooms do have electricity and thankfully hot water as it can get quite cold in the evenings and especially in wintertime which was when we were there. We definitely did not bring enough blankets. We only packed our sleeping bags which DID NOT keep us warm that night. We ended up putting a couple of layers of clothing on to stay warm throughout the night. We said we loved camping…we didn’t say we were any good at it. So, a night spent freezing and waking up to no coffee (remember we said we forgot the plunger), we were feeling a bit testy but managed to build a coffee pot out of tinfoil. Yes, one needs to improvise and we had to have coffee. Sure, we could have driven to the restaurant and ordered a cuppa but where’s the fun in that?! Also, we promised the older glamper that breakfast and coffee would be ready on arrival. Which it was. Day 2 The glampers arrived and setup alongside us. There is enough space for two tents (three at a push) on a site. The glampers brought down-duvets. There was some envy and maybe a remark made here and there. Blooming glampers! Don’t know what it means to really camp. You must be one with the outdoors and elements! Okay, that’s just pure jealousy on our part. We had planned an event filled day and after breakfast decided to go and burn off some calories. First up, the suspension bridge which is 80 metres in length and can hold 70 tons (note was taken of this after the breakfast we had). The youngest in our group, the niece RM made it all the way across! Note, the first time I tried it I did not make it, and here was a three year old cruising along as if she wasn’t suspended meters up in the air. These glampers were putting us to shame here. The man who came after us did a kind of girl scream. Don’t blame him. It really pushes up the adrenaline levels. Once we all made it across, the obligatory photos had to be taken and it was then decided to make our way to the next adventure. The Caves. Now, I personally feel the Caves should have been called “The Trek to the Caves” because heck, we definitely burnt off all the calories making the walk back. Sure, the walk there was a breeze and all downhill but we should have taken note of all the adventurers coming back up, red of face and puffing for air. Also, the benches strategically placed every few meters were filled with bodies who looked content to just stay put. Listen, it is 100% worth it. The Caves are beautiful with water dripping from the overhanging rocks (water which was used to cool us down – we didn’t get sick so assume it was clean). We were tempted to take a sip as only brought two of water but thought better of it. If you’re going to take the walk pack enough water and comfortable shoes with good grip as it can be slippery in places where the water has fallen on the rock and also on the actual trail when there’s been rain. We made it back and decided that our energy levels needed to be topped up with a milkshake and Pizza from the restaurant. Was feeling very chuffed about the burnt calories now. Bring on the food! The restaurant has an extensive menu catering for most tastes and even had a few vegan options. We enjoyed the meal so much that we decided that lunch was on the menu the next day as well but, got to burn those calories off beforehand… We made our way back to camp, taking a slow game drive and viewing the various animal species that call Lake Eland home. And so we unwind The night was spent stargazing and the obligatory braai was had that evening. The Man caught a Barbel and the guilt trip was laid on thick that we should not eat it. No catch, cook and eat here. “It looked so sad to be out of the water…” The glampers slept easy and warm… A trip around the dam on our bicycles was made the next day allowing us to tuck in to another delicious lunch… The glampers are now campers. Will we be back? Of course, and we’ll be trying out the Zipline and Scooter tours! Maybe a chalet this time as well and we’ll be sure to tell you all about it. Wanting to check out some of the sights, we’ve done a short clip on our YouTube channel. Go have a look! #AfricanTravelBird RATING: 10 out of 10 Pros Well stocked dams Shop stocking essentials and curios at reception Restaurant Bar Various accommodation options Camping (with and without electricity) Can cater for small and large groups Family friendly Braai facilities Adventure packed So many activities to choose from Abundance of wildlife Cons As we now know, it can get very cold in winter and it can get VERY, very hot in summer (plan ahead and look at the weather beforehand to plan properly and pack what you need). Activities Birding Fishing Walking and Game Drives Mountain Biking Zipline tours Scooter tours Walking and running trails Caves Weddings, events and conferences Dining Camping Suspension Bridge 4x4 Track …
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
4 Helpful votes
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LOCATION
South AfricaKwaZulu-NatalPort Shepstone
NUMBER OF ROOMS
24
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Frequently Asked Questions about Lake Eland Game Reserve
What are some of the property amenities at Lake Eland Game Reserve?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include a pool, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge.
What food & drink options are available at Lake Eland Game Reserve?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant, a lounge, and breakfast during their stay.
Is parking available at Lake Eland Game Reserve?
Yes, free parking is available to guests.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Lake Eland Game Reserve?
Yes, guests have access to a pool during their stay.
Does Lake Eland Game Reserve offer any business services?
Yes, guests have access to meeting rooms and conference facilities during their stay.
Does Lake Eland Game Reserve have any great views?
Yes, guests often enjoy the lake view available here.
Is Lake Eland Game Reserve accessible?
Yes, it offers wheelchair access and reduced mobility rooms. For specific enquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.