Everything about our stay was excellent, from the accommodation, food, staff and of course the game drives. We saw so many animals, eating, with their cubs and even fighting and viewed the big 5 and more. Our guide Wesley and tracker Hendry were extremely knowledgeable and clearly cared about giving us the best experience possible giving us as much information as possible even taking us to places only Hendry knew as well as talking us through tracks and a bush walk. All of the staff were so welcoming, friendly and professional always greeting you with a smile making it a warm relaxing environment . We waited 3 yrs due to COVID for this special trip for our family of 4 and it did not dissapoint and was well worth the wait Thank you for making it an experience of a lifetime!
First class all round. We were very well fed at breakfast, luch and evening meals, all incuded in the price. Room very large. Very well looked after by Byron the guide and Hendry the tracker. Thanks to all the staff there who made us feel very welcome.
Outstanding staff, particularly the guiding which was to a very high standard. We had Mbungeni and Yan. Both really know their stuff and we’re eager to impart it with a passion. We thought they were superb! Loved the hot chocolate shots, the 2pm talks and the food was notably good, healthy and portions not too big. Jeremy went beyond the call of duty and was incredibly kind with his time and expertise. The game sightings were fantastic. In short, we left feeling embraced by the Motswari family. A place we will definitely return to. Thank you all from The Phillips family.
Super friendly staff welcome you to a relaxed and authentic bush experience. The game viewing was special (and we've been on countless safaris), the food wholesome, and the staff could not be more accommodating. A resounding thumbs up!
We had a magical and memorable time at Motswari. We were at the lodge for four nights and did eight game drives with Erick as our guide and Difference as our tracker. This was our first “real” safari, having only been on a one-time 4-hour drive in Sri Lanka in the past. Food - I’m not exaggerating when I say that, like animals in the wild, I was excited for every meal that we had at Motswari. Breakfast was pretty standard serving both continental and hot food items, something that I was thankful for after our morning drives. Lunch always started with a festive procession of dishes from the staff, which felt like a celebration before every afternoon drive. Dinners were wonderful with a live grill station every night. Mostwari was where we had the best steak of our two week Southern Africa trip! Wildlife - we saw giraffes, impala, elephants, hippos, and wildebeests just on the drive in from the airport! The richness and variety of animals that we saw throughout our stay was definitely a function of our guide and tracker team. Erick is very knowledgeable, checking animal tracks on the roads and looking for clues that the wildlife may have left behind to signal where they are. On our 3rd drive, he spotted a hyena under a tree, which to me was cool enough, until he pointed out the leopard that was eating an impala slung on a branch! On another drive, another team had radioed in the location of a different leopard, and when we got to the area, Erick correctly predicted where the leopard was headed and intersected it, allowing us to take magnificent portraits of the creature. On our 5th game drive, we saw all big 5 within a 3-hour window! Community - we were very sad to leave Motswari because of the community it welcomed us to. Every evening before dinner, there was always a socializing hour where we were able to meet the staff as well as other guests. We enjoyed getting to know the community and even made plans to meet up with other guests in future safaris! Other things to keep in mind: - During the winter, it gets really cold at night during the drive as well as in the rooms. The Motswari team tries to mitigate this by providing fleece blankets and hot beverages during the drives, but be sure to layer up! Scarves and hats or beanies are a must! The rooms also get very cold, and with stone floors, you’re gonna want to bring slippers. - The rooms don’t have hair conditioner, which I found bizarre given how many other amenities they happily provided. Be sure to bring some for your trip! - There is wifi only in common areas, which was a welcome pause. Our room, Sable, was close enough to the verandah to get some wifi on the porch, so I suggest requesting for Sable if wifi is a concern. - We also glad we brought a music device (a Facebook Portal) because there wasn’t one in the room.…
Absolutely amazing experience. Great atmosphere, great rooms, fantastic guides and trackers. The animals seem to appear as if by magic. The lunch was delivered by smiling, singing staff- so wonderful. Evening dinner around open fires under the stars……
The entire experience at Motswari was wonderful.. the staff were very hospitable and happy to serve .. I am a vegetarian and they made sure that I had plenty of choices to eat at Lunch and Dinner.. The Guide and the Rangers were fantastic!! They made every effort to ensure that you get up close and have fantastic viewing and time spending with the game.. Thank you everyone at Motswari 🤗🙏🙏
I wrote a long review about my recent 3 night stay at Motswari which disappeared when I was interrupted. The short version is I loved everything about my stay. The accommodation, the food, the game drives were all wonderful but most of all it was the warmth of the hospitality from everyone working there that I Will remember.
What an absolutely incredible experience this place has to offer! Unfortunately the maximum I can score for this review is 5, otherwise I would be saying higher! This was a bucket list trip for us on our honeymoon, and with all honesty, not knowing exactly what to expect as this was our first safari experience. I think flying into Hoedspruit airport and seeing warthogs running alongside the runway set the tone! About an hours taxi ride to the reserve, seeing multiple different animals along the way as the taxi was kind enough to stop and show us what Hoedspruit had to offer. The welcome on arrival was fantastic and the resort/reserve was so rustic and earthy, exactly what you might expect being on a safari. This reserve had up to a maximum of 32 guests staying at any one time, meaning they provided a very personable experience and never felt ‘busy’. The lodge we stayed in was great, perfectly kitted out Safari style, huge bath and shower facilities, A/C, spotlessly clean and quiet. Housekeeping were great, attending to our room twice a day. I would go as far as to say this was some of the best food I have ever eaten. Different meals each night, different breakfasts and lunches each day (also singing traditional songs as they brought the food in was a great touch!) as well as different dinner locations each night were great! The veranda - overlooking the reserve, The amazing open-air Boma experience and also the dried riverbed experience, eating literally in the wild with tables set out on the actual dry river bed. The people were incredible at this reserve, so so friendly and attentive, nothing was too much trouble and regularly remembered us by name each time we saw someone. We also experienced a great massage so highly recommend booking! Now onto the Safari itself. We had an amazing guide and tracker, Megan and Jackie. The enthusiasm and knowledge they had made the drives so fascinating and enjoyable! We saw the big 5 within 24 hours of being there and saw so many animals I never thought we’d see! (We were told we had a very lucky truck!) with both morning and afternoon drives, Megan and Jackie led the way, providing a real personable experience and getting very close to ‘the action’. They care for the reserve and the animals greatly and still manage to ensure you have a great, up close and personal experience with the animals. On the first evening drive, we had a heard of elephants walking past is within striking distance and even a pride of lions walking beside us! Incredible experience. We shared our game drives with a couple also celebrating their honeymoon and another couple celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. On the second to last night game drive, the Motswari team decided surprise us all and laid out a spread for us with drinks and snacks, near the runway, surrounded by animals and enjoying the beautiful sunset which was very thoughtful! The whole experience far exceeded any expectation of mine and every single aspect of this was spot on. I would go back again in a heartbeat. Thank you to the Motswari team for making our honeymoon so special.…
My wife and I visited motswari on our honeymoon and absolutely loved the whole experience! The property and rooms are nice and well decorated but the staff make the place so special. Our guide (byron) and tracker (hendry) did an amazing job on all of our drives, we saw the big 5 by our second day and were able to see all the animals we wanted to view. They were also very knowledgeable and provided a lot of information on the animals and area. In addition to the drives, the staff and service back at the lodge was incredible. All of the staff are very friendly and helpful and go out of their way to make sure that you have a wonderful stay. Lastly, the food at motswari was amazing and there is so much of it! Every meal we had there was delicious. Highly recommend staying at motswari for a safari!…
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