Centrally located to the Southern gates of the Kruger National Park. Lodge requires rejuvenation and general maintenance. Friendly staff and amazing game viewing. Beautifully appointed day bed with riverbed views

Love jock Safari lodge. It os a beautiful place. We came for honeymoon. We felt as in home. Our ranger Patrick was the best, we saw the big five and lions atacking a bufalo. It was incredible. Naomi,AB and all the staff were magnifecent, we had great food and dinner. It is the best place in kruger for adventure and resting.

This was my first trip to Kruger National Park (KNP) with my girlfriend or any safari for that matter, and Jock did not disappoint. Located within the heart of the southern end of KNP, Jock is a fairly intimate lodge with 12 luxury cabanas accommodating a max of ~24 guests. Jock has a very authentic feel and clearly embraces the lodge’s rich history. It’s well situated at the intersection of various dry river beds, which provides great views and regularly attracts elephant and rhino traffic. With electric fencing, it’s safe to move about the lodge grounds at night. Given that the lodge is in a remote location in the bush, we were surprised at the level of amenities and luxury that the resort afforded. GM Naomi and Asst GM Lazarus were incredibly welcoming and attentive to guest needs. Across the board, all of the staff were really great/friendly. We very much enjoyed meeting other guests at the lodge from all over the world as well as locals from South Africa. Most guests we came across were staying for 2-4 nights, with one staying multiple weeks. 3-4 nights struck us as plenty of time to see the wildlife.

Our safari guide Micah did a really fantastic job on the game drives. Within our first two days, we saw more wildlife than we could have imagined, with some incredible experiences with hyenas, wild dogs and lions coming legitimately within arms’ reach. Micah has a great sense of humor and is incredibly knowledgeable. We were very grateful for everything that he contributed to our experience.

The food at Jock was first rate and plentiful. The cooking staff does an incredible job given you’re very much in the bush. The dinner style was varied between group/buffet dinners with our safari guide / group or more quiet dinners just with my girlfriend. For a guest celebrating a birthday, the entire staff performed an indigenous song/dance routine that was fun and entertaining.

Some things worth mentioning... 1) the game drive schedule is a little tricky given the 4:30am wake up, but we found ourselves napping during the day. Though we were perpetually trying to catch up on sleep most of our stay. 2) game drives can be shockingly cold as you’re in an open air game truck with strong wind chill. Heavy blankets are provided but you need to dress warmly/in layers. If it’s raining on the drive, don’t expect to see much, I’d stay back if given the choice again 3) there are a lot of bats flying around at night; outside of our cabana and outside the main restaurant area was a bona fide bat cave at night - just prepare yourself.

My only recommendation would be to more readily promote and expand the bush walk offering. We enjoyed doing the walk, but it didn’t seem like something the guides were particularly keen to do. It’s a nice change of pace from just sitting in a game truck.