Whilst travelling through South Africa we travelled to Thakadu River Camp which is in Madikwe, from Johannesburg as per of the 2nd leg of our trip (Joburg - Thakadu - Cape Town)

Thakadu is a unique wildlife reserve which offers a magical safari experience, up close and personal with the native animals.

We were greeted warmly on arrival and collected from the air strip by Tulu who also doubled up as our game driver. He took us out for 3 hours each morning and evening to see the animals of the reserve and we had a wonderful time doing so.

Arriving at the lodge we were assigned 2 Tents, my wife and I in one and the boys in another, which was a 2 minute walk away from us.
The “tent” was called so due to the the way the roof is covered (tent shaped tarpaulin) but in fact it’s a good sized wooden structured room with a very nice en-suite open plan styled bathroom and a balcony which offered views of the wilderness and a river where you could see animals grazing right underneath you.

Meals came as part of an all inclusive package and we were certainly fed very well!! It was a non stop daily offering of a quick coffee or tea and biscuits at 6am before going on the morning safari drives. Breakfast was served after we came back from the morning safari drives) at roughly 10am. Lunch was then served at 1pm - tea at 3pm just before going out for the afternoon safari drive at 3.30pm. On our return at 7pm dinner was then served. There are a lot of meals & snacks squeezed into a short spade of time and so by day 2 you start skipping some of the breaks to allow time for the food to digest !! Each game drive also included a bush break (20 minute stop) for hot drinks (during the chilly morning drives) or sun downers (during the afternoon drives) .

We were hosted warmly each day by staff on rotation who included Tulu, Joyce (chef extraordinaire) Veronica, Idah and Mods (Centre Manager).

Special mention must go to Tulu - our patient and knowledgeable Safari driver who each day took us out on 2 game drives each day and allowed us to enjoy so many magical moments witnessing the animals in the wild. Favourite moments included watching a Mother cheetah and her 5 cubs as well as seeing 3 of the big 5 at the same watering hole at the same time (rhinos, elephants and lions)

I’ve written a lot but there was a lot to mention and I could say more. I’ll end by saying we had a wonderful experience here and the children absolutely loved it. We chose Madikwe due to its privacy (only people staying there were on the game drives, there are no day guests who drive through like with the Kruger National park. Madikwe is also malaria free so there was no need for malaria vaccinations before travelling (unlike Kruger)

Highly recommended - you won’t be disappointed.

I made a payment of $5,050 for five tents for 10 guests, including me for two nights. Two days later, I canceled because the next three nights I wanted on the western side of Madikwe were not available. The "fully refundable" payment has never been reimbursed.

The booking was switched to a travel agency that could see openings and book the two lodges accordingly. I thought when I appeared in person, I could get my refund. They told me as we were leaving they were crediting my credit card, but that was a lie. I now get no response to any queries via email. Essentially, they stole over $5K from me!

I will also add that during our stay there was record cold and LOTS of rain. Their generator went out. We suffered with no hot water/electricity/heat. When asked when the generator would be repaired, we were told "the work crew won't repair the generator until there's nicer weather."

There are MUCH better choices at Madikwe. I have brought three trips to Thakadu, but never again!

So many up market private lodges provide 5 star service and food which can also be contrived and sterile. Thakadu staff were 5 star plus with warmth and friendliness to add. They take the trouble to learn you names and greet you by name whenever they see you.

The rangers are extremely knowledgeable and we could not fault them on their wealth of knowledge, even down to some obscure detail that some of the high paying European guests may not think to ask.

Food was of an extremely high standard and the tents were warm, comfortable and well appointed.

The entire lodge is owned and run by the local community which makes it that much more rewarding to support.