Mhondoro Safari Lodge

Mhondoro Safari Lodge & Villa is a luxurious, five-star private safari lodge and villa situated within the malaria-free Welgevonden Game Reserve in the Waterberg District of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. In an under three-hour drive or a one hour flight from Johannesburg, you can escape into this ideal safari destination to experience the magic of the Big 5 at home here in the African bush.

The interiors are decorated in an ‘African Chic’style – an elegant mix of African design and contemporary European design.
The sophisticated, yet child-friendly lodge, is known for its underground waterhole hide, which is connected to the Main Lodge by a tunnel. This unique feature offers an accessible, safe and one-of-a-kind opportunity to get up close to the animals drinking at the waterhole in front of the lodge. Mhondoro Safari Lodge is the first and only five-star Safari Lodge to offer this exciting and special experience.

Mhondoro Safari Lodge is family friendly, yet is private and exclusive, enabling guests to relax and explore abundant wildlife on guided game drives. Welgevonden Game Reserve’s strict policy limiting the number of vehicles on the Reserve, enhances the exclusive and peaceful game drives and ensures there will be no interruptions from vehicle traffic.

For those preferring to indulge in blissful relaxation, there is a Spa and Wellness Massage Suite where a team of experienced beauty therapists offer treatments to help you unwind. Or perhaps a bracing workout at the fully equipped gym will suit those wishing to stay in shape while viewing the animal activity at the waterhole. The heated pool, sauna, bar and lounge areas are available to all guests throughout the day.

Suites

Luxury Pool Suites
There are two Luxury Pool Suites at Mhondoro. Both accommodate two guests and each has one bedroom with a bathroom and a private viewing deck overlooking the waterhole and the bush.
The suites now each have a private plunge pool. The buildings are a perfectly secluded hideaway, with all the facilities of the Main Lodge within short walking distance.

Executive Suite
The Executive Suite accommodates four guests, and has two bedrooms, both with en-suite bathrooms. It also offers a separate lounge area with a fire-place and a spacious private viewing deck overlooking the waterhole.
It’s an opulent retreat with all the facilities of the Main Lodge within short walking distance.

Family Deluxe Suite
The Family Deluxe Suite accommodates four guests. It has two bedrooms (king-size beds/twins) each with its own en-suite bathroom.   A dining area and living area – the perfect accommodation for families. The spacious private viewing deck overlooks the bush. (with limited view over the waterhole). The Family Deluxe Suite is in a separate building, yet with all facilities of the Main Lodge within short walking distance.

Family Suite
The Family Suite is the perfect accommodation option for two adults and two children. It features two separate bedrooms, and one shared bathroom with a bath and a shower and separate entrance doors from each bedroom.
Facilities include a kitchenette and lounge area with a gas fire-place, as well as an outside deck with deck chairs.
All facilities of the Main Lodge are close by and within a short walking distance.

Honeymoon Suite
The Honeymoon Suite offers a perfect romantic getaway. Accommodating a couple in luxury, the intimate building boasts a spacious bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. Its uniqueness is in its private viewing deck and its own spa pool and daybed overlooking the reserve.
It is located furthest away from the Lodge, providing a very secluded and private feel while making it the perfect spot to raise a glass of champagne and enjoy the uninterrupted view of the wilderness and animals, or to watch the stars at night

Mhondoro Villa
The Mhondoro Villa is a luxurious yet comfortable home-away-from-home, perfectly suited as exclusive family or group accommodation. The exclusivity of the Mhondoro Villa means that all meals and selected local drinks are included, and it comes with its own private pool, a private gym, spa and yoga room, as well as a private game viewing vehicle with ranger, a private chef, a private butler and housekeeping staff.
The Mhondoro Villa is booked at a fixed price for one to four guests. Additional guests are charged per the specified surcharge per season. The Mhondoro Villa boasts a magnificent master suite and two additional bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms.
To accommodate a bigger group, the adjacent Family Suite may also be booked with the villa, accommodating two adults and two children, to dine up to 10 guests in the Villa.

Dining

Mhondoro Safari Lodge & Villa is a culinary destination that caters for ‘foodies’ of all ages. They pride themselves in offering a healthy food concept with typical African flair. Get a taste of what the continent has to offer and indulge in our modern African cuisine.

Mhondoro Safari Lodge & Villa distinguishes itself from other safari lodges by its style and quality of food. Everything is home-made and where possible, home-grown in our own greenhouse. All dishes are beautifully plated by our dedicated and experienced chefs who work with a daily-changing menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even the snacks for the game drives are homemade.

The temperature controlled wine cellar is stocked with a wide selection of Premium South African wines from all the different wine regions of South Africa, as well as French Champagne. They have a temperature-controlled wine cellar in the Main Lodge where they can offer special wine tastings upon request, at an additional cost.

Safari

The rich and varied Waterberg region offers a diverse variety of unspoiled habitats. More than 50 mammals, 300 bird species and 2,000 plant species can be found within these habitats.

The savannah areas of the Waterberg consist of rolling grasslands and a semi-deciduous forest. The mammal population in Welgevonden Game Reserve, situated within the Waterberg region, boasts all of Africa’s renowned Big 5, as well as cheetah, giraffe, crocodile, hippo, brown hyena, honey badger and a whole lot more.
Welgevonden Game Reserve also contains the world’s biggest concentration of the highly endangered white rhino on private land. The Reserve’s renowned anti-poaching unit has ensured that not one of these gargantuan grazers have ever been lost to poaching – which is an incredible feat on a continent where the practice is endemic.

The wildlife and wilderness habitats make Mhondoro Safari Lodge & Villa perfect for safari game drives.

Their private rangers are professional and knowledgeable and can tell you everything about the flora and fauna of the African bush. Their love of the wilderness is contagious and their anecdotes are plentiful, informative and thoroughly riveting.Game drives take place in the early morning, before breakfast, or in the late afternoon after tea. During the morning game drives your ranger will choose a pleasant spot for a refreshing cup of coffee or tea and pre-breakfast nibbles.
On the afternoon or evening game drives, you can toast the magical bush sunsets with a sundowner accompanied by snacks.

You might find yourself magically atop a mountain ridge, amazed at the majestic beauty of the African landscape, while holding a glass of South African wine or a gin & tonic in one hand, and a typical African snack, like biltong (a local version of beef jerky), in the other.

Their rangers will take you on adventures in their 4×4 game viewing vehicles, giving you the perfect opportunity to spot the Big 5 – lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino – or at other times, to track the Little 5 – elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, rhinoceros beetle, buffalo weaver and ant lion.
You may also encounter giraffes, kudu, warthog or large herds of zebra and antelope along the way, to name just a few of the many species found around the lodge.