Ivory Tree Game Lodge

"We had a wonderful time at the Ivory Lodge and the arrangements were perfect!"

We had a great time. We had an amazing ranger, her name is Jody - she knew everything and was very alert. She made our day! The food was ok, with a good variation in the salads. We went to one of the other lodges for breakfast one day, they served an amazing and very appetising looking variety there (at Bakubang Lodge). The staff tried to be helpful. We thought we were very looked after in total! The rooms were nice and spacey - with a nice outdoor shower with a big shower head. The children loved the pool. I used the spa twice - it was ok. Pilanesberg is definitely big enough with a pool of animals. We went on 8 game drives and saw the big 5's more than once.

"My daughter and I loved the short trip to Ivory Trees. I am expecting to be back in SA over the next few months and will definately be in touch for further bookings. Thanks"

"It was amazing. We saw the Big 5 within our first few days. I have never seen my daughters face light up like it did on our first game drive, that just made the trip!"

"Ivory Tree Game Lodge was GREAT! Rooms were lovely and the service and food were good too. Our safari guide was amazing ... We loved it all :)"

"All the hotels you recommended were very nice and to the expectation even more no execption warm welcome great service great rooms all perfect."

"The Ivory Tree Lodge experience was a different yet a good one. We liked the buffet, the game drives, and of course our lovely cabins."

We got back yesterday. The trip was amazing, from the accommodation to the game drives and the guide. Everything was great! One thing you can add on our behalf to futrue travellers is to pack warm clothes from jackets to mufflers and gloves. It was e xtremely cold on game drives especially the one at 6am. Ivory tree provided us with a fleece poncho that really helped on the game drives but would still recommend all travellers to keep gloves n mufflers as it gets very chilly! Over all our experience with Go to Africa and Ivory tree was great! You have been a great help! Thank you for an amazing experience of South Africa, will definitely go back again!

"We had the best time and will definitely be back for another go."

"We just had fantastic days in South Africa. The hotels were just fine, especially Ivory Tree Lodge it is a nice place to stay with excellent food."

I just loved every single detail, the only thing I was expecting a little bit more is the food at Ivory Tree Game Lodge, they could have a better quality of their meals but they were still ok and apart of that everything just wonderful, thanks a lot, I will share with all my friends the experience I had.

"South Africa is amazing and the safari at Ivory Tree Lodge was without a doubt the highlight of our trip. If heaven exists on earth, it is Ivory Lodge!"

The service was sterling and the staff helpful both at Ivory Tree and Cascades. Our accommodation reservations were accurate at both places and the transfer company were always on time. The honeymoon surprises were also very thoughtful, adding that e xtra something to make our time special.

"Ivory Tree Game Lodge was very good. Game drives were good. Friendly rangers and smiling, greeting staff. I recommend the morning game drive."

Our holiday was absolutely excellent from start to finish. All the arrangements that you had made worked like clockwork. My worry about the cases was ill founded as they arrived in Johannesburg and then back again in London with no problem. The trans fers were great, the one from the lodge to the airport was a little late but phoned the lodge who then let us have lunch, which we were not due to have so that pleased the kids. Our suite at the lodge was super, it was great having the extra space outside for the kids, the food again was excellent and they were very helpful with Marianne being a vegetarian and cooked her a seperate fish dish. The game drives were brilliant and we were lucky to have the head ranger Janco as he was fantastic.

"We preferred Ivory Tree Lodge to Kwamane, in fact there, it was possible for our daughter to take part in the safari with us and also the Lodge is beautiful."

"Thank you so very much, we had a nice time. Thanks to the ranger lady for all the time she spent with us."

The final four nights were spent at the Ivory Tree Game Lodge. Being my first safari, it was a lot more fun than I expected. We did have to adjust, since the game drives started before sun-up and ended after the sun set in the evening. When there was no sun, we froze! One morning, it was -4 C; however, we had enough clothes to bundle up, and never missed a time out. We had an excellent guide named Janco Coutzee, who grew up about 2 hours from the lodge. That he loved what he did was obvious, and he showed us everything from predators to large animals and grazing herds, and from reptiles to birds . . . . along with great sunsets. As for the lodge; the accomodations were very nice and the staff was friendly. There was nowhere we were disappointed.

"The Ivory Tree Game Lodge and Pilanesberg was a good introduction to the country."

Pilensburg Ivory tree was relaxing, cheap – everything was all inclusive, drives were free – in Zimbabwe we paid $100 USD /per person and here there are 2 each day (night and day) for free! The food was good, rooms were amazing – animals walk by your room each morning. It was the best place to do game drives – animals have lots of land/food etc.

"The game lodge and the guest house in Cape Town was excellent. Everything was a great standard and all our transfers were on time and professional."

Ivory Tree is such a friendly place. I am sure I don't need to tell you what a nice lodge it is. For us the most important part was the warmth of the people who work there. We were unlucky with the weather as it rained most of the time but the atmosp here created by the hosts, our ranger Lyam, the fantastic entertainment The boys Colbert and Nicholas turned a potentially disastrous holiday into a delight. We will always remember the laughs we had quad-biking in the rain and getting totally drenched or learning how to play the african drum. And we did manage to see lots of exciting animals on safari in the end.

Ivory Tree Lodge was truly magical and our stay at the SNL was a perfect end to a very enjoyable honeymoon- these two places re-defined for us comfort and luxury in the bush. For sure we believe we will re-visit each of those places at some stage in the future. Thank you very much for organising an outstanding package for us...

"Kwa Maritane and Ivory, once again, true South African hospitality service u felt loved every step you took in those hotels. The game drives were cool and we saw lots of animals."

"Leaving the best fior last. The Ivory tree game lodge was paradisiac. It was confortable , the staff were friendly snd kind. The rangers and personnels were so professionnal aswell."

Dear Vanessa, We just returned this morning. The trip was fantastic and we all truly enjoyed ourselves. Thanks for all the arrangements. It was great and I'm sure all these wonderful memories will stay with us for a long time. Here's wishing you a happy 2008 and all the best for the coming year! Regards, Leisha

"It was brilliant."

"They have very nice and friendly staff at the ivory lodge and a beautiful setup."

"I had a marvelous time in every place, but Ivory Tree was my favorite. They were so on top of everything and so personal. I am keeping you in my prayers, heart and thoughts especially for the treatments."

"Amazing wonderful room, game drive was quite poor in comparison with londolozi and service good but for this kind of hotel service should be perfect"

The Ivory Game Lodge was great. The people there really took care of us. Food was great and we had the best guide, Lyam. Our little bugalow was adorable and although a little chilly in the morning, we loved showering outside and looking over the game reserve. We would recommend it to anyone! And the transportation was on time and very nice.

"It was great. Not particularly child friendly (environment wise) as expected , but the staff and rooms etc. were great. Once some other kids turned up (day 3) the feeling changed for us which was great. The drives were amazing and so were the stars!"

It was just as I hoped. There was no electricity in our first room so they moved us to another within a few hours and after that it was smooth sailing. Food was excellent and service very nice. Halley, our guide, was delightful and even in the sho rtened time she managed to show us all of the "big 5".

We thoroughly enjoyed the Ivory Tree Lodge I would like to give exceptional praise for our Guide, Neeko, at the Ivory Tree Lodge. He was remarkably good and he personally added a lot to our enjoyment. He deserves extra high marks for his job wel l done!

It is amazing and you are right about the room being more beautiful than what the photos show. I guess it's because the villas have such an understated, clean and modern elegance, such a nice change to the usual dark african theme that most other lod ges have. The Sabi Sabi River right behind our plunge pool was great for game viewing, we had impalas and monkeys visit us in those 2 short days and on the first night while we were having dinner in the room (btw beautifully set up) we heard splashing and upon investigation with a torchlight, we saw a gorgeous large elephant crossing the river right in front of us. It was just magical. The staff service is unbelievable. Everyone was so polite and considerate, yet they provided utmost privacy. You hardly notice them but the room got cleaned and temperature adjusted etc. every time we stepped out of the villa! Ollie was the perfect host and the facilities were so good. Claude was especially impressed (and enjoyed) our bar which was stocked so well and when we requested something that was not stocked, it was immediately provided for (we asked for Jack Daniel's whiskey and a whole full bottle was placed at our bar). The games drives were such a luxury...we would stop in the middle of a drive and a table would be set up providing snacks and refreshments! It was incredible that one of the night safaris we actually stopped near a rhino and had whiskey cokes and snacks less that 30 feet from him!

"A slam dunk, even got his wallet back that he lost."

The travel went well. The transfers to and from Pilanesberg were OK. The lodge was just very nice (maybe a bit too much luxurious). I was able to do 4 games that were just great. I was even alone for the first one with the ranger. I saw many animal s and some of them very close of the car (elephant, rhino). The food was various, rich and delicious. We must be carefull to not take too much to avoid over weight after the stay :-) I found a very delicate note in the room for my birthday and a nice birthday cake for the dinner. That was a very nice surprise that help me to pass a small melancholy that I got because my wife and kids wasn't here at that time. Despite the lack of game experience on my side, I found those Pilanesberg great and not too far from JNB, that makes that destination ideal for such small time. The weather was not as good as expected (nothing you can do) that made the stay a bit boring between the game due to the lack of activities proposed by the lodge for that time. Fot the booking process, also discussed among some guest at the lodge, I got the impression that it is something difficult to get only 1 or 2 nights in such lodge. But according to the ranger, there are no problem at all to arrive late at the lodge. I would suggest that you propose also that lodge for 1 night only. I'm sure that several "business" travellers that have just a short time in JNB area will found the formula very convenient.