A Timeless Safari Lodge in South Africa’s Kruger National Park

Fri Aug 01 2025 21:02:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) by liketotvl

Our time on safari was genuinely remarkable. We saw the Big Five in their natural habitat, which made for a unique experience. Other highlights include a bush walk and a delicious bush breakfast. Special callouts to our Ranger, Gerry, and Tracker, Aubry, for unforgettable game drives. Highlights of our game drives include seeing the Birmingham pride with two white lions and a leopard feeding in a tree. Throughout our stay at the lodge, Treasure ensured we were well cared for. The rooms are spacious and clean. Thank you to the entire Nagala team who went above and beyond, welcoming us warmly and making us feel at home from the moment we arrived until our departure.

Sun Jul 27 2025 15:36:46 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) by Jason D

It was a great visit overall. It was a bit farther from the airport than I had anticipated because we flew into the regional one rather than the landing strip. But the driver was right there and everything was completely seamless for the entire trip! We had the white lotus moment when we pulled up at the lodge and everyone was there waving which was comical. But truthfully the staff was attentive and focused without being on top of us. The food was exceptional ... there were too many meals and each was special in their own way. Our room in the lodge also amazing with an indoor and outdoor shower and beautiful to be in and hang. Truthfully we were out and about most of the time so really we were there after dinner, exhausted after our days of safari and eating! The morning safari and the afternoon safari was each about 4-5 hours and they structured our days. Our guide Gerry was amazing--such an optimistic, upbeat, fun smart, and engaging guy, accompanied by his companion Tonight. We really felt blessed that he took care of us during our time. The professionalism was wonderful and you really felt the passion he felt for his work, for animals, for the landscape, all of it. I sort of thought that the animals would "just be there" but usually we set a goal for the day and then do tracking and spent the day meandering through the land. We saw almost everything we wanted: a pride of lions, elephants, giraffe, zebra, leopard etc. We were definitely not disappointed. It was an enormous amount of fun.

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Sun Jul 13 2025 11:18:13 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) by Jaime_Phalen

Of the three Safari lodges at which we stayed in southern Africa, this stood out head and shoulders above the rest. The staff are top-notch, the facility is well laid out, and the cabanas are outstanding. The Safari guides and trackers are very knowledgeable and personable, with a great sense of humor. The food is Delicious, fresh, and well presented. The bar drinks and coffee beverages are excellent. Service is top notch in every way imaginable. The pool is unheated so nobody was in it during the winter, but the elephants enjoyed drinking it.

Sat May 31 2025 15:10:36 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) by LAmanda12245

Excellent stay at Ngala! Sean and Siya were the best guide and tracker. Sean had such an enthusiasm for the animals and Siya was able to track 3 white rhinos by foot. The food is great, beautiful property and rooms. We were able to see the elephants drinking at the pool. Very clean, great water pressure and staff was nice!

Sat Mar 29 2025 10:32:18 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) by Scott M

What an unbelievable life experience for my wife and I with our three children. If you research Safari lodges a lot, you can tell that sometimes spotting all your wildlife, no matter how great a location, can be like fishing. Sometimes it takes a while, or sometimes you might not catch every fish every time. We stayed three nights, four days which gave us time to get the big 5 multiple times and so much more. It seems you can also probably over-spend on every imaginable part of a safari. While Ngala isn’t cheap, you could find spots to spend more. I feel this is fantastic value for the money and the ownership company andBeyond is a global, South African based operator, with a focus on conservation. Their mission, story, properties and how they do things is unique and in and of itself a reason to consider this spot. We thought our rooms were excellent. Some reviewers have had an issue here or there it seems with rooms, but I travel 60% of the time for my job, and I’d chalk that up to the reality of traveling at any type of high-end property. Same goes for the meals. We all thought those were great too, especially breakfast, lunches, and the bush grill out under lamplight. Everything is inclusive. You have spirits, sodas, wine, snacks, coffee, tea regularly supplied to your room including fresh ice. Bathrooms are great and the outdoor showers super cool. Here’s how a typical day worked: 5am wakeup, meet for coffee/tea/pastries at the lodge around 5:15-5:20, depart for morning safari. During the morning safari, you take a 20-30 minute break for coffee, tea, juice, pastries and light snacks. When you come back, there is a big, really good breakfast buffet but you also get to order multiple a la carte options from a menu. Then you have half a day at your leisure. Nap, go to pool, use their lounge areas, etc. You have a nice seated lunch that has different options every day. Then in late afternoon, you meet again for drinks and snacks before you depart for your night safari. You take a break again during that for drinks and snacks and drinks before departing for the evening safari. It’s wild, they’ll mix you cocktails in the bush or pour wine, or whatever, in the greatest scenery. You then return a little after dark for dinner. I can’t say enough nice things about the service. Every one of our family members received individual attention. They learn your names from the moment you arrive, never forget, and always address you and your kids by their name. It’s 5-star service and comes across so genuine. Literally every staff member. Our tracker was Siya and guide Mac. The two of them were rockstars. Found everything, super smart, my kids loved them. We did an additional, separate guided walk experience, my 17 year old son and I. We hiked in the bush for two hours, our tracker Siya and guide Mac tracked down three white Rhinos. Definitely worth it, you just seem to need to ask to do that. More examples of what we saw: all of the big 5, giraffes, African wild dogs (cooler than you’d think, and it’s the favorite animal it seems of all the trackers and guides), a lion ripping in half an impala 20 feet in front of us, elephants walking down the hill in front of the pool and then coming to the pool, and literally drinking out of the pool right in front of us. Life changing moments for my kids. We used Anja from Safari.com to book all of this. Anja and Safari.com were really, really good to work with too. Patient, and helped with so many questions. Some final things on amenities. They do your laundry free every day if you want. We had some special food requests for our picky eater kids, and they readily accommodated. Thanks to Ngala, and especially thanks to Mac (guide) and Siya (tracker).

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