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Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge
Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge
Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge

Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge


33°5’29.8"S 26°34’33.0"E

Reviews of Great Fish River Lodge

Wildlife sightings and reviews

29 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Great Fish River Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Feb-2019, 7 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Great Fish River Lodge.
Lion

100% success

Leopard

75% success

Cheetah

100% success

Black Rhino

100% success

Buffalo

100% success

Eland

100% success

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Oryx

100% success

White Rhino

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Wildebeest

83% success

Meerkat

75% success

Brown Hyena

25% success

Aardvark

0% success

Showing 1-10 of 29
Duration
Arrival date
Mr and Mrs G
Bucks

"Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge review"

4 nights Arrived 2 Jan 2024
"Kwandwe is heaven on earth and we're keen to return! To be one of only about 60 guests (across their lodges/houses) in a reserve of 48,000 hectares is an extraordinary privilege. The accomodation, staff, facilities, game viewing etc are all simply outstanding. We've been visiting lodges and doing safari in different countries for 25 years and in our view Kwandwe is the "gold standard" which other lodges would do well to try and emulate. We particularly liked having both a guide and spotter on all game drives." See all these reviews: 7n in South Africa; 4n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mrs H
London

"Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge review"

1 night Arrived 30 Dec 2023
"We had to move to GFR Lodge for our last day/night at Kwandwe because Ecca couldn't accommodate us for all 3 nights.

To be honest this was a little annoying not only because it meant packing everything up but also because Ecca wanted us out of our suite before we could take our rooms at GFR. Although there wasn't too much of a wait it just meant that our last full day was not as relaxing as it should have been.

GFR has quite a different vibe, normally there are no kids, it's very quiet and it didn't seem as chilled out as Ecca. The rooms were still gorgeous and the view was better as you can look out at the hills and spot animals...we watched a group of giraffe as we ate breakfast! It's definitely a lodge for couples who want privacy and quiet." See all these reviews: 8n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Dr & Mrs L
Lyndhurst

"Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge review"

3 nights Arrived 6 Oct 2022
"Very nice accommodation with lovely views.

Excellent ranger and tracker who made a great effort to see a leopard. We succeeded but very poor view from about 80yards.

We were very fortunate to be invited to the assessment of a chef and were able to enjoy a superb tasting menu.

Breakfast not up to standard of other lodges.

Very lucky to see lion mating." See all these reviews: 13n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

4 sightings

Buffalo

5 sightings

Cheetah

2 sightings

Eland

8 sightings

Elephant

3 sightings

Giraffe

6 sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

4 sightings

Oryx

10 sightings

White Rhino

10 sightings

Wildebeest

2 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs G
Bucks

"Safari at Kwandwe"

3 nights Arrived 6 Feb 2020
"Unfortunately overall the weather was either damp or very wet.

That said we were very well looked after by all the staff. Our stay was enhanced by getting to know some very nice people who shared our values and interests." See all these reviews: 18n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

1 sighting

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Cheetah

Multiple sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Lion

Multiple sightings

Oryx

Multiple sightings

White Rhino

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr&Mrs H
Winchester

"Incredible safari experience"

4 nights Arrived 21 Jan 2020
"We had the most amazing 4 days at Great Fish River Lodge. From the moment we arrived at Kwandwe to when we left, we had an incredible time. The staff were all so warm and friendly, nothing was too much trouble.

The food was delicious and we were never hungry. Rooms were beautiful with a private deck, outdoor shower and plunge pool, over looking the Great Fish River. Our ranger Ruan and Tracker Vusi were so knowledgable and gave us an unforgettable safari experience.

We saw so many animals and learnt a lot about this beautiful reserve. We didn’t want to leave and are already trying to work out when we can go back!" See all these reviews: 10n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

2 sightings

Buffalo

3 sightings

Cheetah

3 sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

3 sightings

Giraffe

3 sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Leopard

2 sightings

Lion

3 sightings

Oryx

Multiple sightings

White Rhino

3 sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

4 sightings

Mr&Mrs LS
Oxfordshire

"Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge"

3 nights Arrived 14 Jan 2020
"Well, this was definitely the most memorable experience of the holiday.

We were completely overwhelmed by the vastness and beauty of this private game reserve from the moment we arrived (with yet another friendly Ilios driver) at reception where we were welcomed with an enjoyable glass of bubbly and chilled wet towels while we registered. We were then transported by Toby, a trainee ranger for approximately 25 minutes down to the Lodge itself.

Great Fish River Lodge was amazing - built in traditional African style, thatched roof with lovely facilities including a small shop to buy essentials for the early morning game drives. Our own lodge was just stunning - it had every thing we needed including an optional outdoor shower which my husband made a point of experiencing. The views across the river were breathtaking and we spotted a lone giraffe feeding in the distance - wonderful.

We did 2 game drives each day with a very experienced ranger - Rouen (a real larger than life character) and his amazing Tracker Vusi. They made a great team and had worked together for a number of years. The afternoon/evening drives were memorable as the sun set (sun downers were obligatory) and the nocturnal animals amazing. We saw lions, elephants, giraffe, a cheetah and her 3 cubs and lots more and really had the most wonderful experience that we definitely plan to return to the reserve.

We were very impressed by how much the owners of the reserve have done over the last 20 years to encourage and reinstate many species which had previously disappeared due to poaching etc. Thankfully the black rhinos have a future on this reserve." See all these reviews: 13n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

1 sighting

Buffalo

1 sighting

Cheetah

1 sighting

Eland

5 sightings

Elephant

1 sighting

Giraffe

7 sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Lion

2 sightings

Oryx

1 sighting

White Rhino

1 sighting

Wildebeest

3 sightings

Zebra

5 sightings

Ms M
Isleworth

"Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge review"

3 nights Arrived 1 Nov 2019
"I really can't describe how wonderful this reserve is. The Great Fish River lodge is spectacular designed as a low white washed thatched building hugging the hillside of the river valley. It is decorated as a modern safari lodge with comfortable modern furniture and African items displayed. t has a large veranda on the river side. The rooms are mini versions - with a nice hallway, big bedroom with easy chairs, veranda with an outside shower, plunge pools and loungers. The bathroom is modern and well equipped. Space to store your cases - but little full length hanging space but then we never changed for dinner the atmosphere is so relaxed. We had nyala drinking from our plunge pool and warthogs sheltering from the sun under our bush!

It is an open site so you have to be taken your room at night by security men with torches. They seemed more worried about our falling over the steps than any animal danger! The food was lovely and as at Gorah far too much. We rarely made it to lunch. The early starts were rewarded by marvellous animal sitings - not so easy to spot as in Gorah as a larger reserve and of course fewer elephants. We saw a lots of animals, birds and some reptiles. We were in the middle of a cheetah hunt with the mother cheetah swerving round the vehicle about 2-3 feet away!

Our guide Nico and Tracker Andy were brilliant, knowledgeable and determined to find a leopard for us, tracking through the bush. i think they were more frustrated than us that they never found one but we enjoyed the whole process and experience pf watching them track it to about a 400x400 yards area. The hospitality staff are very well trained and skilled and were fabulous at making everyone feel at home.

Worth every penny!!" See all these reviews: 17n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

2 sightings

Buffalo

4 sightings

Cheetah

1 sighting

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

8 sightings

Giraffe

8 sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Lion

2 sightings

Meerkat

1 sighting

Oryx

5 sightings

White Rhino

6 sightings

Zebra

6 sightings

Peter
Oxfordshire

"Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge review"

3 nights Arrived 18 Sep 2019
"A fabulous introduction to being on safari.

Everything was carefully thought through and we even managed to see the big five in one morning.The room was very comfortable indeed in a great location.

The food was excellent - delicious and varied menus. all the staff were very helpful and nothing was too much trouble" See all these reviews: 6n in Zambia; 3n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

4 sightings

Brown Hyena

1 sighting

Buffalo

1 sighting

Cheetah

3 sightings

Eland

2 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

2 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

8 sightings

Meerkat

1 sighting

Oryx

1 sighting

White Rhino

3 sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs L
Frodsham

"Awesome 1st Safari Experience"

3 nights Arrived 2 Feb 2019
"This was our first ever Safari so we didn't really know what to expect but it turned out to be a fantastic experience.
Our transfer from Port Elizabeth airport went very smoothly as did the very warm welcome that we received on our arrival at Kwandwe. Our Lodge was really nice and the plunge pool a welcome addition to our expectations. But the real surprise was the wildlife that we could observe from our large outdoor terrace!
A group of Nyala antelope were regulars, including a large very handsome male who regularly used our pool as a watering hole - which was brilliant to stand and watch. One afternoon a herd of elephants could be seen in the distance strolling one after the other across the hills opposite our lodge. Our afternoon 'chill time' took on a whole new meaning!

Our guide Nick was superb as was our tracker who was know as 'Banana'! Between them they tracked down a huge array of wildlife, which very often we were able to see at close quarters, which isn't something we expected. Nick's in depth knowledge of the flora and fauna was so impressive and we learnt so much during our twice daily trips out in the 56,000 acres that make up this superb private game reserve. It is also worth noting that safety was clearly very important to all the staff here and at no time did we feel anything other than completely safe.

The food, the ambiance and staff in the main lodge were also excellent and we had some lovely evenings around the huge logs fires sharing our day's experiences with fellow guests. All in all an awesome start to our South African trip." See all these reviews: 6n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

1 sighting

Buffalo

1 sighting

Cheetah

3 sightings

Eland

4 sightings

Elephant

3 sightings

Giraffe

4 sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Lion

1 sighting

Meerkat

1 sighting

Oryx

3 sightings

White Rhino

2 sightings

Wildebeest

1 sighting

Zebra

5 sightings

Mr & Mrs B
Winchester

"Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge review"

3 nights Arrived 22 Feb 2018
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Showing 1-10 of 29
99%
29 reviews of Great Fish River Lodge by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
27
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