MY #1 BUCKET LIST LODGE 4-YEARS-IN-THE-MAKING: LONDOLOZI
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Guys. You have to understand.
The MAGNITUDE of this.
When I first started dipping my toes into the safari industry, getting the lay of the land, and would always ask the experts — which is the best lodge, in your opinion?
Not fanciest, not only best game viewing, but the best all-around lodge, the full package.
The answer was pretty much always the same… LONDOLOZI.
A bonafide bucket list conquerer, I’ve been trying to visit Londolozi for YEARS, and when I found out it was going to happen (literally 2 days before it happened), my eyes literally teared up. This meant so much to me, and of course even more given that we had just gotten married the week before — DREAM HONEYMOON, MUCH???
Upon arriving at Varty Camp, my jaw hit the floor. I mean it’s just so stunning.The welcome from staff and lodge is just already next level. Huge beamed a-frame ceilings, immaculate decor, expansive view looking out onto a utopia, the lush bush with the river rushing by, very Sabi Sands-esque. All the staff are so nice and cool and personable and I want to be all their best friends immediately.
Our room has a private plunge pool, open minibar, bath obv, indoor/outdoor showers, the bed is a literal cloud, it’s just so perfect to spend the days here in between drives. You know I’m a view girl so this lookout was very key to me!
I think what has earned Londolozi its reputation is truly its people at the core of it. We got to meet a bunch of the staff and even toured their staff village and offices, and you can tell they are like family, and treat each other with the same respect and friendly faces as they do us as guests. I mean WHAT an ICONIC place to work. There is SO much that goes into the behind-the-scenes of making the guest’s experience so immaculate, from menu planning and cooking, to vehicle and rifle maintenance, to the marketing team and their brand-new “Living Museum” with the original rondavels on the property which hold so much history, so much significance. Lonzolozi means “protector of all living things” and you can really, really feel it from every aspect of this place. It’s just special.
Our game viewing was on another level. I have to break down each game drive because I just have to.
Day 1, afternoon drive: we spent the entire drive with a pride of lions who were chowing down on a wildebeest. They gave us EVERYTHING. Grunting, blood-soaked, swatting each other across the face and growling when another got too close to their next bite. So full they were panting, about to burst, until they’d muster up the will to go in for another bite. They moved down to the waterhole to wash it down and we got to see an iconic scene of them lapping up the water, drinking as their golden eyes surveyed the surrounding scene.
We left for a spectacular sundowner sesh, and came back to see what the lions were up to after dark.
A mama and her cub were having a moment of love down by the water, nuzzling and licking each other in the spotlight. Lightning was flashing in the distance and thunder rumbling — THIS IS AFRICA.
I was filming the lighting and the mama started to roar — captured here on this reel.
This was the moment a wave of emotions swept over me. The night was so still, so perfect, I couldn’t’t believe I was HERE at LONDOLOZI. I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW FEMLAE LIONS ROARED. I WAS JUST FILMING THE LIGHTNING SHOW. It can all overcome you and this is why I LOVE safaris so much — they will always surprise you, you can never see it all, and if you let it, you feel the magic to your bones.
Day 2, morning drive: we came across another pride of lions who were just reuniting, likely after the night, but it seemed like they had been apart for months. Watch this reel with your volume up, listen to their vocals and feel their affection, and then tell me these are deadly cats? C’mon!!!
Day 2, afternoon drive: after a perfect afternoon of visiting, experiencing the property, and enjoying a massage at Londolozi’s glorious spa The Healing House, we set out in search of my favourite spotted friends. The Leopards of Londolozi are iconic but they had been playing a wee bit hard-to-get (or maybe we were just engulfed by the lion love) so our tracker Equa and guide Kate got down to business and made some magic happen.
Equa set out on foot as Kate continued to drive us around, when we got a radio from him that impalas were alarm-calling not far away.
We knew it had to have been a leopard… and boom — there she was. Check out my reels part 1 for a masterclass in tracking, and part 2 for some unusual behaviour as she met up with her cub who she seems to be ready for him to go on his own way. It was giving “I’ve raised you, now get outta here so mama can hunt without you cramping my style.”
Day 3, our final morning drive was chill, I really wanted to get a look at more of the property so I know Kate took note of that and showed us down to the plains, where we saw a nice herd of buff and some rhino, getting to soak in the magic of this place, this property, and this experience.
It truly is something you have to experience to comprehend, and I mean it when I say I would be eternally grateful if you would let me book this for you, and you WILL have the best time of your entire life. Not only will it support me and my business at no extra cost to you, but it would support me in my life’s mission to share my love and passion for Africa and her animals with everyone I possibly can — at its highest level. Londolozi, already manifesting my way back to you! ✨
