Ulusaba Private Game Reserve

Safari Lodge is one of two lodges at Ulusaba Private Game Reserve, which occupies a section of the Sabi Sand Reserve alongside Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga. The lodge follows a dry riverbed, and elephants use a migratory route that passes directly by several of the rooms.

The rooms divide into three types. Safari Rooms are the smallest at thirty square metres, each with a large viewing deck and en-suite bathroom close to the main lodge. Elephant Rooms are sixty square metres, built for views over the bush, and work well for friends travelling together. River Rooms are the most private: treehouse-style, one hundred square metres, reached by a rope bridge, with seating areas and views over the riverbed or bush. Two of the River Rooms have plunge pools.

The lodge has a wine cellar with outdoor dining for up to eight guests, positioned to overlook the waterhole and dry riverbed. Game regularly comes to drink within sight of the table. Guests from Rock Lodge — Ulusaba's second lodge, built on a koppie summit — can come down to use it.

Activities run twice daily as guided game drives, with guided bush walks also available. An on-site observatory is used by rangers for stargazing sessions at no additional charge. The Aroma Boma spa, two floodlit tennis courts, and community tours organised through the reserve's charitable programme round out the stay.

Ulusaba is scheduled to reopen in April 2027 following a full reimagining of both lodges.