Our story
Buffalo Thorn Lodge is part of the Black Rhino Game Reserve; in the Pilanesberg National Park. Only 30 kilometers from Sun City and about 3 hours from Johannesburg, it is in the heart of South Africa’s North West Province – a malaria-free area.
Buffalo Thorn Lodge provides the ultimate escape from busy schedules, with five luxury, self-catering, thatched chalets accommodating only ten guests (including children). The lodge is rented out exclusively sleeping ten guests. Thus meaning that you have the tranquility and the beauty of the bush all to yourselves.
The main entertainment area comprises a dining room, TV lounge, reading lounge, games area and a fully equipped kitchen. Outside in the boma, you can relax around an African fire, listen to the sounds of the night or to the stories of your experienced game ranger. Alternatively, you can star-gaze under an ink-black sky or just relax over a good meal at the dining table and bar, inhaling the pungent smells of indigenous veld and wildlife.
Enjoy morning and afternoon safari in an open vehicle as your ranger shows you the large and small species of the African bushveld. Or game view from the comfort of loungers around the pool. Alternatively relax in the jacuzzi as many species of birds and buck, even some of the big five, such as elephant, amble past the electric fence a few meters from the pool deck.
We are committed to giving you a memorable self-catering safari experience at Buffalo Thorn Lodge:
And included in the rates, are:
- All game drives.
- All daily conservation fees.
- A daily fully serviced lodge by the staff.
- Tea and coffee in the rooms.
Extravagant luxury has never been this affordable and accessible.
The origin of our name
Buffalo Thorn Lodge gets its name from the Buffalo Thorn tree (Ziziphus Mucronata) which is small to medium-sized.
It is colloquially known in Afrikaans as the ‘Blinkblaar Wag-‘n-Bietjie’. The ‘Blinkblaar’ refers to the shiny leaves while ‘Wag-‘n-Bietjie’ literally means ‘wait a while’ in English. Deriving its name from the paired and straight-hooked thorns which attach themselves mercilessly to passersby, it requires a lengthy amount of time to extricate oneself!
The Buffalo Thorn tree has many varied uses among different cultures and beliefs. The fruit can be used to make beer and it is rumoured that chewing the leaves serves as an aphrodisiac! Some believe that the tree is immune to lightning making it safe to shelter under during a thunderstorm, while the Zulu people believe the “z” shaped thorns protect graves and put souls to rest.
