2026 wasted absolutely no time getting on with things. No gentle warm-up. No polite handshake. Just straight out the gate with sightings so good they feel suspicious, like the bush is setting us up for something later in the year. Lions, cheetahs, leopards — all present, all accounted for, and all behaving as though they’ve…

A year in review. As the year edges closer to its final curtain call, it felt appropriate to look back at the moments — and more specifically, the stories — that shaped it. In short, what made this year what it was. I firmly believe that we, as humans, are nothing more than a collection…

“From all of us at Buffalo Thorn Lodge, we’d like to wish you a wonderful festive season.”

Where Summer Arrives With Buckets, Buckets, and… More Buckets November has been wet. Not gentle, romantic, drizzle-on-your-window wet — no, no. This year the rainy season arrived like an overenthusiastic stagehand who misread the script and dumped the entire water tank at once. We’ve had soggy game drives, roads doing their best impression of temporary rivers,…

The History and the Mountains Edition October, as it turns out, wasn’t content just being spring. It arrived wearing summer’s jacket, kicked down the door, and demanded everyone turn their aircon on immediately. The buffalo are back, the cheetahs have returned to Black Rhino, and the rains have made a rather theatrical entrance — the…

This month hasn’t so much been a change of seasons as it has been nature pressing the “fast forward” button. One minute the landscape looked like it was politely considering spring, and the next it was full-blown summer — the kind that makes you wonder if Pilanesberg’s thermostat was tampered with by a bored intern….

This month, Mother Nature decided to skip the pleasantries entirely. One day it was 10 degrees, the next it was 31. No gentle easing into spring, just a full slap in the face of summer. It’s hot, it’s dry, it’s windy — which of course means fire season has arrived. The park staff are running around like…

If you’ve been wondering what July in the bush feels like, imagine winter slowly deciding it’s bored of being miserable. The mornings still greet you with the enthusiasm of a disgruntled pensioner—cold, stiff, and slightly offended by your optimism—but by mid-morning, things thaw out just enough to resemble a handshake rather than a punch to the…

June arrived with all the subtlety of a cold steel handshake. As always, the conversation began with that classic annual lie: “Last winter wasn’t that cold.” And yet here we are—teeth chattering, muscles locking, and morning game drives starting to feel more like Arctic expeditions. This year? This year was cold. Proper winter cold. Fortunately, at Buffalo Thorn Lodge,…

Before we kick things off on the newsletter we have some great news : Dad deserves the bush. This June, we’re celebrating fathers all month long – with a winter escape offer that’s hard to beat. 📌 Book any 2-night stay at Buffalo Thorn Lodge (for June 2025), and we’ll throw in the 3rd night…