Story by: Bronwen Amman
With our family being scattered all over (Australia , UK and Gauteng ) we try and arrange a family holiday where we all meet up and spend some quality time together.
This would be it – 3 nights at Buffalo Thorn Lodge. We all love the bush and have been lucky to travel to many lodges and stay at some wonderful places ranging from self-catering to 5*. Having never heard of Buffalo Thorn Lodge (even though we frequent the Pilanesberg) we were all looking forward to our bush family break.
On arrival – WOW the lodge was amazing. Rooms simply fantastic and we all loved the outdoor showers in the mornings and warm evenings. The rooms were spacious, comfortable, spotless and had everything we could possibly need or want and even more.
The communal area of the lodge, which was where as a family we spent most of our time, was just so awesome. You couldn’t want for anything, plenty of storage space, fridges, comfort, a pool and a Jacuzzi… we were all in heaven.
Lazy afternoons were spent lounging around the pool and the Jacuzzi chatting while listening to the chirping of the resident Kingfisher. We had some great animal sightings right outside the lodge at the waterhole – Impala, Rhino who came to frolic in the mud, and plenty of bird species.
What makes this holiday so much more fun is that when it came to meal times we were all together preparing in the kitchen or around the fire. A great experience, chatting about the days game viewing and just spending good quality time together.
The staff at the lodge were friendly and so accommodating. They did a wonderful job daily.
The game viewing was superb. The whole family on the vehicle together – what could be better than experiencing everything together. We had fantastic sightings – Cheetah, Leopard, Lion, Hyena, Rhino, Buffalo – you name it we saw it. Our wonderful guide, Jacques, was so knowledgeable about the bush and shared many stories with us. He was kind, patient and more than happy to share a good laugh with our crazy family.
It was a holiday we will never forget and we have memories to last a lifetime. Our only regret not being able to stay longer.
We will definitely be back. Thank you Buffalo Thorn for this amazing experience.