Marataba Safari Lodge

Marataba location was stunning seeing the mountain range overlooking the beautifully designed lodge and tents. Atmosphere throughout was incredible, we had some very wet safaris am/pm, which heightened our senses, finding so many animals species on our list and more. It was the best family experience to share with our adult children. We had a daily guide Caitlin who was wonderful, handling the wet tracks & keeping us informed. Ponchos were easily found in the safari vehicles, kept us dry and warm:) We relaxed at the days end in tastefully decorated and well appointed room tents with the most comfy beds after long Safari drives. The morning views through treetops adorned by vervet was special, contented impalas grazed nearby as we walked our little paths around the lush grounds, and hanging weaver nests on nearby tree branches. It was so lovely listening to the rain on our tent & seeing/hearing vervet monkeys clamber over the canvas, adorable! The food was amazing, with a very varied, daily feast for food and beverages- the iced tea was delicious. At night it was great to have a porter escort us to our rooms, making us feel safe. Although you could not exercise on long walks it was refreshing to have the pool.|This was the most incredible holiday experience for our family and a great way to celebrate my husbands 60th. If only Africa was closer to Australia.

From the moment we arrived it became obvious that this was going to be a very successful and enjoyable visit. The warm welcome was followed by a guided tour of our tent.- a large spacious and well-appointed one at that. We particularly liked the small in-room bar, twin sinks and dressing area. The baboons seem to take a particular delight in using our tent as a trampoline in the early evening.||Restricted to 2 or four guests in the vehicle at a time, we enjoyed some quite into it and private sightings, particularly with the big cats. Pride of goes to the cheetah mother and her five cubs who played for hours on end (or so it seemed) for our Entertainment. We also found her one day in Hunt mode and she performed the perfect ’kill’ taking out an Adult Impala female. It all happened so fast it was unbelievable. .||The sleep-out was a great success. Super sundowners delightful dinner great wine and warm as toast in a comfy bed under a start sky. Not even the Lion's roars managed to keep us awake. highly commend this experience to anyone who stays at Maritaba. Excellent not to be missed.||Our Guide was a complete delight - she was patient, knowledgeable, highly experienced and absolutely charming. Thank you very much indeed - we particularly liked the video that you sent us of our take off from Marikale at the end.||In Camp was not quite the same level but we would still commend all who worked to so hard to make our stay so enjoyable? Thank you?.||A most enjoyable visit.

There are not enough words to describe this beautiful place, a place of calm, of healing, and where magic truly happens. Nestled in the stunning Waterberg Mountains and next to Marakele National Park, Marataba Mountain Lodge is a small, intimate, and luxurious lodge, perched on the side of a mountain with stunning views across the valley to the mountains beyond. The rooms at Mountain Lodge are individual, glass fronted spaces with balconies, where luxury and stunning design, work harmoniously with the amazing wilderness setting, enhancing not competing with the wild and spectacular vistas beyond the lodge. The food was truly exceptional, and as non-meat eaters with allergies, we are not the easiest to feed, but everything we ate from our pre-game drive treats, to breakfast, afternoon "snacks" (snacks does not do justice to the amazing array of food that was available) to dinner was delicious, innovative and made with obvious love and care for both the guests at the lodge and local, seasonal produce. Thank you Prudence, I think someone else called you a "rock star cook", we completely agree! A highlight of our trip was spending the last night on the Thabametsi sleep out deck, an experience like no other, falling asleep under a canopy of stars with the sounds of the bush all around, and waking to a juvenile bull elephant right next to the deck, whose company we enjoyed completely entranced for over an hour. However, what captured our hearts more than anything else (and the competition was fierce!) was time spent out on safari with Marnus (in vehicles, on foot and on the Miss Mara boat seeing hippo for the first time in the wild). Not only were these a highlight of our 5 week stay in South Africa, but a highlight of our lives, the most soul enriching moments where memories were created that will last forever. To be with a guide who so clearly loved his job, loved the natural environment and loved the animals was truly special, and he made every moment interesting, inspiring, magical and fun. He understood and shared our deep love of the natural world which made some of the amazing time spent with rhino, giraffe, lion, cheetah, hippo, zebra, and so many elephant more special than we could have imagined. I would also like to mention Robin who took over from Marnus on our last safari drive, whose knowledge, sense of fun and love of Marataba was evident in every moment we spent together. The last thing I must mention, as it was an imperative when we were looking for a safari experience, is the conservation and sustainability ethics and practices of Marataba, it is now more important than ever, that we support sustainable regenerative tourism, and this philosophy is at the very heart of everyhing they do here. I think it's rather obvious that we loved this place, a place where we will return, but also a place we've never really left as a piece of our hearts will remain there always.

We stayed for 7 days at Marataba for our first safari experience as a family with our 3 young kids (between 8y and 11y old). Our experience was simply fantastic on all fronts: amazing safari experience with a special mention to our guide Tim (his passion and knowledge were just best in class and so valuable for our young kids who learned so much throughout the week while enjoying some of the best encounters we could possibly make, always feeling safe but so privileged to witness such magic moments throughout), amazing service at the lodge from our butlers to the housekeeping personnel (everything was made to make our experience really unique). Kids activities were also excellent in between the safaris. We would highly recommend the reserve as well thanks to the beauty of the landscapes, the mountains scenery and the magic of the bushes. We can clearly see the animals are in the best possible conditions, the guides and the conservation team are genuinely committed to delivering an environment where the animals do not feel threatened by excessive traffic, contributing to unique interactions. Finally one last special mention to our morning and evening breaks with Tim in the bushes: just perfect! Thanks to the whole team again, we would love to return as a family soon again.

I've been to Marataba a few times and every time is better than the last! I brought 35 of my family and friends from Texas this time and everyone was so impressed! Almost everyone saw the big 5 and the service and guiding is top notch. There is also nowhere else that you're going to get views of the beautiful waterberg mountains and a chance to see the big five and more in one place. Don't sleep on this place!

We spent 4 nights at Marataba with our two boys ages 9 and 7. I would highly recommend this lodge for families looking for a 5-star experience. Brett, our guide was brilliant and really knew how to engage the kids on game drives. Food was top notch and the views from the lodge while eating breakfast, lunch and dinner are just amazing. Impala and buck roam around the lodge, and even hyenas at night (so you need to be escorted to your tent). The kids club has recently been renovated and has a jungle gym, trampoline pillow, and wonderful indoor activities when its too hot. We were treated to a boat trip as one of our game drives and spent time with hippos on the water. We also had a boma dinner one night whilst our kids watched a movie at the kids club. Everything is thought of and the service is excellent. They have a lovely pool to laze around during the day and a fantastic creative studio for those who are interested in printing their photos onsite. We will be back without hesitation.

We had the most wonderful time at Marataba – loved every bit of it.||The tented rooms were just delightful – loved the outdoor shower with view of the mountains, and delightfully comfy beds. A lovely place to relax between drives, as well as around the pool and main hotel area. Every single staff member was lovely and made us feel right at home – special thanks to Thabang and GK who looked after us. The food was delicious, and we especially enjoyed afternoon tea with iced coffee before the afternoon game drive!||And as for the game drives, they were just magical – we were lucky enough to have both Wonder and Tim as our guides – they were both full of knowledge and information, and clearly very passionate about the animals and reserve (it was a delight seeing them excited about seeing certain animals – with Wonder we saw a pangolin and cheetahs hunting, and with Tim we saw 4 leopards in one day, really quite amazing!). We had so many exhilarating drives, saw so many animals and absolutely loved coming home after sunset with the stars shining above us.||We were also lucky enough to do a guided bush walk with Wonder, James and Tim – walking offers a completely different view and appreciation for the wildlife and surrounding landscape. All three guides were fantastic, we felt completely safe and it was brilliant experience (it was really quite special being within 10m of a white rhino!).||We stayed for 4 nights and were sad to leave when we did, a truly magical experience.

This is where you witness all the beauty of African hospitality. I did not find anything to take away credit from. Out tour guide was the best 👌. The way he tracked that pack of lions 🦁 was unbelievable.