Pumba Private Game Reserve

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Water Lodge – Overlooking the magnificent Lake Cariega, Water Lodge comprises 12 stone-walled thatched waterfront chalets leading off meandering footpaths. The Impala Chalets have private timber game-viewing decks with plunge pool and outdoor shower, underfloor heating, en-suite bathroom with free-standing bathtub, bathrobes, air-conditioning, fireplace, mini-bar, tea/coffee maker, telephone, safe, sleeping maximum 2 adults.

Bush Lodge – Overlooking a small watering hole on a flood plain, guests can enjoy stunning mountain views at Bush Lodge. 11 exclusive glass-enclosed, thatched Msenge Chalets, each with en-suite bathroom and luxury bedrooms opening onto a private timber deck with private plunge pool and outdoor shower. All chalets have air-conditioning, ceiling fan, fireplace, mini-bar and hospitality tray, telephone, safe and sleep maximum 2 adults.

All Inclusive of: all meals, tea/coffee, soft drinks, selected local beer, wine and mineral water. Two game-drives per day.

Water Lodge –Gemsbok Chalets are similar to the Impala Chalets and sleep maximum 2 adults and 2 children. The Kudu Suite is a 2 bedroom chalet with separate lounge area, a wraparound deck with private plunge pool and steam room. Both bedrooms have their own bathrooms, perfect for families or small groups, the Kudu Suite sleeps maximum 3 adults and 2 children or 4 adults.

Bush Lodge – The Family Suite has 2 bedrooms perfect for families and couples travelling together and sleeps maximum 2 adults and 2 children or 4 adults.

Paradise

May 19, 2025 Tadhg10

Outstanding, this exceeded expectations above and beyond. Accommodation Beautiful, (Take shoes with grip for the lodge though as them floors are slippy). A well stocked fridge, twice daily turn down service. We stayed in the water lodge, my god. The views. We saw hippos on the bank, giraffes, rhino's, impala, warthog and heard lions roar all from our deck. Truly a dream come true. We had the fire lit one evening, it was too warm the rest of the time. Food I am one fussy customer. The food was lovely. I will miss my yoghurt with all the fruits and chocolate chips. Game drives Mabhuti - you made this holiday for us. The time, effort, knowledge and care for the animals is fantastic. We saw the big 5, the 24 hour old baby elephant is something I will never forget. Loved the ranger coffee and as you know the chicken snacks were my favorite. Hot water bottles and ponchos are provided. It gets cold on the drives, bring warm clothes. I hope I will return one day, if you are thinking of booking it. Do it! Any improvements For me, the only gripe is no gym water side. I think speaking to guests they'd also agree this is the only thing that is missing. Other than that perfect. Tip the staff!!!! They deserve it. For me 4 days is a perfect amount of time. Read less

Beautiful accommodation, excellent ranger - incredible first safari experience

May 15, 2025 junehylai

We stayed at the 2 bedroom Kudu lodge for 3 nights (with our two children, age 7 and 8) and had an incredible first safari experience. The accommodation was beautiful and very spacious, including lots of outside space. We had a decent sized plunge pool, but it was not heated so was absolutely freezing, despite temperatures still being quite hot for end of April. We overlooked the lake, and there was a warthog family that would come very close to our lodge. Hot water bottles in our beds (plus some chocolates each night) and lit fires while we were at dinner were lovely touches. Plenty of snacks and drinks included in our lodge. Food at restaurant was plentiful, great quality and we never went hungry. In fact I had to skip lunch once as was still too full from breakfast. It was our daughter’s birthday during our stay and the restaurant staff made a huge fuss of her, sang happy birthday and made a great cake. All staff were excellent with children. Game drives were of course the highlight. Our ranger, Cleo, was absolutely incredible. Cleo’s patience paid off on many occasions - when other vehicles would drive off after a short while, we would still be waiting around, and were treated to the most incredible experiences. Highlights include: An entire herd of elephants coming right up to our vehicle (including a baby who was feeding from its mother, whilst walking right in front of our vehicle); successfully tracking the white male lion…then him leading us to the entire pride. Saw 4/5 of the Big 5, plus many more others (loved the giraffes and zebras). We were often the first vehicle to successfully track animals, which I think says a lot about Cleo’s deep experience and expertise. We were lucky to have had the vehicle to just our family for half of our stay, so ended up having a few private game drives. The “picnics” (seems like a disservice to call them this) during each drive were amazing, plenty of drinks and varied delicious snacks, morning and late afternoon. Thick warm waterproof ponchos were provided, which were handy when weather turned (or it was simply just cold in the mornings / evenings). Cleo (a.k.a Cleo Leo Snacks) - if you ever read this, THANK YOU for the most memorable experience. We were so lucky to have had you as our guide. Even when our vehicle got a flat tyre, you made that experience fun and educational. We always felt safe with you, and learned so much. We hope your baby boy arrived safely and he grows well ❤️ Read less

Pumba did not disappoint!!

May 13, 2025 andwendads Exmouth

We booked our SA trip a year before and spent most of that 12 months looking at reviews of Pumba on TA. Our hopes and expectations were sky high. Pumba did not let us down. In fact the whole experience exceeded anything we could have imagined. When we opened the doors to the veranda of our Impala Chalet Lodge I thought we were on a movie set. Our view over the lake was spectacular and a troop of elephants came down to the welcome us. Our four night stay continued in this vein. White lions at 7.10 am thank you very much. Leopards an hour later. We did 8 drives in total and saw everything. How lucky were we? Hot Chocolate/coffee and cakes on the morning drive and G & T,s/beer on the evening ones. Whoever was responsible for facilitating our breakfast in the bush has our eternal gratitude. What an experience. Our Lodge was gorgeous and luxurious (A couple of maintenance issues rectified pretty quickly). The food overall was very good though the three vegetarians amongst us felt the veggie menu could do with a bit of improvement. They all love pesto but pesto pasta for lunch and dinner was a bit disappointing. Being picky though. The cooked breakfast were soo good and wines and drinks with the meals were excellent and overall service was pretty good. Before we arrived at Pumba our Cape Town/Garden Route holiday had been fantastic. We feel so privileged that the highlight of our trip was still to come and boy did Pumba deliver something we will all remember for the rest of our lives. Thank you to all involved. Very jealous of anybody with this experience still to come. We would love to come back but not sure we will be that lucky. Who knows. Read less

Absolutely one of the best experiences of our lives

May 11, 2025 hannahX4604OS Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

We went for our honeymoon and everything from the staff, the room, the lodge, the food and of course the incredible safari was amazing! Special shoutout to the amazing Philip our guide, and Chantelle at reception who made us feel so welcome. We will never forget this experience, Philip was so knowledgeable and genuinely brilliant at his job. He showed us not only 4/5 of the big five but also stopped to show us plants, birds and other rare animals that could have gone left unoticed. The game reserve is so respectful of the animals and you can see the love and respect every single member of staff has for the lodge and surroundings. We stayed at the water lodge and saw hippos every day, along with rhinos from our room. On the safari we saw elephants, lions, buffalo and so much more too and got really up close but felt totally safe. It was simply one of the most amazing experiences of both of our lives, absolutely incredible. Read less

Once in a lifetime, that aswill now be again!

May 11, 2025 Happiness20803268305

We went as a couple on a holiday we have always dreamt of doing. Firstly the reserve is huge, don't ever think due to it's size compared to national parks it is any less able to show the animals you dearly want to see. We saw everything and more. The diverse terrain is a pure joy to drive around. The rangers are the best, we had Thomas for our week and all we can say is we were privileged to have him as a very skilled driver, tracker and teacher. He is incredibly talented and made this a journey we will never forget. We stayed in the water lodge and was blown away by our chalet, the view, size, bathroom,fire and balcony it was pure traditional rustic charm. We felt privileged to stay in one. We had a lovely visit by the monkeys and was able to sit and watch, the wildlife from our deck including the hippos, fish eagle etc.The food is a set menu and top class chefs and staff, making it an individually based experience rather than a group buffet. We felt very spoilt. Saying that this place brings people together who share in the daily experience. We've made two lifelong friends from this trip who we had the joy to meet and they absolutely made our stay here the best experience we could have ever hoped for. Would absolutely recommend no less than 5 days to ensure you take it all in and experience more than just the big 5, we did 6 and never felt bored Pumba and the staff thank you, Thomas thank you. Luke and Meg thank you. We will be back Read less

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