Revel in the sheer variety of animal, bird and plant life; the diverse landscapes ranging from grassland plains to rocky outcrops creating an ideal habitat for the free roaming Big Five and all the little creatures that contribute to a magical wildlife experience you’ll never forget.
Share your sunsets and sunrises in the presence of Africa’s gentle giants drinking at the waterhole. Watch the Red-crested Korhaan woo his mate in a spectacular dive display and the striking Monarch butterfly flutter from bush to bush. Or savour sundowners under a magnificent 100-year-old Wild Fig tree. Your African safari experience is truly guaranteed at Mabula.
While bush babies will adore Mabula’s amazing array of wildlife, there’s plenty to do for those who aren’t. Spend your days lazing at the pristine lodge pool, unwind at Mabula Spa with a hot-stone massage or hit the dirt tracks on a quad-bike. You’re in control of your bushveld experience.
For conference groups, incentive tours and wedding guests, Mabula Game Lodge offers a memorable time spent with colleagues and loved ones in truly spectacular African surroundings. An array of open-air and safari-style venues, from bomas to conference halls, bushveld braais to dancing on the deck, you can be assured of an unforgettable event.
Listen as the bush comes alive at night and see a thousand stars in the unpolluted Limpopo night sky while enjoying a tasty Indian feast. Then retire to comfortable surroundings in your luxury safari suite ready for an early encounter with the bush, with nothing more than the chirp of crickets and birds lulling you to sleep.
Mabula Game Lodge is unquestionably the spirit of Africa.
Location
Set within an impressive 12 000 hectares of malaria-free Limpopo bushveld, Mabula Game Lodge is located just two-and-a-half-hours’ drive from Johannesburg and a short drive from Bela Bela.
- Take N1 freeway towards Pretoria
- Turn off onto Pietersburg highway. Follow the road to bela bela.
- Take the Bela Bela settlers Codrington off ramp.
- Turn left at yield sign and proceed for ± 5kms to t – junction turn right.
- Go over bridge and turn left at the garage. Follow Thabazimbi Road.
- Follow road past the Forever Resorts Aventura down to the traffic circle
- At circle turn left on the Thabazimbi Rooiberg Road and proceed along for 34km.
- Look out for the “Mabula Trading Store”. 500m past the store turn right on Rooiberg Road.
- Follow Mabula signs for 11kms to Mabula gate.
- Mabula landing strip coordinates:
- Latitude: 24° / 44 min / 94 sec – South
- Longitude: 27° / 55 min / 46 sec – East
- Runway: 32 / 14 Length: 1 300 meters
- Surface: Dirt and grass surface
- Elevation: 4285 feet above sea level
Highlights
- Ground Hornbill Project
- Conservation leader
- Location near Johannesburg
- Great for conferencing and incentive groups
- Engaging kids programme
- Specialist Indian cuisine
- Astounding Array of Wildlife
- Diverse range of venues for weddings, functions and events
- Private Villa Accommodation
Safari
The varied habitats on Mabula Game Reserve provide ideal conditions for an astounding selection of large mammals including the Big Five, other predators such as Hyena and Jackal, and a variety of antelope from Red Hartebeest to Eland, Gemsbok to Blesbok. That’s not to mention the elusive cheetah, cheeky honey badger and the omnipresent crèches of warthogs that flit across one’s path during your game drive at Mabula Game Lodge.
Game drives are offered to lodge guests twice a day – once early morning and again in time for sundowners in the late afternoon, and depending on the time of year you visit, each experience can be unique. Watch the vivid change of the seasons as the green thickets and grasslands give way to the bushveld greys and yellows of autumn. Feel the chilly winter air on your cheeks before sunrise and witness the rebirth of the bush as the first summer rains fall and with it the exciting arrival of lambing season.
For panoramic views of the beautiful Mabula Game Reserve, there’s nothing more special than heading up Dicks Hill.
See Impala, Zebra, Giraffe, Eland and Ostrich all graze together on the vast open grassland plains; the herd of elephant crashing through thick bush to get to the juiciest leaves and a shy hippo pair hiding everything but their protruding nostrils under the water.
Admire the resident lion pride lazing under an African thorn tree after a tiring hunt or watch silently as the beautiful, yet terrifying, Golden Orb spider spins her thick web across two Silver Cluster Leaf trees.
A Mabula game drive will reveal new scents, curious sounds and the beauty of an authentic African landscape to delight your senses.
Accommodation
Distinctly African in style, Mabula Game Lodge offers comfortable thatch-roof suites with luxury finishings. With soft neutral bushveld colours throughout and massive windows bringing the African bush indoors, guests will experience unprecedented comfort while enjoying the sights and sounds that Mabula has to offer. Watch the warthogs nibble their way through the gardens and hear the incessant chatter of happy birds as you relax on your patio, or escape the African heat in your cozy lounge. Soothe your weary muscles in the large stone bath or hop in to the shower for a quick wake-up dip before boarding your morning game drive. It’s your home away from home in the African bush.
Room facilities and amenities include:
- Safe
- Hairdryer
- Bible
- Bathroom amenities
- Air Conditioning
- Flat-screen Television
- Tea and coffee-making facilities
- Mini-fridge
Family rooms are available to accommodate parents and children with two bedrooms, one double and the second with two three-quarter beds.
Dining
Tuck in to a delicious impala casserole or an exquisite vegetarian dish. Mabula Game Lodge serves up a staggering array of delicious dishes to tempt your vegetarian or carnivorous palate.
An unbelievable array of salads, breads, roasts, fish and cold meats, not to mention traditional South African desserts will have you lingering at the buffet far longer than it should. You’ll never walk away hungry at Mabula Game Lodge!
Enjoy a light lunch amidst the call of Grey loeries on the terrace, retire to the lodge’s main Ko Bojelong restaurant or savour a scrumptious dinner under the stars in Mabula Game Lodge’s traditional boma dining venue accompanied by the rhythmic beat of traditional African dancers.
For special occasions, there’s nothing more magical than dining under the stars at one of Mabula’s legendary bush dinners; the flickering lights, the sounds of the African wilderness, traditional South African cuisine and great company combining to create a unique dining experience.
Choose from one of three special dining venues to make your event exceptional in every way. From traditional African wilderness-themed evening dinners under a 100-year-old Wild Fig tree to weddings at the open-air Shaya Moya offering astounding views over the plain. Small or large, sophisticated or loud, Mabula Game Lodge will create a fuss-free african bush event to exceed your expectations.
Offering buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner, or a set menu during low season, Mabula Game Lodge’s main restaurant, Ko Bojelong seats 200 guests.
Open daily for:
- Breakfast: 07h30 to 09h00
- Lunch: 12h30 to 14h00
- Terrace menu: 14h00 to 16h00
- Dinner: 19h30 to 21h00
*Music permitted until 23h00 on special request
Eat breakfast, lunch or dinner al fresco in tranquil surroundings with nothing but the sounds of Grey loeries and the tranquil sound of trickling of water to keep you company on Mabula’s Lodge Terrace.
- Breakfast: 07h30 to 09h00
- Lunch: 12h30 to 14h00
- Terrace menu: 14h00 to 16h00
- Dinner: 19h30 to 21h00
*Music permitted until 23h00 on special request.
Relax at Mabula Lodge Pool and enjoy a pub lunch on your lounger while soaking up the sun. Mabula’s fully equipped Pool Cocktail Bar seats up to 60 people and is also available for finger lunches, cocktail receptions and cheese and wine evenings.
Open: 08h00 to 17h00
It’s bushveld dining at its best. Set deep within the Mabula bush is the spectacular Fig Tree dinner venue; a 100-year-old Wild Fig tree adorned with flickering lanterns providing a magnificent backdrop for your special dinner. Fig Tree is available for gala dinners and theme evenings during which you can enjoy Mabula’s traditional dancers and marimba band or even brave a fire walk over red-hot coals. The venue seats over 180 guests and entertainment can be arranged until 22h00 by special request. Fig Tree is an electricity-free venue.
Dinner: 19h00 to 21h00
There are few venues that offer the tranquility and romance of Mabula’s Shaya Moya, situated in the middle of a grassy plain against a lovely Wild Fig Tree. Dubbed Shaya Moya for the cool, refreshing breeze guests will enjoy here, this open-air venue is ideal for champagne breakfasts and weddings, as well as gala dinners and theme evenings, seating over 180 guests.
Entertainment can be arranged until 22h00 by special request.
Shaya Moya is an electricity-free venue.
- Breakfast: 08h00 to 10h00
- Lunch: 12h30 to 14h00
- Dinner: 19h00 to 21h00
Seating for over 180 guests
Ideal for smaller groups, Mvumbu Deck overlooks a small dam and is available for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as gala dinners, theme evenings and weddings. Seating up to 60 guests and within walking distance from the main lodge, Mvumbu offers buffet meals as well as on-site entertainment until 23h00.
- Breakfast: 08h00 to 10h00
- Lunch: 12h30 to 14h00
- Dinner: 19h00 to 21h00
Activities
You could spend two weeks at Mabula Game Lodge and not experience the vast array of activities on offer for both young and old. From quad biking to bird walks, stargazing drives to dam picnics, fill your days and nights with all that the Mabula bushveld as to offer.
Mabula Game Lodge is a veritable hive of activities offering such bush experiences as horse trails, quad biking and tennis.
Keen birders will enjoy the regular birding drives or walks, spotting such species as the Amur Falcon, Lilac-breasted Roller and Red-crested Korhaan, while guided walks provide the perfect setting in which to follow animal tracks, identify plants and insects and spot some of the area’s most beautiful birdlife.
Picnic breakfasts or afternoon bush barbecues including game drives can be arranged, as well as dam picnics and the Majuma Experience that takes visitors in to the lion section of Mabula Game Reserve at night to see these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, and perhaps even witness a hunt.
Facilities
Rough day in the bush? Relax at the recently refurbished Mabula Spa with a range of soothing treatments and packages that will have you walking on air for days.
Enjoy tranquil surroundings in the middle of the bush with a full range of beauty treatments including manicures, pedicures, waxing and tinting. Enhance your natural beauty with a range of Theravine facials developed especially to give you perfectly balanced and radiating skin.
Feel all your tensions melt away as the qualified therapists at Mabula Spa work their massage magic. From Swedish to Aromatherapy, Hot Stone to Fusion massages, there’s an array of relaxing treatments to revitalise body and mind.
Enjoy an Indian Head Massage, Reflexology, exfoliation treatment or mud and gel wraps. Even children are catered for with kiddies’ massages and kiddies’ hand or foot treatments on offer.
Spend the day pampering yourself with one of Mabula Spa’s health and beauty packages, detoxing, relaxing, primping and preening. You’ll feel like celebrity in the middle of the African bush.
Operating hours:
- Monday to Thursday: 09h00 to 17h00
- Saturday and Sunday: 09h00 to 17h00
- Fridays and Public Holidays: 09h00 to 15h00
Forgot your toothbrush or craving a Bar One? Simply head to the well-stocked on-site superette where you can stock up on toiletries, alcohol, snacks, ice-creams and even biltong.
Take your memories and a T-Shirt home with you. Mabula’s collection of curios range from postcards to books, T-shirts to caps.
Cool off in one of Mabula’s crystal clear swimming pool, relax on the pool loungers reading a book or sip a refreshing cocktail from the Poolside Cocktail Bar.
Retire to the Whiskey Bar for after-dinner drinks, a sophisticated setting for a chat and the perfect end to a busy bush day.
Game for some tennis? There are two tennis courts open for guests’ use and Mabula offers free use of its tennis equipment – rackets and balls.
Cubz Club
During peak periods such as South African school holidays Mabula Game Lodge offers their Cubz Club children’s program, that teaches kids all about the magic of the wilderness and wildlife.
Kid-friendly stargazing drives and safari drives to learn about the Big Five, the Small Five, the Ugly Five and Mabula Game Lodge’s other wildlife species are offered, as well as a range of afternoon activities including Bingo, tug of war, pool competitions, sack races, egg and spoon races and coin diving.
Kids also have access to a supervised Games Room fully equipped with Lego sets, hula hoops, colouring-in books, a Wii and Playstation.
Mabula Game Lodge offers their children’s program under strict supervision keeping your little ones delighted and engaged. Mabula Cubz Club members receive a backpack, activity book with checklist, sticker sheets, certificates, badges for each successfully completed module and a Little Ranger Epaulette upon completion of the educational program.
Please be advised that Mabula’s Cubz Club program is subject to occupancy levels