Bushbabies Bushveld Lodge

Dinokeng Game Reserve a gem in Gauteng - What a great getaway and big 5 experience just a stone throw North of Pretoria. This was our second visit, a return to Bushbabies Bushveld Lodge, which in my opinion is a 5-star self catering destination, with all the amenities one can desire on a bush experience, at an affordable price. Being a qualified freelance field and dangerous game trails guide, I have stayed at various accommodation providers in this park and can say that Bushbabies Lodge will be my base of choice to operate from on all future Dinokeng excursions. As an avid part time field guide and dangerous game trails guide, that spends all my available spare time discovering, exploring and photographing the bush environment and its inhabitants, you cannot wish to find a better more convenient and comfortable base from which to operate. The camp lives up to its name with bush babies in constant attendance, every evening as soon as the sun sets. The peace and tranquility in camp is awesome with a diverse birdlife, you wake at dawn to the raucous call of francolin and a myriad other species all announcing their presence, pearl spotted owlet, bushveld kingfisher and red-chested cuckoo are in constant competition, as day turns to night the fiery necked nightjar replaces the bushveld kingfisher. As we sat at the boma fire on Saturday evening, preparing a traditional braai vleis for supper, we heard jackal calling in unison from opposite ends of the camp. Later after we had adjourned and settled to rest in our comfortable beds, the night tranquility was suddenly shattered and turned into a spine chilling crescendo of roaring as a lion announced his awesome presence, just outside the electric fence protecting our camp. His roaring continued well into the early hours of the morning and there was further evidence of thundering hooves as a lion presumably chased and attempted to bring down a large ungulate. Close investigation in the morning revealed lion spoor all around the camp boundary fence. On this trip we were fortunate enough to see a breeding herd of buffalo, 2 elephant bulls and prides of lion twice at different locations, too far apart to be the same lions, plus hordes of other animal species. This was a short weekend trip lasting from Friday evening 18:00 to Sunday morning 12:00. Game viewing can never be guaranteed, but there are ample game animals to view in the area around this camp.

I asked numerous times if the road is caravan friendly andwas told that it is, first experience 100m onto the gravel road it was so corrugatedthat the caravans door broke off and most of the interior was destroyed!!!!  Eventually got to the place and was shown thecamping ground where there was no grass as promised, just ground without any shade.Then used the toilets to find all of them were blocked, it fills up to the rim andthen slowly drain leaving everything floating behind. If they advised earlierthat there is no drinkable water (the water is as brown as mud) we would havealso packed water………. Got the camp up and running, ready to braai but was thentold that there is no portable braai, only one boma about 50M away thateveryone camping there must share!! Finally after the braai it was time for anice shower, just to find that none of the showers had any water. The next dayand 40 degrees outside we decided to go for a swim in the blue pool asadvertised, we found a pool that was completely brown without a working pump!!!We have a toddler of 1 year old, no grass, no shade, 40 degrees outside,  no working toilet, no drinking water, no showerand no pool!!!!