Just escape. Go to the bush, the deep bush. Be where elephant and antelope roam, wild dogs, leopard and lion too – the full Big Five, along with so many smaller creatures with interesting lives. Take along your family and friends and make special memories together. There’s no need to share space with others because the lodge is all yours, along with 12 staff in attendance and private game viewing vehicles, guides and trackers. As far as you can see and much, much further is yours to explore. Feel free to roam. It’s bush heaven at ground level.
Tulela, in the Klaserie Private Game Reserve of Mpumalanga, is an exclusive-use luxury lodge with five, spacious double suites. All have private decks and outdoor showers to rinse off under the sunshine or stars. Then gather at the main lodge for meals and dips in the pool, which is heated for winter swims. The skirted deck is ample and shaded, with allowance for trees to grow through it that give dappled shade all day. You can sit out there and game watch, and before you know it you’ll have seen it all. Lion, leopard, wild dog, elephant and all the antelope pass by the waterhole through the day. And it’s so close to the deck, photography is effortless. In fact, you’ll see elephant so close, you’ll be awestruck. Sometimes they may even take a sip from the pool while you’re swimming.
You hardly need go on a game drive to see prolific wildlife, but for the enjoyment of being out in the African bush. With your private vehicle, guide and tracker, you can go for as long as you like – by day or by night. And by night, some of the more unusual creatures are out and about having their ‘daytime’. Guided bush walks are fascinating and restorative as you reconnect with nature and feel so grounded and sane again. In-suite spa treatments – arranged in advance – take rejuvenation even deeper, so body and mind feel completely refreshed.
But meeting Big Jack for breakfast was a truly memorable experience. In the vast umbrella of shade of a 300-year-old Jackalberry tree, fondly named Big Jack, we enjoyed a full, hot breakfast to remember. Cooked open-air under Big Jack’s protective canopy, plated and served as we sat around a dining table soaking up the silence but for birdsong, all felt well with the world. The thread of calm tranquility that’s distinctly sensed at Tulela bodes well for its naming as the ‘place of peace’. And this is also a perfect space to make lifelong memories with those who matter most. It beckons families and friends to gather and simply be. Together.
Reviewed by Keri Harvey
What we love:
- that you make the rules for everything – from menus to activities and anything else you choose. Just everything is on your terms.
- such excellent sightings of leopard and wild dog
- watching the passing wildlife parade from the comfort of the deck
- sundowners from the star deck, looking over tree tops to the horizon in every direction
- sleeping out on the star deck under a million twinkling stars
- that the lodge is owner run
- the add-on option of observing conservation projects in action, like collaring wild dogs
- that children are so well catered to, with tailored nature-based activities
Need to know:
- the lodge is wheel-chair friendly and ideal for multi-generational getaways
- malaria precautions are advised, especially in summer
- sleeps 10 adults, and additional small children can be accommodated too
- no minimum age for child guests
- Getting there: private planes can fly in directly to the lodge landing strip. Air Link flies daily from Cape Town and Johannesburg to East Gate airport, and a lodge transfer will collect you there
- gym facilities available from January 2022