Ngala Safari Lodge, Ngala Private Game Reserve, Limpopo, South Africa

Situated in the exclusive Ngala Private Game Reserve in Limpopo, Ngala Safari Lodge offers classic family safari accommodation in the heart of the game-abundant lowveld of South Africa. The lowveld is well known for being a safari region as it is one of the richest wildlife areas on the African continent.

Part of the CC Africa group of exclusive game reserves and lodges, Ngala is a 14,700-hectare reserve bordering the western edge of the Kruger National Park. The reserve supports a great diversity of animals, and one species of animal seen daily is the ngala, meaning ‘lion’ in the local Shangaan language.

There are several prides of lion that patrol this reserve and many of the lions are known by name to the rangers, although this familiarity is not necessarily mutual.

Some of the resident female leopards in the game reserve have become quite habituated to visitors and go about their business with their cubs as if they were not being watched.

Add to this African menagerie some large herds of elephant at the waterhole, wild dog roaming across the low-lying land, thundering buffalo, white rhino and nocturnal African wild cat and the shy serval, and you have yourself a safari to entertain any family.

Ngala’s twenty thatched cottages hide discreetly under a canopy of mopane and tamboti trees and are decorated in a wistful colonial style. The use of safari memorabilia throughout the lodge reinforces this theme. 

At night, lanterns and candlelight add a touch of romance, especially in the cosy boma, where guests are treated to a pan-African food feast around a blazing fire.