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Reviews of Shindzela Tented Safari Camp

3 out of 5
Shindzela Tented Safari Camp
1 Jonniesdale Farm, Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga

Reviews

9.4

Exceptional

Rating 10 - Excellent. 9 out of 13 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 3 out of 13 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 1 out of 13 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 13 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 13 reviews" "

9.4/10

Cleanliness

9.8/10

Staff & service

9.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

HappyCamper, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Back to nature
Shindzela offers the type of safari experience that is sadly dying out, to be replaced by glitzy, costly options that separate visitors from the real bush. Our guide was excellent; calm & professional even when another group was shrieking and whooping (TIP, wild animals prefer quiet). Our tracker was keen-eyed, polite and focussed. The cooking/cleaning staff clearly took pride in their work. I feel Shindzela is excellent value for money and should form a part of many more travellers' trips. It is intimate and honest but not for people who expect a 5 star spa.

10/10 Excellent

Keith, Fakenham UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Animals and seclusion
Absolutely amazing place - great safari location

10/10 Excellent

Stuart, Leeds, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent Bushcamp experience
My wife and I spent 4 nights at Shindzela Tented Bush Camp and were extremely pleased with the experience. From the outset, Carolien was very efficient in providing all requested information before we arrived and the driving directions were faultless. Although having no previous experience of a safari, we chose this because we would be in a small group (8 tents) in a comfortable but basic environment with the focus on learning about the environment and the animals and birds living there. We had 4 morning safari drives, starting at about 5:45 am and 4 evening drives starting at about 3:45pm. Each lasted 3 hours. Andre was our Ranger for the first 6 drives and then Wiann and Raymond (tracker) for the remainder. (We overlapped with another reviewer Alan B). Each Ranger was very knowledgeable and we had a great time in their company. Raymond certainly was a skilled tracker! We were lucky enough to see the Big 5 and multiple times. The encounter with lions and elephants was at very close quarters! Shadrack was the chef de parti and he also showed his comedy side on announcing each meal. The food was wholesome and filling. During the day between drives, we took lunch and relaxed. This trip has been a highlight of our South African tour and is among the best of any of our travel experiences. The Shindzela team have the right balance, we feel, between comforts and being at one with nature. Don’t change anything! (PS Good WiFi signal was a bonus). Thanks, Stuart & Sarah

10/10 Excellent

Dan, Weymouth, Dorset, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
You can't get closer to nature. Great place!
Beautiful place. Friendly well informed staff. The place to go if you want to be close to the bush. In my opinion better than places that cost twice the price. Thumbs up!

10/10 Excellent

SteveAndRegina, Switzerland

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Authentic safari experience
We had a fantastic 3 day safari in early January 2012. The staff and the service was excellent! We wanted an authentic safari experience and found it perfectly at shindzela. The half tent / half hut give enough creature comforts while allowing you to feel that you are in the midst of the bush! Everything is kept very clean in this very well organized and maintained camp. The staff provide excellent food and create a very relaxed atmosphere that allowed us to get the most from our safari. Morning and evening safaris were mainly in vehicles but with the staff readily organize walking safaris on foot with a a day or two's notice - something hat is well wealth doing! Our guides were extremely experienced and very knowledgable about the flora & fauna. They have managed to avoid a commercial feel and offered us a chance to really feel we were close to nature. Thank you to Mike, Sam & team - you gave us a wonderful experience.

10/10 Excellent

Anne, Alexandria, VA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
trip of a lifetime!
If you want to experience the real Africa, this is the place for you. This was our first trip to Aftrica. The staff make all the difference here. We saw so much in three days and learned so much more, even about the ones we didn't see. The "room" is a tent on a platform with a toilet and hot water showers. The food is outstanding. No electricity, but everything you need. Our travel arrangements from Johannesburg and back were made by the camp and timed perfectly. We thought it was a 'once in a lifetime' trip but we can't wait to go back! The sound of the lions at night, right outside the camp, is not to be missed!

10/10 Excellent

Donal + Laura, Ireland

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Top Class
This is the first time I've bothered to review a hotel but Shindzela is deservign of all the praise it gets. Fantastic experience with great food, safari drives, rangers.... Could not recommend this highly enough.

6/10 Okay

Christian, Hamburg

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Gut aber nicht günstig
Vorweg muss man sagen: Wir hatten schlechtes Wetter. 20 Grad, Sturm und etwas Regen erwartet man einfach im Sommer nicht. Auf den Games Drives haben wir z.T. gefroren… Aber wir haben Löwen mit Jungen gesehenen, was absolut toll war, und ein Black Rhino, was wirklich sehr selten ist. Aber ansonsten muss ich sagen, dass wir doch von Timbavati Gebiet etwas enttäuscht waren. Wir hatten uns mehr Tiere versprochen… Und dazu kommt, dass das Essen (für den Preis) doch eher „überschaubar“ war (aber für mich wurde auch extra laktosefrei gekocht!). Die Zelte sind sehr dunkel und nicht wirklich gemütlich… aber das darf man bei Zelten i.d.R. auch nicht erwarten. Die Staff war sehr freundlich und hilfsbereit unser Guide und Sam als Tracker waren wirklich klasse und konnte uns viel (neues) über die Natur und die Tiere erzählen. Trotzdem (vielleicht lag es auch am Wetter) waren wir nicht ganz zufrieden – gerade bei dem Preis, der zwar im Vergleich zu anderen Lodges im Timbavati Reserve geringer ist, aber im Vergleich z.B. zu unserem Favorit Tshukudu Bush Camp doch trotzdem deutlich höher liegt. Und natürlich gibt es auch keine Garantie für Tiersichtungen. Vielleicht haben wir einfach Pech gehabt?!
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Bien si pas si loin et difficile d'accès
Une horreur pour y arriver! Google map pas à jour qui fait passer pas une route privée que l'on ne peut en fait pas utiliser. Résultat, le camp est à 2h de route de Kruger Orpen gate et non pas 30min! Nous sommes parties de Kruger à 4h30 et nous sommes arrivés à 18h30 au campement après 1h de route de nuit dans le bush à voir des éléphants et des hyènes traverser le chemin de terre sur lequel ns étions. Horrible! Frais supplémentaires à ajouter au prix de la chambre: 140ZAR entrée de la réserve + 400ZAR conservation fees qui n'étaient pas prévu! Mis à part cela, tout était parfait une fois sur place mais il faut réellement arriver avant la nuit.

8/10 Good

Dagmar

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Muss man erlebt haben.
Unvergleichliche Erlebnisse. Die Tiere, die Atmosphäre, duschen unter freiem Himmel...

10/10 Excellent

Benjamin, Schauenburg

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfekt - mitten in der Natur
Perfekte Übernachtung. Immer wieder gerne.

10/10 Excellent

Fredrik, N/A

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fantastisk upplevelse
En safarilodge är mycket mer än bara ett hotell, så min recension och de betyg jag gav utgår ifrån vad jag tycker att man bör förvänta sig av en safarilodge. Detta är inte en av de lyxigaste lodgerna, utan ett "tältläger" där man offrar vissa bekvämligheter för en avslappnad stämning som jag tycker passar mycket bättre på en safari än ett "lyxhotell" (som många av lodgerna försöker vara). Oerhört duktiga och serviceinriktade spårare och guider, god och vällagad mat och en trevlig och avslappnad stämning. En helt underbar safariupplevelse med andra ord! Jag vill dock tillägga att detta var min första safari, så jag har ingenting att jämföra med. Huruvida den här lodgen är bättre eller sämre än någon annan låter jag därför vara osagt.