BLOEM - JULY 2024

Safari style
Tintswalo Waterberg ... a multi-generational lodge, where luxury meets family.
A bite-sized, slow-cooked lamb-filled,
short crust pastry tart shouldn’t be the
first thing that comes to mind when
recalling a safari trip. But add to it a
glass of extraordinarily good red wine,
a walkway of glowing lanterns, and
a caracal casually strolling past the
fire, and you have the start of a jolly
memorable first impression.
The lodge, in the Welgevonden
Game Reserve, is intimate ... just five
free-standing units accommodating
up to 16 guests ... all romantic
mosquito nets, en-suite bathrooms
and outdoor showers, fireplaces for
chilly evenings and air-conditioning
and ceiling fans for steamy Summers.
What’s more, it’s one of the relatively
few lodges which welcome - heck,
encourage - children of all ages, and
which has a couple of three-bedroom
units, making it an obvious choice for
multi-generational family trips.
The lodge is set up to be family and
group friendly ... with a communal
lounge, open living areas, an
expansive deck with comfy loungers.
Meals - really delicious wholesome,
slow-cooked, served shared familystyle
- are eaten outdoors on the
deck, or around the fire in the
boma, where you’re bound to be
entertained by the staff, who put on
fun impromptu dances.
Young explorers are well catered
for with a spacious playroom and a
children’s programme of appropriate
educational activities.
With around 36 000 hectares of
bushveld, criss-crossed with streams
and waterways, Welgevonden is
ranked up there amongst South
Africa’s largest private game reserves.
And the game viewing is plentiful.
With an incredibly successful antirhino
poaching unit, there are rhino
at every corner ... and it would be
unusual to not spot hippo, antelope,
dazzle after dazzle after dazzle of
zebra, lion and ellies on one of
the two open vehicle game drives
offered each day. With more than 300
species, great birding, too.
There are options to book a twohour
bush walk with a ranger,
and the newly introduced late
night game drive where you can
search for nocturnal animals like
the elusive pangolin and leopard,
as well as porcupines, aardvarks
and owls ... as well as some truly
spectacular stargazing.
The Tintswalo group is known for
the incredible attention to detail,
and for ensuring every visitor is well
catered for. So lovely, but no surprise,
that the lodge offers a fully Kosher
safari option, with Kosher catering
prepared on site in the dedicated
Beth Din certified Kosher kitchen,
supervised by a licensed Mashgiach.
This kosher option is tailor-made
for small family groups or exclusive
group lodge take-overs.
From first impression (those tarts!) to
last ... the ones at Tintswalo Waterberg
are exceptional ... as a family, it’s a
destination you won’t forget.
Compiled by: Kym Argo
We never tire
of a romantic,
lantern-lit
safari boma
dinner ...
where the
meals celebrate
local and
are served
shared
family-style.
102 Get It Bloemfontein July 2024 getitmagazine.co.za/bloemfontein