This place is so amazing, I would give it 10 stars if I could. The setting, accommodations, food, game drives were fantastic but most importantly the entire staff made it memorable. They made this trip so special. You felt like family, not guests. We didn’t want to leave. I truly have no words to describe this special place.” Guest: Debbie S
YOUR SAFARI ADVENTURE AWAITS
We are excited to report that renovations began right on schedule on 11 January 2025. This is an extensive lodge-wide renovation that will be completed on 15th June 2025. We will keep you updated on social media (Insta, FB, Youtube) as we build and hope that you’ll follow along with that and our wildlife sightings. Update May 2025: Check out Safari Suites for brand new pics!
If you’d like to book for the second half of the year, you can book online.
In the meantime, our sister lodge, Lukimbi Safari Lodge is accepting bookings. Lukimbi is also rated 5* & won a 2024 Traveller’s Choice Award on Tripadvisor. Lukimbi is a stunning lodge and one of only 7 private concessions in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, which borders the Sabi Sands. You can experience a unique private safari in this vast protected reserve where the Big Five and a wide variety of other animals and birds roam free in their natural habitat.
When you drive into IDUBE GAME RESERVE in the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve in South Africa, your senses will instantly awaken to your safari adventure.
Traversing 10 000 hectares of pristine wildlife area, Idube Game Reserve is home to the Big Five — lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo — and many other fascinating animals, large and small. Our leopard sightings draw safari guests from all over the world, and our visitors are enthralled by the abundant wildlife they can view from their suite patios, especially the resident family of nyala we call our welcoming committee. Idube is an oasis in the wilderness with established trees and verdant lawns. Our guests love the feeling of serenity the wonderful environment evokes. Join us for a welcome and refreshing drink at our convivial bar or the trendy glass gazebo. And at night enjoy nature by firelight.
Idube Game Reserve, Sabi Sands Mpumalanga, South Africa
Idube Game Reserve is a lush oasis in the bush and from the air, looks like a lodge in a forest. We welcome you at our reception and curio shop and assist you to your luxury or standard suites, complete with wi-fi, air-conditioning, mosquito nets, safe and private deck. Our luxury suites also have their own swimming pools and two larger pools are available to other visitors.
If you’re lucky you’ll find elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo and maybe even the rare rhino, as well as many other fascinating animals and plants.
Step into your open safari vehicle with your experienced FGASA-trained ranger and tracker for your daily morning and evening drives. At sunrise you’ll traverse the bush for about three hours and witness wildlife awakening to a beautiful new day.
Our rooms are all tastefully and individually decorated with plush, African-inspired decor, fabrics and furniture that welcome you to the South African bush.
Each suite has its own coffee and tea station, bath, inside and revitalising outside showers, hairdryer, safe, air conditioning and wi-fi. And don’t worry about mosquitoes as nets cover all windows and doors as well as the beds themselves. You can’t help but relax in these sumptuous settings at Idube Game Reserve.
Idube’s reputation is for excellent cuisine that often features as a highlight in guest reviews.
We cater to all our guests’ food preferences, with specific emphasis on cultural requirements, allergies and dietary restrictions. People love our vegan and vegetarian options.
Our dining portions guarantee full satisfaction, and we serve breakfast, lunch and supper in a variety of settings, so that our visitors are constantly surprised and delighted.
Our amazing, welcoming staff are known for their attention to detail, kindness and personal service.
Led by our very capable management team, Charita and Evert Hanekom, Idube Game Reserve aspires always to make our guests feel welcome. Our team‘s mission is to look after visitors in a friendly and relaxed way, and the number of repeat guests is testament to the comfort our staff members provide.
Left: National Women’s Day 9 Aug 2023. Meet the faces behind the scenes, the ones who work tirelessly to ensure every moment of your stay is filled with wonder and joy.
“What an unforgettable time our family had at Idube. Our safari guides Ian and Bongani were so knowledgeable and fun to be with. The game drives were just jaw-dropping: leopards eating a wildebeest up in a tree, frolicking baby lion cubs, massive adult male lions, elephants everywhere… we saw much more than we could have imagined, including the Big 5 on just our first day. What a wonderful vacation! Beautiful facilities, delicious and creative food, friendliest staff. We couldn’t have asked for more. We were so very happy here.” – Guest: Betsy P, USA
Beautiful landscaping with indigenous plants and lush lawns are coming together again after the build and even our resident Nyala approve - here you see them outside the safari suite named in their honour. The lodge opens in just a couple of weeks and we will be welcoming guests again very soon ❤️
Pics: Carl & Nicky Marais (Construction project managers)
The new Safari Suites have stunning upgraded, larger bathrooms as well as a separate WC. The star of the show is the inside/outside shower, with glass roof and doors onto the private patio, where you have an unobstructed view into the bush. Here’s Suite 1’s bathroom, with stunning granite in the shower, free standing bath/tub and pure luxury!
Relax and Unwind! Idube now has a larger paved pool patio, which is near our breakfast deck, Shadulu swing bridge & game viewing hide. You can lounge and enjoy the pool view with a cocktail or turn your lounger around to look toward the bush. We recently spotted elephants heading for a drink at Shadulu dam, as well as our resident nyala, waterbuck, vervet monkeys and various birds from there. What will you spot as you chill?
Idube now has 14 suites, all luxury suites, and incl. our Makubela suites, Safari Suites & Linked Suites (more later). We’ve named each suite after an animal or plant in the area. For example, we honour the Nyala herd that have been resident at Idube for as long as we can remember, by naming Suite 1 after them. At the entrance to each suite we have a custom designed screens around each animal. Here are a few examples, which include Nyala, Giraffe and Elephant. We are opening again mid June - contact res@idube.com if you’d like to book!
Each suite has its own sumptuous African inspired decor, art and beautiful wood furniture. You will relax in luxury with suites that have stunning high wood beam ceilings, integrated reading lights above the bed, comfy linen, minibar, coffee/tea station, air con, desk, view onto your private deck/patio, pool and the bush. We have custom made mosquito nets with gorgeous wood frames that are not only beautiful to look at, but will keep mosquitos at bay. Window and doors have mosquito nets too. We have also upgraded our wifi.
All suites at Idube will be luxury suites when we open again in mid June. The new Safari Suites are larger than the previous standard Safari chalets, with bathroom (incl. bath and inside/outside shower - see on right) and separate WC, patio and pool, all with views of the bush. Check this out... Gorgeous, right?
Dinner all set up on our new bar patio. This cafe-style patio is set around a magnificent tree, just next to the boma & bar, and will be perfect for meals or just hanging out. It overlooks the stunning garden setting and pool, as well as the side of Shadulu dam. We’ve recently seen elephants, waterbuck, nyala and other animals walking towards the dam & hide area while we`ve been sitting on the patio in the day - one of this poster`s favourite additions to the lodge!
BIG REVEAL! We are very excited to share our first photo from this weekend. This is Safari Suite 1 (Nyala suite), which has been completely upgraded. Each luxury unit will have it’s own private pool and patio, inside/outside shower, more floor area, mini bar, air-con, beautiful mosquito nets over the bed, separate WC, views of the bush and lots more! More pics soon.
We hope you all had a good Easter break! Following on from the awesome video of the little elephants in the last post, here are a couple more angles from the vehicle that will give you an idea of where the mama was and what this little elephant was up to - as you can see he’s a feisty one, practicing his mock charges (sound up) Videos: Carl Marais #ElephantHerd #ElephantBaby #IdubeGameReserve #FunnyVideo #LuxurySafariLodge #SabiSandNatureReserve #SouthAfricanWildlife #SafariAdventure #SafariExcellence
This awesome video was taken by one of our younger videographers. Daniel is just 9 years old, and has captured this hilarious, sweet video of 2 baby elephants which were seen while on a family game drive/safari. Hard to believe these are wild elephants, they are very comfortable with the vehicle and appreciative audience.
A small update on how the renovation is going. The team have been super, super busy, with tight deadlines and are getting a lot done. One of the highlights is that Idube’s new fully installed solar system has been producing all the necessary power they need, no need for grid power lately. Fantastic and evironmentally friendly!
1 &2 - New walkways starting to be built - these will keep guests safe & allow plants to regrow. 3 - New pavers, planters and fire-pit upgrade - lots of places for guests to relax... 4 - New deck and tiles in suite - a gorgeous view of the bush from the shower! 5 - Upgraded entrance at reception (just a hint for now...)
Idube Game Reserve is excited to announce that the lodge will be undergoing a substantial renovation in early 2025! Idube will be closing for a this major renovation from 11th January 2025 until the 15th June 2025. We will, of course, keep you posted during the building process, and updated on wildlife sightings during that…
Article by Marlo Hartman (Guide at Idube). The Marula tree is a medium-sized tree, with heights ranging from 7 to 17 meters. They have a spreading, rounded crown and are deciduous. The word “deciduous” is derived from the Latin word “decider”, which means “to fall off.” This type of tree is dormant in dry seasons…
Idube Going Solar! Like our sister lodge, Lukimbi Safari Lodge, Idube Game Reserve plans on embarking on a major project to get off the electricity grid as much as possible. An obvious way for us to do that is to look to solar power in our beautiful, sunny climate. We are extremely aware, not only…
