Pondoro Game Lodge

Pondoro Game Lodge is an exclusive, award-winning safari destination nestled along the banks of the Olifants River within the 40,000-hectare Balule Private Nature Reserve, part of South Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park. This intimate lodge offers a luxurious and personalised wildlife experience, blending sophisticated comfort with the raw beauty of the African bush.

Pondoro accommodates up to 16 guests across eight uniquely designed units that include five Luxury Suites, three Riverfront Chalets and a Treehouse Hideout experience. Each luxurious, air-conditioned suite offers guests modern comfort in an exquisite wildlife setting and is equipped with a private patio, lounge area, outdoor shower and a jacuzzi built into a wooden deck area overlooking the Olifants River. Three tastefully-deigned chalets have been decorated in keeping with the African aesthetic, all en-suite with a bath and shower overlooking the Olifants River.

Dining at Pondoro is a culinary journey, with meals served on a wooden deck high in the tree canopy overlooking the river. The cuisine fuses traditional African flavors with modern European techniques, complemented by an extensive, award-winning wine cellar. The Serenity Spa offers a tranquil retreat with treatments set against the backdrop of cascading waterfalls, including options like massages, a glass-covered steam room, and open-air spa baths. 

Revitalise your mind and indulge in all that Pondoro has to offer when it comes to a truly luxurious African Safari.

About Balule Nature Reserve

Balule Nature Reserve was established by a group of like-minded, private landowners in the early 1990s. From the start, their objective was to create a larger, open system with no fences to hinder animal movement thus creating a much healthier habitat for fauna and flora.

The Reserve has since grown from the initial 11,000 ha to 55,000 ha, approximately 150 km of fences have been removed and it consists of both private and commercial properties. In 2004, the Eastern boundary fence was removed and Balule was officially incorporated into the Kruger National Park (established in 1898).

Thus, Balule is now part of an open system that covers over 2 million hectares in South Africa and is widely regarded as one of the most successful conservation areas in the world.

Balule is mostly made up of mixed Acacia and Combretum woodlands, which sustain 94 mammal, 280 bird, 72 reptile and 128 tree species, not to mention the insect, fish, amphibian and other plant species.