Jembisa Bush Home

Jembisa bush home is situated in its own malaria-free private game reserve in the beautiful wilderness above the Palala river in the Waterberg region of the northern Limpopo province of South Africa. Built originally as a family home, and still owned by the family, Jembisa has a wonderful atmosphere of relaxation and comfort. Staying here one does truly feel 'at home in the bush'. The lodge is built from local stone and thatch in harmony with its surroundings. It is a beautifully designed lodge with large, spacious rooms decorated with natural materials in an Afro-colonial style.

Jembisa is for those looking for an exceptional, personal African Safari and can be booked on an exclusive or non-exclusive use basis. Having been a family home, Jembisa also benefits from some extras not usually found at safari lodges. For example, a library, reading room, games room, children’s trampoline and tennis court. It is perfect for family safaris or small groups of friends looking to experience true African hospitality and wildlife in a private, luxury safari lodge set within a private game reserve.

There are five luxury bedrooms and a children's bunkroom. Each of the luxury rooms has a private balcony and en-suite bathroom with both a shower and bath. Rooms are decorated in an Afro-colonial style and feature either king or queen size beds, mosquito nets and ceiling fans. The children's bunk room is themed with animal rugs and linen, embroidered with wildlife. There are two bunk beds, sleeping up to four children. Bunk beds and cots for children are available.

There is a house chef who will prepare delicious meals for you. Local, fresh ingredients are used when in season including those from the lodges own large, organic kitchen garden. Meals are varied affairs and may include picnics in the bush, dinner under the stars, lunch on the terrace, and al fresco breakfasts and brunches.

Activities at the lodge include swimming, tennis on the floodlit court or a massage either in the privacy of your room or on the secluded deck where all you will hear is the birdsong and the river below.

Game Drives are in open 4x4 Land Rovers with highly trained and experienced rangers. Night drives provide the opportunity of seeing the nocturnal animals such as leopard, brown hyena, aardvark, civet cats and porcupines. Other activities include bush walks, camp outs under the stars and exploring late iron age sites and bushman paintings on the reserve. There is also a wide selection of activities in the surrounding areas that are available.

Children of all ages are extremely welcome at Jembisa. Having been a family home Jembisa is ideally suited to families with children. In particular, having all bedrooms within the lodge provides parents with peace of mind when staying within a game reserve. There is much for children to do and activities can be tailor-made to suit them. These can include guided bush walks, instruction on tracking and bush lore, bug walks, slide shows and bush games. There are also children's books, games and wildlife videos available and a free babysitting service. Children's separate mealtimes can be arranged if you choose.

About Jembisa Private Game Reserve and The Waterberg

Jembisa lies in the heart of the Unesco world biosphere reserve of the Waterberg. It is a breathtakingly beautiful reserve that encompasses a wide diversity of habitats and biomes including savannah plains, syringa forests, riverine forests, gullies, rock faces, cliffs, flood plains and with 7km of the Palala river meandering through it.

Jembisa and Magari are situated on the privately owned Jembisa Reserve which is 3000ha large.

The Waterberg offers a mosaic of exceptional scenic landscape, a fascinating cultural heritage, an abundance of wildlife species and many nature-based tourism opportunities. Vaalwater is the central village of the Waterberg area, the heart of the Bushveld region. The Waterberg has been described as South Africa´s best keep secret. Its rugged beauty, together with its diversity in plant and animal life, has led to the development of several exciting eco-tourism projects such as the biosphere reserve, the Waterberg Nature Conservancy - the amalgamation of conservation areas in order to protect more than 150,000 hectares of the Waterberg-habitat.

The Waterberg-range, incorporating many rivers, streams and swamps, stretches for 150 kilometres in a long arc from Thabazimbi in the West, Nylstroom in the centre to Potgietersrus in the east. Apart from the spectacular scenery of the mountains themselves, there are many game sanctuaries, nature reserves and farms. The 75 mammal species include big game such as elephant, lion, hippo, leopard and buffalo. African python and the Nile crocodile are also resident, and it is a birdwatchers´ paradise with more than 300 bird species.