Buffalo Ridge Trip Report
Leaving home around 5am, we arrived at Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge around 10.30am as we took a nice slow drive while enjoying the lay of the land.
The western side of the park is extremely dry, they have not had much rain this summer and we could feel and see that they badly needed rain. The temperature peaked each day at around 39 degrees centigrade, so it was very hot, especially for March!
On arrival we were welcomed by Gabriel and Pracilla. It was like coming home - we had last visited the lodge in 2015.
We had a
refreshing welcome drink and then shown to our chalet.
The main lodge is spectacularly located on two tiers of the ridge, accessed via a wooden bridge that crosses a ravine surrounded by rock figs.
The lodge has 8 suites, each with their own viewing deck, decorated in natural hues of colour and texture, offering a very private and luxurious experience.
The thatched suites, with sliding doors from the bedroom and shower allows guests to experience a oneness with the bushveld.
The lodge is situated at a prime site in the west of the Madikwe Game Reserve, straddling the Tweedepoort Ridge and each chalet has expansive views across the northern plains and Inselbergs.
Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge is unfenced so there is the possibility of experiencing the big-five animals that's why you are escorted back to your rooms after dinner.
We saw the following wildlife while at the lodge...
Lunch would be served at 2pm each day and on the day we arrived, lunch was a lovely grilled sole with salad and dessert was a meringue nest with berries and ice-cream.
We had a nice cold rock shandy to go with it.
Buffalo Ridge trip report - afternoon game drive
And then at 4pm it was time for our game drive. Israel, our guide, was a gem!
He took us to Tlou dam for a fantastic sunset. We were not looking for animals, we just wanted a nice sunset at the dam.
Of course we also got some elephants and spotted hyenas at the dam...
Dinner was a butternut soup with homemade bread rolls, steak medallion cooked to perfection with grilled vegetables and finished off with a chocolate mousse.
Buffalo Ridge trip report - morning game drive
Israel took us down south for our morning game drive. We went past Nkwe pan and got to see a beautiful pink sky.
The field guide is the key to you enjoying your African safari and we have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly. Israel is one of the best as he understood we were not chasing the big five and he planned his routes accordingly.
Then we carried on to a very dry Tau dam where we saw zebras, gnus and impala with the rising sun.
We also got to see the lovely southern plains and our first gemsbok in Madikwe!
We bumped into Felix the male cheetah while at Kubu pan. That’s what happens – when you’re not looking for any big cats they tend to pop up in the most unexpected places!
Breakfast was a lovely, layered bowl of homemade muesli, yoghurt and fruit with cold meats, biscuits and cheese on the side followed by a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs with pork sausage (you can have anything you want), homemade bread, toast, and fruit juice.
Fruit, yoghurt, biscuits, cheese, cold meats and then, if you're still hungry, home-made bread, bacon, eggs, and more!Lunch was pork ribs with thin chips and salad. We did not have dessert – too much (good) food!
Buffalo Ridge trip report - afternoon game drive #2
On our afternoon drive we saw rhinos,
another cheetah that was very full after making a kill that morning (he was under a tree digesting the impala so the images were not good), and then we then came across lions on the northern plains - four females with two cubs.
The one female is currently the oldest lion in the park, estimated to be 18 or 19. (The previous oldest lioness in the Madikwe Game Reserve, known as ‘Gogo Mika’, died at the end of 2021 just a few days before her 20th birthday).
We also saw a few giraffe...
brown hyenas...
Dinner at 8.30 was a tomato and basil tart starter with ostrich fillet with savoury rice and grilled veg for main course.
The Ostrich fillet was divine, the best we have had.
This was followed by a lovely creme caramel.
Buffalo Ridge trip report - morning game drive #2
On our last morning game drive, Israel found us a pride of lions eating a zebra they had killed the night before - one male, 2 females and a cub.
We drove past Adolf’s view and found some spotted hyenas walking and calling and one was lying in mud at the pan.
We had a nice coffee stop where we enjoyed our Amarula coffees!
We then found the wild dogs, one of which was badly injured. They looked like they had made a kill because some of them were full of blood.
We enjoyed another super breakfast and then checked out.
We had a wonderful two days at Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge. The staff are very accommodating, and it was sad to say farewell. We left around 11am.
For more information or to make your reservation at Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge please visit their website
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