Thornybush Game Reserve Safaris

Situated in the heart of the Lowveld and adjacent to the world-famous Kruger National Park is Thornybush Game Reserve; home to the Big Five and a variety of other African wildlife species. The reserve is predominantly open savannah and with a near perfect year round climate it is the ideal safari holiday destination.

Tracking animals is a speciality of Thornybush and during 'Art of Tracking' explorations you are taught how to read the spoor and follow animals without putting yourself in danger. There is no thrill quite like watching Africa's most dangerous animals, after you have personally tracked them.

Thornybush Game Reserve Price Guide

Fill in the form below to receive our Thornybush Safaris price guide or click here for a more specific enquiry:

Thornybush Game Reserve

The Thornybush Game Reserve offers a variety of camps and lodges to choose from. In order to assist guests with their choice, we have divided the camps and lodges into three different categories being, Comfortable, Luxury and Premier. Our favourite lodges are Chapungu Luxury Tented Camp & Thornybush Main Lodge.

Comfortable
Tangala Safari Camp | n'Kaya Lodge | Kwa Mbili Game Lodge

Luxury
Chapungu Luxury Tented Camp | Serondella Lodge | Jackalberry Lodge | Monwana Game Lodge | Thornybush Main Lodge

Premier
Royal Malewane | Shumbalala Game Lodge

How to get there

Air

There are daily flights from OR Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg International) to Hoedspruit Airport (also called Eastgate) and we recommend that guests use this airport for the Thornybush Game Reserve lodges. Phalaborwa Airport is considered best for the northern part of the Kruger National Park; however it can also be used to access the Thornybush safari lodges. Once guests arrive at the various airports they have a choice between, a car hire option (self-drive), a road transfer arranged by SUNSAFARIS or a short air transfer (flight hop) to the various lodges in the Thornybush Game Reserve.

Land

All the Thornybush Game Reserve lodges are accessible via self drive with a sedan rental car from anywhere in South Africa. Obviously the drive time depends on where you are driving from! To self drive from Johannesburg will take approximately 6 hours.

Thornybush Game Reserve & Game Viewing

Introduction

The Thornybush Game Reserve consists of over 10,000 hectares of pristine African Bushveld. The reserve, predominantly savannahs and riverine tributaries, is home to Africa's big game, including "the Big 5" and an abundance of bird and other general animal species. Thornybush offers prime game-viewing territory, including opportunities to get up close to the big cats.

Game Viewing

Game viewing in Thornybush Game Reserve is of very high standard and compares with the best in the world. Thornybush is renowned for the big five and is home to more than 60 species of wildlife, including lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhino, hyena and cheetah as well as a multitude of general game, antelope species, giraffe, zebra and incredible birdlife. The reserve is a birdwatchers paradise, where more than 280 bird species have been recorded. Expert rangers and trackers lead all game activities.

Seasons

The climate in the Thornybush Game Reserve is considered subtropical and very hot and humid with rainy summers and cool, dry winters.

Summer is from October to March and is characterised by hot humid days and afternoon thunderstorms. Daytime temperatures can get very high, followed by cooler more comfortable nights. The dry bushland comes to life after the rains however game becomes more difficult to find as numerous waterholes fill up and the foliage becomes thicker.

Winter, known as the dry season, is from April until September and brings clear skies and warm sunny days with cold to chilly early mornings and evenings. Winter means less water is available in the region and animals tend to congregate around the water sources, hence game viewing in the dry winter months is the best.

Map of the Thornybush Game Reserve Lodges

Click on the map on the right for Virtual Earth Maps of the safari lodges within the Thornybush Game Reserve.

Zoom in and out, drag and move the map, and click on lodge GPS markers for links to the lodges. The maps also show airstrips, park gates and other points of interest.

Click here to view the map