The River Lodge at Thornybush

This is one the most tranquil places that we have been to in a long time and the surroundings are just absolutely beautiful. There is very little to complain about and if there is or was the amazing game drives would just cancel out the smallest of any negativity. All the staff are fantastic with Nsako always going the extra mile. Our tracker Eanda was one of the nicest people we met in a long time and our 5 star ranger, Henrico was incredible in every way. He is calm, super knowledgeable and as peaceful as this perfect place. There is not enough thanks to everyone including house keeping which was done with diligence. Caters for Kosher clients as well and the wine from Israel was awesome.

My husband and I have just returned from the most magical, extravagant and adventurous holiday Ever!!! I have never been to a place that made me feel like royalty and the staff there are super friendly. The service is more than 5 star it's incredible. My Ranger Leo and Tracker Tshepo made sure I got the full wildlife experience. I saw the big 5 up close within 2 days. Zako our personal butler took great care of us and definitely made me feel like a star. The food that the Chef prepared was absolutely delicious and their portions are meant for Kings. The accommodation is wonderful and the cleaning staff are on point. They do so many things that make you never want leave and leave you thinking about your next return.

Every aspect was good, we had a lovely stay! The lodge is beautiful and the staff are friendly and professional. Their attentiveness and hospitality is remarkable. We also had awesome sightings on our game drives

Our family of 4, with two teenagers was joined by an aunt and the two grans, both in their mid-eighties. We had exclusive use of the Homestead with its dedicated team and we had a wonderful time. Outstanding service by Civilised (chef) and Peter (butler) as well as Surprise and Sidwell (house keepers). Food was outstanding and the unit is tastefully furnished and very comfortable. The highlight of the stay was the game drives, of course, and our dedicated guide (Rico) and our tracker (Nic) were an exceptional team bursting with deep knowledge of animal behaviour as well as bird life, flora and fauna. On the first drive we got to see four of the big five! And were treated to multiple wild dog sightings including a skirmish between spotted hyena and the wild dogs, leopard, elephant, lions, hyena, buffalo, kudu and the list goes on. An absolute first was seeing giraffes mock fighting as well as lions mating! All in all, our entire group experienced service excellence at its best and had a wonderful visit. Bongani, the front office manager at the main lodge, also gave us a tour of the lodge which was good to see with exciting renovations taking shape. A stunning lodge that is definitely worth a visit if you’re looking for African bush luxury at its best.

We spent four days at Siviti. What an incredible experience - Firstly we saw the big 5 every day, and kills on two days, just phenomenal game viewing. The lodge is beautiful, extremely well appointed, luxury in every way. The food is amazing and nothing is too much for the staff. Easy connections from CPT - such a treat, highly recommended. It is well priced and exceeded expectations in every way!

Every time one goes to the South African bush it is always special and Siviti Lodge was no exception; we had a wonderful time. We were on a family trip (adults only) and stayed in the Timbavati Villa; it is a beautiful spot nestled into the bush and looking out to a waterbed; you are surrounded by nature. Nyala graze unhindered, birds of prey circle in the sky above, monkeys play in the trees, elephant and other animals come to the water to drink. You can watch the bush from almost every part of the suite, from the bed, sitting on your private veranda, relaxing in the heated plunge pool, even when soaking in the bath! The one day we saw an entire herd of elephants walk right by: amazing. The rooms are not only well appointed but also beautifully furnished and decorated. We discovered during our stay that the lodge had come under new ownership during Covid and heard that the new owners have big plans; a wine cellar was in the works and the new dining room area was revealed to us during our stay - stunning. I will be very excited to see it all when it is finished. The hospitality from the entire team was warm, personalized and very sincere. Surprise took extra special care of us and made sure we had all we needed and more; particular thanks to him. The food was excellent; the Head Chef and his team were very talented, and we had some delicious meals; the game meat was superb. We had a great ranger/tracker team - Shaun and Abed. Shaun has a wealth of experience behind him, he was brilliant at getting us right up to the action. Abed had a great eye and worked very hard for us and succeeded! We were at the lodge for six nights, which can be a bit daunting for any team, to try and keep the guests engaged. However, this seemed to be no challenge at all; we had action packed game drives throughout; a beautiful drive with a herd of giraffe in the riverbed, a baby elephant that was only a day old, a herd of elephants at the watering hole, a baby leopard in a tree, hippos playing and yawning (yes one of us got that hippo shot!), wild dog pups, hyena pups suckling off their mother, a kill; I could go on and on. The trip was topped off and finished with a spectacular surprise view of The Drakensberg Mountain range at sunset; very special. I have said that Shaun had a lot of experience; that experience shone through on many occasions, not only with navigating and orchestrating the animal sightings for us and lining us up to get some fabulous pics; he was also very intuitive at reading the animal behavior. There were a couple of occasions where he read a situation and acted accordingly. The safety of his guests and protection of the animals was always the priority and he would certainly never jeopardize that to get a better sighting or line up a photo. We really appreciated how responsible he was and felt in very safe and competent hands. He also has a great sense of humor - we enjoyed his company. I hope that we will be lucky enough to return