The River Lodge at Thornybush

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.

Siviti is a small, intimate lodge with only 6 rooms, maximum 12 guests at any time. We had lodge 6 which was fabulous, on entering to the right there was a large sitting area with bifold windows allowing a perfect view of the bush, and the baboons who frequented the area. On the left was a giant bed with mosquito nets leading to the bathroom and outdoor/indoor shower. The room was beautifully maintained throughout our stay. Our plunge pool was almost a swimming pool. Whilst this is a small lodge it is equally as good as larger lodges we have stayed at. The chefs produced wonderful food - fillet steak cooked to perfection - and a wonderful array of cold plates along with a selection of cooked food for breakfast. Game drives were excellent. Our guide, Leo, and tracker Tship, were brilliant, we had seven sightings of leopards along with the other 'big five'. Leo was incredibly knowledgeable, charming and funny. Tship made the best bush mix at morning coffee and great G&Ts for sundowners. We even had an elephant join us next to the balcony where we were having pre-dinner drinks one evening. All of the staff were lovely, especially Peter, our butler, who looked after us so well. Definitely a lodge well worth a visit.

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.

Our family of six stayed at the Siviti Homestead for four nights in January and our experience exceeded all of my hopes and expectations. The separate house was perfect for a family or group of friends, providing privacy and exclusivity. It was immaculate, spacious and comfortable, yet not too pretentious or over the top for a family trip. (Our four children range in age from 13-23). The staff could not have been more kind, accommodating and helpful. Our meals were five star and delicious, our laundry was ready daily and the house was clean. They spoiled us with cold towels on each arrival, warm greetings and delectable food. They packed up food for our day off the premises as well as our long trip to the airport. Last but not least, the game drives were simply incredible. Our guide Ryan and tracker Andrew were an amazing team. We saw the big five, and learned a-lot along the way. We felt safe and comfortable in what we thought were scary circumstances. (We are from New York after all). We loved each and every moment, and even chose to forego our final “cocktails” to continue following a pair of lions. It couldn’t have been more exciting and thrilling, especially driving home after dark and running into a herd of elephants. We already miss Siviti and hope to return!

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

Siviti lodge We stayed for two nights in this wonderful lodge. We had a beautiful, well equipped villa with elephants, buffalos and different kinds of antelopes just below our terraces. During the safaris (two mornings, one afternoon) with Nick (tracker) and Taylor (guide) we learned a lot about the area and the animals. Of the big 5 we missed leopard, but instead we spotted seven rare wild dogs. There were REAL safaris in the bushes! The welcoming service, food and drinks made you feel as if you were in paradise. Many, many thanks to Bri, Otto, Taylor, Nick and the rest of the staff.