Ekuthuleni

Welgevonden Game Reserve, South Africa

GENERAL SCORES /5:

Lodge/Hospitality: 3

Rooms: 4

Food: 5

Guiding: 1

Game Viewing: 3

OVERALL: 5/10

Vital Statistics:

Country: South Africa

Game Reserve: Welgevonden

Management: Rare Earth Retreats

Year we stayed:2010

Approx price pppn then: $600

Ekuthuleni Review Summary:

This is a very comfortable lodge an easy drive from Johannesburg. There is a reasonable view, from all the rooms and the main area, across a plain with a small man-made waterhole in it. The food is outstanding and the game is fair, but the guiding when we were there was apalling.

Ekuthuleni Review

Welgevonden is one of those game reserves which seems to have been formed when lots of landowners got together and decided to pool resources, but I could be wrong. It is a good size (similar to Pilanesburg) considering it is not government-owned and is close to the city, with a scattering of lodges throughout. We booked over the phone and Bonita was extremely patient and helpful with us. The drive from Jo'burg is easy and took under three hours to the entrance, where all cars must be left, and where we were met by our guide Jonas.

Jonas was very pleasant and gave us drinks and snacks whilst we waited for the two other guests he was picking up. It turned out that we four were the only ones staying that night, although it can take 10 - and its sister lodge across the small valley can take another 10.

When we got to Ekuthuleni the maid and chef introduced themselves and Jonas showed us our rooms before disappearing. The room was very comfortable with a large double bed facing the patio doors with a good view. The bathroom had a good sized bath and a separate shower and also opened up to the elements for that outdoorsy feel.

We hadn't been told anything about timings or plans for food or game drives and couldn't find anyone to ask. Luckily one of the other guests was a regular and he told us what time lunch and the afternoon drive would be. This lack of communication from Jonas was a recurring issue through our stay there.

The food was excellent - quite possibly the best we have had on safari. Lou's vegetarian dishes were equal to the meat courses in imagination and taste and we were very impressed with every meal.

The safari was less impressive. We were lucky there were only four of us in the vehicle as they only had the one and if there had been 10 guests, then all 10 would have squeezed into it. The roads were possibly bumpier than usual, but not bad enough to worry about. No off-roading was allowed which was a shame when the lions we'd hoped to see were only identifiable with a good pair of binoculars. The drives were a standard 4-ish hours with a break for tea/coffee in the morning or sundowners in the evening, and we had some good sightings of white rhinos, a large-ish herd of elephant and plenty of antelope. However, we learned very little. Jonas was more of a taxi driver than a tour guide and made no attempt to tell us anything about the animals we saw, although he appeared to know the information if asked for it. in about 8 hours of guiding he volunteered only one single piece of information about a species we were looking at. The sundowner stop, rather than being a picturesque viewpoint, seemed to have been chosen simply because he got a mobile signal and could call someone for a chat. Also, at one point - an excellent sighting of klipspringers quite close to us I had to ask him to stop so that I could take a photo. Whereas at most sightings he would stop just long enough for a quick photo, this time he had simply gone into neutral so we were still very slowly rolling past them. Lou and I both agreed that he was the worst safari guide that we had ever had. Maybe he is usually excellent and was having an off day, but I doubt it. The guest who was a regular seemed content with him, but absolutely raved about a previous guide at the lodge. However, this past guide, when we asked more about why he was so good, seemed to be how we absolutely expect our guides to be (and, to be fair, they usually are): volunteering information and making the drive interesting and enjoyable, whether or not there are animals to be seen.

We go on safaris for the thrill of seeing animals in their natural habitat and to learn about those animals. When a lodge charges such large amounts as full-service safari lodges like Ekuthuleni we expect top quality guiding and the ability to go off-road and to do walking safaris. The guiding is much more important than the luxurious rooms which one can get at a fifth of the price outside of a game park.