Kichaka Private Game Lodge

Overview

Location: Eastern Cape–>South Africa
Accommodation Type: Lodge
Comfort Level: Luxury

Good For: Couple/Romantic |

Kichaka is a small and welcoming 5 star game lodge with 10 thatched suites secreted away amongst the trees on the edge of a large waterhole. For a luxury safari experience, Kichaka Private Game Reserve ticks all the right boxes: five-star accommodation, fine cuisine, attentive service and thrilling big game viewing in a private reserve in South Africa’s malaria-free Eastern Cape province.

Although not as well known as the Kruger Park, the Eastern Cape’s private reserves are rapidly being recognised as top safari destinations and Kichaka is no exception. Morning and afternoon game drives offer up regular sightings of lion, cheetah, elephant, buffalo and rhino. There’s also the option of guided walking safaris and we’d highly recommend ending your day with Kichaka’s unique cosmic safari – gazing at the clear night sky through a high powered telescope.

Early starts are balanced by leisurely hours back at the lodge with plenty of time to relax and enjoy your beautiful surroundings. Kichaka’s main stone-and-thatch building opens onto large terraces with a rim-flow swimming pool and sun loungers overlooking the waterhole (with resident hippos); there’s a safari-styled wellness suite where you can treat yourself to a soothing massage; comfortable indoor lounge areas; and an upstairs library for reading, sending emails or uploading your photos using the lodge’s free Wi-Fi.

But it’s the small details that really make for a special stay at Kichaka Private Game Lodge. Everything here has been carefully considered from the fleece-lined ponchos to ward off any early morning chill to the “cocktail of the day” handed to you on your return from your afternoon drive. And, when night falls, relive your day’s adventures as you swap safari stories around a candlelit table while your butler serves a three-course dinner accompanied by a selection of fine South African wine.

Accommodation

Kichaka Private Game Reserve has 10 apartment-sized suites measuring 70 sq m each. Walk inside and you’ll find every modern amenity you’d expect from a luxury hotel – air-conditioning, under floor heating, an iPod docking station –  all matched by the lodge-feel of wooden floors, a high thatched ceiling and glass sliding doors opening onto the African bush.

Each suite is connected to the main lodge by raised wooden walkways that wind through the trees, and it’s this lush greenery that ensures that your room is perfectly private so you can relax alongside your rim-flow plunge pool or laze on your king sized bed, the glass doors slid wide open, without fear of disturbance or disruption.

Also in your spacious suite is an indoor sitting area furnished with a leather couch and comfortable armchair; a beautiful bathroom with both a bathtub and a walk-in shower big enough for two; and all those little luxuries that Kichaka is so well known for including heavenly bath products, a mini bar stocked with your favourite drinks, tasty turndown treats and 24-hour room service.

Wildlife

Kichaka sits on a 7,500 hectare private game reserve spanning savanna grassland, valley bushveld, fynbos, riverine forest and acacia woodlands. These diverse biomes support a variety of big game with frequent sightings of lion, cheetah, elephant and buffalo. White rhino hide in bushy thickets; giraffe browse the trees and indigenous shrubs; and the grassy plains support sizeable herds of eland, gemsbok, hartebeest, springbok, impala, wildebeest and zebra (amongst others).

Between drives look forward to relaxed game viewing from the comfort of Kichaka’s main deck which overlooks a waterhole often dotted with hippo. Night drives give you the chance of seeing nocturnal species such as the elusive aardvark and aardwolf, while birders are sure to be thrilled with the many rare and beautiful bird species including the fork tailed drongo, Knysna turaco’s (loerie), little sparrow hawk, crowned eagle and paradise fly-catcher.

Conferences

Kichaka Lodge is the ideal corporate getaway and presents the corporate visitor with a unique venue where the stress of business is offset by the peaceful bushveld surroundings.

Kichaka is ideal for mini-conferences, team-building exercises, achiever incentives, product launches, executive brainstorming sessions or your end of year function.

The lodge and its natural surroundings stimulate creative thinking and strategy sessions can be held formally in our library or lounge area, on one of our decks.

More Info

Child Policy

Regret no children less than 8 years of age. Children aged between 8 and 14 years, sharing the accommodation with their parents, will be charged 50% of the prices with a maximum of one child per suite.

Directions

Directions (from Port Elizabeth airport 110km)

Leave the airport turn left at the traffic circle
Continue over the railway line and turn right at the traffic lights (Heugh Rd)
Continue straight to the last traffic lights at the bottom of the hill
Turn left and follow the N2 towards Grahamstown for +- 100 km
Turn left at the Kichaka sign
Continue 3,5 km on the gravel road
You will arrive at the Kichaka Lodge gate on your left
Proceed up the road to the reception area where you will be met by Kichaka Staff