Lodges in Balule Game Reserve

We had an excellent first South African safari experience at the Greenfire Game Lodge. The atmosphere was genuinely friendly and relaxed, The owners Nigel and Carol and their staff are making sure that you feel very welcomed and comfortable. The rooms are actually nicely decorated and comfortable cabins with a deck that is overlooking the riverbed and the bush on the other side. You can spend hours there just listening to the sound of the bush and watch elephants, giraffes and other animals pass by. The food was very nice and varied, the breakfast was great with fresh fruit, yogurt, scones and an assortment of egg based dishes to choose from. Lunch and dinner and wine assortment very nice as well. And finally the game drives.. such an amazing experience!! Our guide Given is such a wealth of knowledge, he transmitted his passion for his work, and patiently and willingly answered all our questions about the surrounding nature, the animals and about South African culture and politics, it was a pleasure to make his acquaintance (we were the only guests for 2 nights, arriving just after the end of the high season, so we had a lot of opportunity to chat during the drives, although the breathtaking surroundings left us speechless at times). Given is an excellent tracker and we had wonderful wildlife encounters. We appreciated his respect for the animals and the environment, we never had the feeling that we were “chasing” the animals and the Green Fire guides don’t drive off-road due to the risk of killing animals and harming the terrain, which was one of the reason we chose this lodge over others. Our stay at Green Fire lodge definitely made us want to go back and spend more time in the beautiful South African nature.

Fantastic trackers Themba, Polite and Life who were like magicians conjuring animals from the bush and found us the big5 and more. The camp is very small with just 6 tents which gives it a nice relaxed atmosphere, and the other guests were all lovely. Our tent (no3/Elephant Shrew) was in front of a watering hole which had elephants visiting every day.

The property is beautiful and in the perfect location. In our 3 night say we had visits by Elephants,Bush Buck,Kudu, Hippo,Giraffe, were woken each morning by a family of Baboons and saw Crocodile in the river and Wild Dogs on the other bank. Absolutely fantastic The hosts are amazing and the food was perfect.

The location in the middle of the bush. We had the villa which was very clean. The staff were great. The food was amazing, I requested vegetarian which was really good. The waterhole were animals come to drink. We saw all the Big 5 (we did 6 game drives). It felt like a home away from home. Will recommend it to everyone.

The staff made us feel like family. Audrey, Neil, Harduus, everyone was extremely friendly and took excellent care. The food was delicious. Many elephants visited the waterhole during our stay. The game drives are thrilling and the guides very knowledgeable.

The property was very good, had great facilities such as a nice pool area and the honesty bar. The staff were amazing and really made us feel like family. We even went out for a meal with them on our final evening. Bianca the chef was amazing, all her meals were so good and diverse. Selby our game driver was the best we could’ve asked for, he was amazing at spotting all the animals and taught us so much, was a genuinely nice guy aswell. We already want to come back and will miss all of the staff. Would highly recommend to anyone wanting to do a safari. We had a perfect experience. The hospitality was amazing aswell, they really do all the little details that made our trip so good.

Just everything!!! The BUSH! THE SILENCE! NATURE!

The interior design is amazing, very comfortable bed, the hospitality exceptional and we had the best coffee of our trip at breakfast.

Staying at African Flair is a wonderful experience and a great place to base yourself to see the attractions of the region. This is one of those rare places where only videos or seeing the lodge in person can fully capture the attention to detail and layout of the lodge, photos just don't do justice to take it all in. The included breakfast is exceptional too and way better than anything you could find elsewhere in town. We don't often post reviews on accommodation that we stay at but this is an exception. Having visited all corners of the globe this is the closest we have seen to a 10/10. The lodge is roomy, well decorated and full of optional extras at your discretion to make your visit even more memorable. If you want to really cap off a memorable visit to the Kruger/Blyde River region, this is definitely the place to stay!

From the moment we arrived at this unique luxury boutique lodge we felt the warmth and sincerity in the hospitality of the owner and staff. We stayed in a very private and secluded unit with its own little dipping pool that gave us the feeling of complete serenity in an awe-inspiring riverside setting-- complete with a firefly show at night. Chef Lucky did not disappoint in any of the culinary presentations during our stay. Refreshing cocktails and excellent wine selection. Sunset drives on the property with frequent sightings of a variety of animals, even herds of cape buffalo, motor boat cruises on the dam, romantic private sunset picnics, relaxing and lounging with cool dips in the pools overlooking the dam with even a little crocodile sunning island-- these were just a few of the special touches. The main lodge is beautifully decorated with originality and attention to detail. We looked forward to the evening fireside dinners, with wonderful menu selections. Great place to just relax and commune with nature in the bush or if preferred, arrangements for Big 5 drives in Kruger were also available. Special credit goes to the young, energetic and charismatic owner/operator, Francis, for her vision in creating such an outstanding experience.