Mongena Private Game Lodge

Who would have thought that less than 90 minutes drive from Gauteng one can find oneself in typical South African bushveld, complete with plentiful game … and the Big Five. Sound wonderful? Our recent trip to Mongena was a delight. We chose to stay at Little Mongena for the glamping experience. This proved to be the best decision for us. We love every moment. We’ll add to that attentive, friendly staff who go way beyond the extra mile to ensure that your stay in the bush is everything you could wish for. Knowledgeable game guides keep one interested with information and anecdotes about the wildlife … big and small. In our three days we saw elephants many times, lions on different occasions, both black and white rhino at different times, as well as many buck species, warthogs, jackals (including a little pup) … and to our delight, two Caracals, and a Python. Then, we need to mention the food. Well, the best is to experience that for yourself. Delicious, catering to different tastes, the meals are scrumptious. Will we return? For sure - we can’t wait!

What an awesome day trip from Johannesburg! We went on an absolutely brilliant Game Drive. Our Guide, Rene, was world class (I’ve been on a LOT of game drives). She was full of brilliant info, great jokes and such a vibe! Highly recommend this as an outing with the whole family. We saw awesome sightings and just loved feeling like we’d been away for the whole long weekend.

Travelled to mongena with my best friend and our 2 dads for our first ever safari, we had 1 night in the main lodge and after a long travel from the uk was pleased to be welcomed with a lovely big room each and equally as big bathrooms. After settling in and getting refreshed we were greeted by Shareece who would be our guide during our stay at main lodge. She gave a quick safety brief and we were away on our first trip, there was 4 in our party and another man who was in our van so all in all 5 of us and the guide, I felt this was a lovely amount of people as we had plenty of room in the van to move around and take photos. During our 1 night stay we had 2 safaris, 1 afternoon drive after arriving, and 1 early morning one the next day, I must say Shareece was extremely knowledgeable and tried her best to ensure we saw as many animals as we could without feeling rushed and somehow during our first 2 drives we’d managed to see most of the big 5! I’d say the grounds of mongena were kept well and definitely had the bush African experience we were looking for, there was plenty of impalas and zebras walking round freely much to the delight of our group. The rooms were lovely and clean, beds comfy and the bathrooms were also nice and clean, we did only stay here for one night so can’t comment on frequency of cleaning etc. The food at the kingfisher restaurant was absolutely amazing for each meal we had while there, and while soft and alcoholic drinks weren’t included between the 4 of us hardly spent anything compared to the price of the uk! Overall for our first safari experience we all throughly enjoyed the accommodation and game drives we did and were happy with the animals we did see. I will say at the time of year we went I would definitely recommend taking a jumper/coat as a minimum because the morning/evening drives can be pretty chilly with the wind when the sun isn’t around!

What amazing accommodation! We recently stayed at the Barn House at Mongena private game lodge - and what a lovely surprise. It was far better than we expected. The decor was stunning and there was every utensil and piece of equipment you could have hoped for. We felt right at home from the moment we arrived. The attention to detail and the cozy atmosphere made our stay unforgettable. It is unfenced so we were treated to the real African experience of having giraffe walk past while braaing and before our morning game drive we had the excitement of 6 lion resting close by to the Barn House. I would also recommend eating at their Kingfisher restaurant - they have superb food - such an amazing chef and staff.... I definitely recommend staying there. Mongena has a variety of different accommodation and I've had the pleasure of staying at both Little Mongena tented camp (glamping) and the Barn House and I can honestly recommend both.

Great lodge, service and food. Good value for money. The busbucks and monkeys in the lodge grounds keep you entertained. The staff is well-trained, and the accommodation is clean, tidy and comfortable. The restaurant’s food is delicious and has an excellent selection available.

I led a group of 24 guests do this lodge. They have certainly upgraded and improved this facility over the years. Beautiful grounds in the middle of a private concession as part of Dinokeng reserve. Rooms had recently been refurbished and were immaculately clean. The restaurants served first rate food which could not be faulted at all. They also had reasonable conference facilities for our group. We did early morning and late afternoon game drives and were fortunate to see all of the Big Five including lions and surprisingly lots of cheetah. Of course, this can be hit or miss and disappoints a number of people when they don't get to see any animals and then blame the lodge. We realized we were fortunate for the eight days we were there.