Maninghi Lodge  Verified Listing

Left on Nov 15, 2018 for a stay in Oct 2018
My wife and I had only 1day to stay at this lodge. We very much enjoyed our stay even though drought conditions caused a paucity of animal sightings .However, the stay was worthwhile as we spotted a family of cape hunting dogs on 2 separate safari outings with Francois who was a super friendly and knowledgeable guide. A large baboon also visited behind our comfortable room. The location of the cottages close to the river provides a wonderful to view while having home cooked tasty meals provided by Victoria who is a wonderful sweet and helpful host. This lodge should be on your list to stay at for a few days for the peaceful location, outstanding knowledgeable hosts and the potential to see outstanding wildlife!

From the warm welcome to the wonderful location with rolling lawns to the Olifants River where a host of animals wandered down to the river, Maninghi Lodge was definitely a highlight of our visit to South Africa. We had one magical day when the elephants came to play in the river outside the Lodge for hours. We sat on the deck chairs under the enormous fig trees watching the elephants. We had breakfast and dinner catered which made it so much easier. Food was tasty and well presented. Nothing beats eating breakfast on the outside terrace waiting for the next animal to wander down to the river. We went of a game drive with Paul which was great and had a back massage which was also good. The owners Paul and Victoria are very knowledgeable and were great at providing the exact perfect amount of interaction with us. The Lodge is large as a party of 4 we enjoyed having the Lodge for our sole use. (It can accommodate up to 12 people) We have recommended Maninghi to friends and would definitely visit again when we visit South Africa.

Stayed for two nights, but wish it was more. The place and the location is breathtaking. You wake up in the morning with the sunset over the river just about 50 meters away with a panorama view with the possibility two view all the big 5 and a lot more. All taking place on your own lawn. We spotted lions, elephants, hippos and smaller animals and birds from the garden. On the gamedrive we spotted a lion and driving in to the house er spotted 8 more lions on the road. Beside the animals the place it self is fully stocked and even has a splashpool to relax in and a lot of space and utilitys. Thanks a lot to Paul, Francois and the staff for giving is a once in a lifetime experience.

Maninghi Lodge itself is in a wonderful position just along the river, spacious, you feel at home right away! Even though we saw the pictures of Elephants near by it truly does happen, we were delighted to have an Elephant visit in the morning, Hippo in the evening and all sorts, wart hogs, monkeys, interesting birds etc. Not to mention the hosts, Paul, Francois and Vikki are most welcoming, professional but also friendly. The food if you opt for catering is brilliant; spoilt for choice, delicious and very well presented! Paul & Francois also took us out to see the sights, we were always safe, entertained and the amount of knowledge they both have is outstanding. They are also genuinely excited and interested in the experiences they share with you! Can't recommend them enough! Thanks again for one of the best trips of my life!

Séjour du 11/13 novembre 2016 : nous avons tellement apprécié que, dès le 15, nous avons téléphoné pour savoir si l'on pouvais revenir du 16 au 20 novembre 2016 (ce qui n'était pas prévu au départ...) et et à notre grande satisfaction, nous avons ainsi pu revenir à Maninghi Lodge !! Un Lodge fabuleux particulièrement bien décoré, sur un site magnifique, directement au bord de Olifant River. Un point TRES IMPORTANT : que vous vous rendiez dans ce Lodge à 4 comme à 14 personnes, le Lodge sera entièrement privatisé POUR VOUS !!! CHAMBRES : nickels (propres, décorées sobrement mais avec goût, équipées d'une excellente literie, pour chacune d'elles de moustiquaires et de ventilateur -la clim serait en prévision pour bientôt...- mais également d'un sèche-cheveux par chambre) à l'étage, un grand « plateau » propose un espace nuit, avec d'un côté un lit double et de l'autre, un « dortoire » pour un groupe ou des enfants/ados... On nous a proposé l'installation de lit (avec moustiquaire) sur la terrasse à l'étage pour la nuit, mais nous avons dû renoncer, faute de météo favorable. SALLE DE BAINS : 2 salles de bain équipées de baignoire et de WC, l'une disposant en plus d'une grande douche. Un WC séparé (un 3e donc) est également à disposition SALON : équipé d'une grande TV écran plat, cela nous à notamment permis de visualiser nos photos, pour faire un premier tri CUISINE : immense et bien équipée (du grille-pain au four micro-ondes, en passant par tout ce que vous pouvez souhaiter...) Deux espaces Barbecue, dont l'un est couvert, nous a permis de préparer des grillades (la viande sud-africaine est succulente!) comme à notre hôte de nous préparer un « Potjies », plat mijoté pendant 8h sur feu de bois : la spécialité de François ! Pour la restauration, il est important de savoir que les repas que vous pourriez souhaiter nécessitent un approvisionnement exprès pour vous : il est donc souhaitable d'indiquer à l'avance combien de repas vous envisagez... MENAGE : plusieurs fois par jour, un personnel très discret passe pour faire la vaisselle, laver les sols, et dans la matinée faire les lits... AMBIANCE : c'est vous qui déterminerez l'ambiance... puisque le Lodge complet est privatisé pour vous ! En ce qui nous concerne, François est resté très discret quand on souhaitait plus d'intimité, mais très disponible quand nous le souhaitions : à 3 reprises, nous lui avons proposé de manger avec nous, ce qu'il a accepté avec plaisir. VIE ANIMALE : outre la visite d'un hippopotame (entre autres) venu brouter l'herbe à quelques mètres de nous, et d'un phacochère venu réclamer du pain sec, nous avons aussi eu droit à une bagarre de 3 lions de l'autre côté de la rive, avant que l'un d'entre eux ne s'enfuit … en traversant la rivière pour débarquer à quelques dizaines de mètres du Maninghi Lodge !! Bien sur, François, hôte du Maninghi Lodge, mais également ranger expérimenté de profession, nous avait rejoint sur la terrasse pour nous prévenir, nous fournir des explications, mais aussi assurer notre sécurité. François vous proposera également des Drive : on en a fait deux, et on a adoré ! Petit PLUS : nous avons pu faire laver/repasser nos vêtements dans la journée. Economique (R25, soit environ 1,60€ par T-shirt par exemple), ça nous a permis de réduire de moitié le poids de notre valise et dégager de la place pour nos achats-souvenirs ! Unique Bémol : la route d'accès non goudronnée rend préférable un véhicule haut, de type SUV ou 4x4 (les 4 roues motrices n'étant pas nécessaires). Cette route de 12 km nécessite un peu de patience pendant les derniers kilomètres, mais Maninghi Lodge en vaut très largement la peine ! Conclusion : VENI, VIDI, RE-VENI et on reviendra certainement encore !!!

Our 14 days stay at the Maninghi Lodge felt like Paradise. The hosts treated us perfect, much better than ever could be expected, especially Francois, as he took care of us most time of our holiday. The location of the lodge is perfect and in the garden we have been visited by may animals, such as eliphants, giraffes, impalas, gudus,bush bucks, water bucks, etc. this was really an experience which we will never forget and we will certainly return to the Maninghi Lodge.

Getting there on the rough road gives you already the true Safari feeling and arriving at the Lodge is like coming home, First sight, after being welcomed by our hosts Paul and Francois plus in our case also by the Chef Bill who prepared the most delicious meals for us as we had booked full board, is the Olifant river right in front of the lodge, unfenced and visited by numerous animals. A lot has been already said about the amazing knowledge of Paul and Francois. to which I can only agree. However, I also want to mention that the bed rooms, bath rooms and kitchen are spotless clean and well looked after. After an exciting game drive to Kruger or a scenic excursion to and around the Blyde River Canyon, it is heaven to relax on the verandah with a glass of wine and watching passing animals and birds, listening to the sounds of the African bush. I can only recommend the place which is still off the beaten track.

Maninghi Lodge is a sole-use rental that has many extra perks including two experienced bush guides, Paul & Francois. The drive in from the tar road is an adventure that to first time visitors to South Africa felt like entering Jurassic Park! Our university aged son and his girlfriend were with my husband and I and all of us were amazed to see so many animals on the drive to the lodge. Once there we were greeted with a nice cool drink and shown around the amazing property. What makes this lodge unique is the location right on the Oliphants River with a nice flat lawn up to the river. Paul and Francois helped us plan our time there and we made the most of it with a morning game drive, a trip to the rehabilitation center within Balule Game Reserve, and a day trip into Kruger National Park. We also enjoyed having our host cook dinner for us - two braais and a pjoke (stew) cooked in a clay pot. Be sure to allow time to just sit around the lodge and enjoy looking for animals. During our short stay we saw vervet monkeys, baboons, a solo male wildebeest, a family of warthogs, hippos and a rare wood owl. Our son enjoyed using the spotlight at night to see the crocodiles in the river and had a nightly visit from a water buck. Our game drive with Balule Reserve was very fruitful with close sightings of elephants and giraffe. There was a wide range of animals from jackals, impalas, waterbucks and kudus. Francois had insightful information about the area and the animals. There were many birds and insects - we enjoyed watching a dung beetle rolling his dung ball with two female dung beetles attached. At the rehabilitation center only a short 20 minute drive away within Balule Parsons Reserve we were amazed by the friendliness of the meerkats. There was a rehabilitated wildebeest named Haley that comes each evening for a bottle - they let us give it! There were hedge hogs and even a pair of African Wild cats. I would recommend this little excursion. Rising early one morning at 4:30am we left our lodge so we would be a Orpen Gate (Kruger National Park) as it opened. On of our first interesting things to see was the left over zebra kill by a leopard that it had pulled into a tree. From our car we were amazed to see a small black mamba snake - Paul was great to see it. We saw 3 different prides of lions - 2 at a great distance during the heat of the day when they were sleeping in the bushes and barely visible. Paul had the experience to know a good less traveled road and we were delight to have 20-30 minutes of watching a pride of lions at a very close range. They were on both sides of the road and a lioness and a male crossed right in front of Paul's Land Cruiser. We had a wonderful lunch at Satara and then headed back out of Orpen gate pleased with our day. What a bonus to see a sleeping leopard. At the gate itself an elephant didn't like the line of cars leaving the park being so close and gave a warning head shake and Paul moved our vehicle very quickly. Arriving back at the lodge, Francois had a wonderful meal cooking and ready for us. We opted to "self cater" for our breakfast and lunches and it worked out great. The suggestions sent by Paul/Francois were very helpful in finding a good place to get our supplies. They had the house well stocked and ready to go. There are three bedrooms downstairs (2 with double size beds and 1 with two twins). There's a large sleeping area upstairs that had many more beds. We spent most of our time under the large covered outside area and the upper level deck. There's one full bathroom downstairs and another half-bath (toilet only) which was perfect for our group. With a large group this might be too few but this was being remedied as we were leaving the work on a second bathroom was starting. The other thing that might have been nice would have been having AC in the bedrooms - there was an overhead fan and a standup fan that made it bearable. We slept with our windows open each night to enjoy the slight breeze. They offered to put our beds outside to "sleep under the stars" but the night we had picked it rained!! All of this for a very reasonable price - we were amazed to have sole use and our own "tour guides"! The price we paid for our game drives, meals and day trips was also very reasonable. We loved our trip and hope to go again soon. We traveled half way around the world for this amazing adventure....our only regret was that our schedules didn't allow us to stay longer. It was a great first trip to South Africa. Paul also does privately escorted tours around many game reserves in and around South Africa.

Wonderful location on Olifantsriver with daily visits of buffalo,hippo,elephant and various antelope. Birding paradise with massive fig trees right in front of the patio, Paul and Francois are very knowledgeable and a rare combination of host,game rangers and excellent cooks. They are able to tailor the level of attention from self catering to fully guided according to client preferences. We had a lovely time even during the sweltering summer heatwave, lounging in the splashpool while game viewing and bird watching . Highly recommended for an authentic bush experience.

Maninghi Lodge is situated right next to Olifants River, where you can sit most afternoons and watch the animal and bird life in and around the river. Paul and Francois were fantastic hosts with extensive knowledge of the bush and it's inhabitants. We thoroughly enjoyed our game drives and walks and also visited Blyde river canyon area. We self catered but full catering is also available. I would recommend Maninghi as an excellent place to stay if you want to experience real African bush.