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brunogarennealabadi
FR
Visited:
September 2006
Reviewed: Sep 18, 2016
Email brunogarennealabadi | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Marakele- worth the trip
Marakele , has been one of my favourites national park i've been to .
the park in , 2 parts : once is more rocky mountain, with stunning view on surrounding, and the other part more flat .
The wildlife for ones who loves mamal has been great : kudu, white rhino, antelope is really lovely.
The tented camp is great and well situated , You can enjoy, very early morning , animals coming to drink, while you'll hear sometimes fishing eagle.
i overall rate it as excellent, and also considering that kind of camp and price range.
Raffaella
IT
Visited:
August 2016
Reviewed: Nov 28, 2016
Email Raffaella | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
johan van moorhem
BE
Visited:
February 2017
Reviewed: May 20, 2017
Email johan van moorhem | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
For lovers of nature and relax
Staying at Tlopi tented camp it felt so relaxed, surrounded by pure nature, observing birds and wild animals drinking at the waterpool, fabulous sundown and sunset and a clear starfull night. It felt so nice this solitude yet richness of nature. The safari from gate to the camp was a wonderful ride with all the zebra's, impala's, monkeys around. The accomodation was with all the comfort the visitor needs.
Visitor
Scenic zero big 5
Beautiful but a complete lack of animals in the Big 5 section...not even common animals.
Luca Fraschina
CH
Visited:
March 2018
Reviewed: May 23, 2018
Email Luca Fraschina | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wonderful place and very professional Guide in Marataba Safari Lodge.
Chris
ZA
Visited:
October 2021
Reviewed: Oct 18, 2021
Email Chris | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The gravel roads are the worst of SANParks and not suited for sedan vehicle at all. Shame on you!!!
Don't go there, the gravel roads are so bad all attention needs to be on driving the bad road condition's , it's impossible to do game viewing at the same time. Sedan vehicles should not be allowed to enter the park!!!!
Caroline
ZA
Visited:
August 2026
Reviewed: Aug 30, 2026
Email Caroline | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Bad management
What concerns us most is that this was not simply a matter of minor inconveniences. A number of basic service and maintenance failures occurred during our stay, culminating in a situation that we consider to be a serious safety concern.
1. Extremely restrictive accommodation times
We were only permitted to access the tented chalet from 15:00 and were required to vacate it by 10:00 the following morning.
While we understand that SANParks has established check-in and check-out procedures, the very limited time available to guests is disappointing, particularly when compared with other comparable wildlife establishments where guests
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are generally permitted to remain until approximately 11:00.Given the amount charged for the accommodation, we expected a better overall guest experience.
2. Repeated electricity failures
During our stay, we attempted to cook in the chalet, but the electricity repeatedly tripped.
This was extremely inconvenient and prevented us from properly using the facilities for which we had paid.
3. Basic maintenance not attended to
There was also no functioning bulb in the lamp in our room.
This is a basic maintenance issue that should have been identified and rectified before guests arrived. It is difficult to understand how accommodation can be handed over to paying guests without such elementary checks being carried out.
4. SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN – GATE TO THE WILDLIFE AREA
The most unacceptable incident occurred the following morning.
We wanted to enter the gated area to see the wildlife — which was, after all, one of the principal reasons for bringing our grandchildren to Marakele.
When we arrived at the gate, the intercom was not working.
We contacted reception for assistance. Instead of providing a safe solution, we were instructed to get out of our vehicle, open the gate manually, drive through, and then get out of the vehicle again to close the gate manually.
This is extremely concerning because the instructions at the gate clearly state that visitors must not leave their vehicles.
There is an obvious reason for such an instruction: this is a wildlife area.
We should not have been placed in a position where we were effectively required to choose between following the safety instructions or following the instructions of reception.
Even more concerning is that the receptionist informed us that the gate had apparently not been working for some time and that everyone entering the area had simply been opening and closing it manually.
If this is indeed the case, we find it completely unacceptable that SANParks has knowingly allowed this situation to continue.
A malfunctioning gate in a wildlife area is not a minor maintenance problem. It is a potentially serious safety hazard. Visitors should never be instructed to leave their vehicles in an area where they have explicitly been warned not to do so.
5. Unacceptable attitude from reception
What made the situation even more upsetting was the manner in which our concerns were handled.
While we were trying to explain our concerns to the receptionist, she repeatedly laughed.
We found this behaviour extremely inappropriate and disrespectful.
We were not complaining about something trivial. We were raising a genuine concern about a malfunctioning gate in a wildlife area and the safety implications of being instructed to leave our vehicle.
A paying guest raising a safety concern should be treated seriously and professionally.
The impact on our grandchildren
The purpose of this trip was particularly important to us.
Our grandchildren are leaving the country, and we wanted to give them the opportunity to experience South Africa’s wildlife and create a wonderful memory of their visit.
Unfortunately, because of these circumstances, they have not had the wildlife experience we specifically planned and paid for.
This is incredibly disappointing for us as grandparents.