Mosethla Game Lodge

 

                                                

               

                                                 

Where we stayed while on safari in Madikwe in South Africa was an enchanting bush camp smack dab in the middle of the provincial park.  Calling themselves the only eco-tourism camp of the park, they claim a zero-carbon footprint, lack any electricity, and proved to be a delightfully magical place.  

           

            

The private bedroom suites, called bomas, are situated on stilts above the ground with semi-open sides and are lit at night by oil lamps and solar lanterns.  Such romance, such beauty, and such affordability made this the best ever bush camp of them all.

                               

               

Our private bathroom was all that could be quaint and charming, including these two love-bird frogs whose position on our bathroom mirror varied each time we encountered them.

              

                                              

The food at Mosethla was super yummy, especially considering that everything is prepared over an open flame.  The staff were generous and accommodating to a fault, the service was impeccable, and the experience was quite unforgettable.

              

Most bush camps and safari drives come with deluxe accommodations with the price tag to show.  The cost of a stay in a bush camp takes ones breath away far more so than the wild animals viewed on safari.  This place, however, was a fraction of the expense because it is more rustic and electricity free.  But with only 16 guests maximum, we felt spoiled and pampered, and we experienced the exact same animal viewing as those who spent a small fortune.  In fact, our safari driver is one of the more experienced drivers in all of Madikwe, and we wanted for nothing nor missed anything.  Night drives are wild!

             

             

             

What is a donkey boiler, you may ask?  It's the ingenious system they have at Mosethla to provide hot-water showers for their guests.  Let me walk you through the showering process...

                                            

First you fill your bucket with cold but clean well water...

...which you cart to the donkey boiler.  As you deposit water in one end, piping hot water warmed by a fire all day magically pours from the other side into another bucket.

Whereupon you take the scalding water bucket back to the original cold well water to get just the right amount of warm water you need.

Cart this hot water to your private bathroom...

pour it into your shower bucket...

              

...hoist with ingenious pulley system to the correct height (which isn't too high for us), and voila,

              

A 5-minute private hot-as-you-like shower in the bush!

             

Optional:  have your sweetheart repeat the process so as to give you a luxurious 10-minute shower.

Mosethla Bush Camp could not have been more charming, intimte, or endearing, and I can't wait to bring my kids back here in 2025.


The Mosethla tree.

I actually wept when I saw the southern cross.  It looks like a kite (4 stars in diamond pattern) with a long tail.

                                                 





Comments

  1. BJMay 5, 2024 at 7:45 AM

    So beautiful. What a great experience. I think i would have cried too if I saw the Southern Cross.

    ReplyDelete

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