Shakila Bush Lodge - near Nylstroom, Waterberg

A time to relax and enjoy Gods country. Sitting in a hot jacuzzi overlooking the bush. Plenty bird life. Tranquil and very private. An escape from the city and a time to collect ones thoughts and let your hair down. We come hear every chance we get. I hear its pet friendly too. Self catering.Hotel highlightsGreat view, Romantic, Quiet, Great value

February 2009 If you can’t even drive with your Pajero or Fortuner on a game reserve’s roads – then you know it’s BAD! ---000--- FEBRUARY 2009 review: A few weeks ago, I requested a special Sunday breakfast – chocolate croissants and the Afrikaans Sunday newspaper, Rapport. With chocolate crumbs all over the duvet, both cats stretched out lazily, I paged through the mostly gossip-and-terror news, until I grabbed the Travel section. An article on a tented camp in the Waterberge, Limpopo – Zyndrandt, caught my attention. Saving the contact and website details on my computer, we decided to try it out. There are different accommodation options - and then our choice, the 4x4 Luxury Tents – only 3 of them, sleeping 2 in each tent. Hein Pretorius and I decided to start our weekend a day earlier, on the Thursday, 26th February. Everything packed and ready, we left after 12. Biltong slices and Chilli biltong sticks our lunch. Traffic was a breeze and we stopped in Bela-Bela to refuel. A very jovial black man with deep dimples asked if he could wash our windscreen. It wasn’t that dirty, so we said no. The guy looked through Hein’s open window through the windscreen and his words were: “I’m dubious about that statement.” Well, who can resist such an offer? After thoroughly cleaning the windscreen, he looked again through Hein’s window to the windscreen and said: “It has now been rejuvenated!” We just laughed and gave him a tip. Arriving at Zyndrandt’s gates, Lilly was waiting for us. Friendly and chatty, she looked at our Pajero in complete approval and led us to the camp on her quad bike. The roads were in a bad state – apparently, they had quite a few cloudbursts and the sand has been swept away. She advised us strongly against trying any of the 4x4 trails. Tent no 1 was ours for the weekend. Tent no 2 & 3 seems less private, although they are quite a few meters apart. A neat gravel path leads to the tent through rocks and succulents. The sleeping tent is big enough for the 2 ¾ beds, 2 bedside tables with 1 lamp, a metal clothes frame to hang our clothes and a metal shelf for your bags. The en-suite bathroom is adjacent to the sleeping tent, the walls built with sandbags covered with concrete. Shower, toilet, basin, mirror and bath mats made it more than sufficient. A lovely biggish sundeck overlooks the valley. Well-stocked but tiny kitchen with canvas walls and roof completed the picture. Weirdly, the ‘fireplace’ is a drum right next to the patio.

One of the best place to relax, unwind and just do nothing. We spent 5 days there and not once did I feel like I needed to be doing something except reach for another cold one from the fridge. sit and watch the bush and all the bird life. Sit and watch bush TV every night for those who have no idea what that is, it is the fire. We Jacuzzi ever night and loved it. I would say that it is a horrible place so that no one else books it when I want to go but that would be unfair to all those who need to get back to the bush and just relax. We loved the place and can not wait to go back. Rooms: The accommodation is all that one needs when going away. More than enough bedding and beds in our unit

Beware...crime syndicate in the area. We weren't warned of prior incidents. The email from Shakila stated that if we see people moving about we should not be worried as they have guards patrolling which in actual fact is one aged guy. We were a group of 12. Thieves were most likely watching us the entire day as they entered the tents in the 1 hour gap while we all were sleeping. Phones, watches, bags, jewelery and cash was stolen. Very suspicious that the thieves knew to travel over 25 kilometers on foot over mountainous and very rugged terrain to come and check if anyone was staying there. Inside job perhaps?

An absolute gem in the rough. The private deck, jacuzzi, gorgeous bush and beautiful night sky makes the trip. The tent itself was clean, comfortable and spacious. Love the outside shower. The braai area is also really nice for socialising. When we got there, there was no running water but Tinus was so hands on and friendly, and the problem was resolved quickly, despite it being in the late evening. We were checked on daily. The road is a bit rough for an ordinary sedan, but if you are really careful, it's okay in dry weather. The room did get cold as the tent flaps were a bit worn, so maybe a little bit of maintenance on the Velcro is needed. That being said, heaters are available in each room of the tent, as well as an extra blanket. We will definitely be back.

Beautiful setting, right in the heart of the bush. Tented Camps with everything you might need : Had a great time with friends, specially the awesome warm jacuzZi looking into the bush valley. We unfortunately did experience a while lot of rain during our stay and at point the tent has some leaking definitely some maintenance needed! There was also a lekker big Lapa one can use when such weather conditions arise with everything one might need. Otherwise a wonderful set place with a whole bunch of hiking to do and birds to see : * Only 2-3 star rating considering the old appliances n outdated maintenance needed !

What a devastating experience! We used to love going there but the crime has gotten out of control and the owner has not been honest or done much about it! We had tourists there on the 26th November 2021 and we were reassured that the owner has upped the security and we would even have a "personal security" for that weekend. We'll, we arrived on Friday and had to leave by midnight as there was a shooting happening at the bottom and we saw people running frantically with flashlights. Nonetheless, our security was fast asleep as he was actually an elderly man whom was definitely not professionally equipped to deal with this situation. We packed up in minutes and left the premises. The owner was there to open the main gate for us and simply brushed off the situation as some kind of patrol. Needless to say, we never even got a call or an appolgy the next day, never mind the refund for the entire weekend we did not spend there. We still wanted a refund before even going on the 26th as our friends had been robbed of their belongings there the weekend prior, and we entrusted that the owner had got the crime under control. Furthermore, we got there and the jacuzzi was ice cold even though it was running from before we got there up until we left. TOTAL disappointment and embarrassment!

We stayed in the Aloa tent, it is private and far enough from the others so you won't be bothered. The kitchen and tent has everything you need some equipment is a bit old, but still functional. We spent a lot of time in the jacuzzi and around the fireplace. It was a great and relaxing getaway! Would definitely return for another visit.

Such an awesome quite place..great views and great adventure.Wildlife always roaming around and if there is not much noise they can pass by the camp sites. These tent are equipped with fridges and small kitchens with everything you can need, private jacuzzi and showers for small tents..big tents have bath tubs as well. If you need a place to relax and be away from all pressure this is the place...there is little to no network coverage to calm you down.

Very peaceful and quiet environment, the accommodation and kitchen facilities was up to our expected standard being a tented accommodation. The farm itself was disappointing as none of the road were vehicle friendly. We have a four-by-four vehicle but the branches and bushes has overgrown the roads. We booked for five nights and ended up staying for three. I can recommend this venue for a breakaway weekend in a Nature environment, but the activities and farm in general is nothing to be excited about