Mantobeni lodge is one of two Honeyguide properties in Manyeleti Game Reserve, with access to the full 23,000 hectacres of Big 5 traversing. This is our first trip to Manyeleti, which is a game reserve sandwiched between two of our favourite reserves – Sabi Sands and Timbavati (and also bordering our favourite place on earth, Kruger National Park). So needless to say, we were excited to check out the game viewing! We were lucky enough to have three nights away from our children for this stay so we booked Mantobeni (no children) instead of their sister property Khoka Moya, which accepts children of all ages.
Honeyguide Montobeni lodge is not the typical 5-star luxury experience like many other places we have stayed but if you’re after an authentic African ‘glamping’ experience that offers good value it offers a great choice. One of the key drawcards of this place is the likelihood of getting up close and personal with elephants while swimming in their pool (we got this both days) – making for amazing photos and videos for your social accounts!
Mantobeni Lodge’s Accommodation, Food & Service
The rooms
Mantobeni offers 15 luxury tents, which can accommodate a maximum of 36 guests. The tents are relatively basic but offer everything you need for a very comfortable stay and really give you a feeling of being immersed in nature. Each tent includes a bed, desk and chair, lounges, a small wardrobe and safe, and an open-air bathroom with shower and vanity. Note that they do not have baths (this is always something I prefer to have when I go on safari – particularly if in cooler months)!
It’s also worth noting that as with all tented accommodation, you are much more at the mercy of the weather (as they do not have air conditioning/heating) – so just beware if you stay in summer or winter. We stayed in early June (winter) – and it was pretty cold in our tents!
The lodge
The camp is unfenced, which means you can have wildlife coming through – including elephants – which means you need to be careful (and need escorts at night). While we were there we did get elephants in camp. They also have a communal pool, attached to the eating area and bar, which is on the smaller side but the key element is the regular appearance of elephants who come to drink! There is also a waterhole not far from the pool.
The Food
Like pretty much all lodges, you are not in danger of going hungry while staying at Mantobeni. They offer breakfast (including cold buffet and hot made to order), lunch and dinner. There were usually two options to choose from for lunch and dinner, but they can cater to dietary restrictions or requests. Lunch and dinner was a three-course affair. They also offered really yummy bread.
For the price of Mantobeni (which is on the cheaper side), you are very well fed – obviously you cannot expect the five-star quality and fanciness of more luxurious lodges but everything we ate was tasty. Also as expected at this price point, drinks are not included (except for a sundowner on your evening game drive) – but we did enjoy some great margaritas by the pool (at additional cost).
Game viewing at Mantobeni Lodge
The wildlife sightings
This is what we were most excited about – our first taste of Manyeleti Reserve, which we had heard some great things about and expectations were high given it being in between Sabi Sands, Timbavati and Kruger National Park. Lodges in Manyeleti all have access to the entire reserve, which does mean that there can be competition for sightings (that also means your time can be limited at each sighting) – but this is not an different to most places we have stayed.
The landscape is not as diverse as some other game reserves, however they do have a lot of open plains which make for good sightings and are also great for cheetah sightings (we had two during our six drives).
While we were there we had lots of great lion sightings, but were less lucky for leopards – just the one high quality leopard sighting that we needed to drive quite a distance to see. This is not unusual when there are lots of lions around! But over our six drives we managed to see the Big 5 and cheetah, and you can’t complain about that!
The Experience
While we did have to wait for some sightings, and leave some to make way for others, I felt we had a good amount of time at most. The exception being that we ended up being a bit late for both cheetah sightings which impacted our quality – but we still saw the cheetahs nicely and got our pictures. Overall, this was a higher standard than some of the Sabi Sands lodges we have stayed at!
One major downside of Mantobeni is that they no longer used trackers, which meant we had a lower chance of spotting wildlife (particularly cats) – one of our best sightings was actually thanks to my eagle eyes 🙂
While at Mantobeni we had six people to a vehicle, which we were happy about – it can get quite uncomfortable when you go up to 8 or even 10 in some places.
What we love about Honeyguide Mantobeni Lodge
- Elephants frequent the pool which can make for one of your trip highlights during the day
- The camp is unfenced, which adds some adventure to your stay
- While we do prefer places that offer views of a waterhole, the tents at Mantobeni have a real wilderness/bush feel
- The game viewing is great as they have a large traversing area and the game reserve is less popular than places like Sabi Sands, so there are fewer vehicles racing around (the flip side is of course that there are fewer people out finding animals)
- The price is on the lower side, which means for the quality of the game viewing you get good value – they are also one of the few lodges who sometimes offer a pay for 2 nights stay for 3 nights offer (pay 3/stay 4 is a lot more common)
Considerations…
- The food while plentiful is a more on the home-style side of things than luxury 5-star cuisine
- The tents don’t have heating or air conditioning so this can impact your comfort – particularly in summer and winter
- There’s no bath – shower only
- We had a very small snake enter our tent when we first arrived. It was harmless and left as soon as it came in – and this sort of thing can happen pretty much anywhere – but a higher likelihood with tented accommodation.
- There are no trackers, which does reduce your chances of seeing as many animals – particularly rarer/smaller things and cats
So, should you stay at Mantobeni Lodge?
Mantobeni is not in our top five or probably even ten lodges, however if you’re working to a budget it does offer a great option to experience an authentic African safari – and the strong chance of seeing elephants drinking from the pool (while you may be in it) is quite an amazing experience in itself.
While not a 5-star lodge in terms of accommodation, food or service, we really enjoyed our stay and often appreciate a bit less fuss! The main thing is that the game viewing is still great quality. We would stay again if price was a consideration – but I’d try to avoid winter and summer months in future.
If you’re interested in booking Mantobeni, or another unforgettable safari, get in touch with us. We will find the best deal at the perfect place according to your budget and the sort of safari you’re looking for.