We discovered Nottens Bush Camp in May 2017, staying for just one night. Nottens is a family-run lodge located in the south of Sabi Sands (close to Shaws Gate and Skukuza airport), a new area for us as we had spent most of our time in the north of Sabi Sands (Elephant Plains, Cheetah Plains, Arathusa). We didn’t really know what to expect as Nottens was a small camp we had not heard a lot about but we were soon to find out just how awesome it was! One night was definitely not enough at this charming, understated, relaxed but very welcoming lodge. It ticked almost every box we had – read on for some more detailβ¦.
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Nottens accommodation
The camp consists of 9 private relatively large open-plan suites, each with their own style and character. The ensuite bathrooms have both showers and baths, with an outdoor shower (and in our case also an outdoor bath!) as well. The camp shares traversing with Sabi Sabi across about 6,000 hectares of private game reserve. One of the charming elements of Nottens, but one that some people may find annoying, is the absence of electrical lighting or air conditioning in the suites. There are ceiling fans and the staff ensure you have enough light (via paraffin lamps etc) at night to be comfortable. We didn’t find this to be too much of an issue but we haven’t tested it out in summer where the lack of air conditioning may become more of an issue!
We love that the camp is completely unfenced, which means you may encounter wildlife around the grounds at any time! When we returned from our one evening game drive there was a leopard walking through the staff grounds of the lodge – very exciting! Many of the rooms and the main area of the lodge also overlook a large open area and waterhole, where we enjoyed watching a large herd of elephants drink shortly after our arrival. Elephants and a leopard on the grounds in under a few hours – that’s definitely nothing to complain about!
Nottens also has a lovely 20M lap pool (albeit not with a great view) and gym facilities. The last thing we loved about Nottens was that the rates were not just reasonable but completely all-inclusive – even including laundry (something we have very rarely seen elsewhere in South Africa). So all drinks (there are probably some premium exceptions), food, game drives, laundry etc are included within your rate, making it even better value.
Nottens Food
It’s hard to judge food after just one night, but from what we saw (or rather, ate), the food was excellent quality and abundance at Nottens! You certainly won’t go hungry with a very generous breakfast of fruits, muesli, muffins plus a hot breakfast and then another sizable lunch/high tea including all sorts of sweet and savoury delights. Dinner is a three course meal, served around a communal table so that everyone can get to know each other and discuss the amazing sightings from the evening’s game drive. We even had Bambi (one of the owners) join us as well as Dave, the operational manager. Our dinner was delicious and the dessert even better (of course I am a bit biased as I LOVE my dessert!).
Game Viewing at Nottens
We enjoyed two game drives and one short walk while at Nottens and were not disappointed. Our first afternoon/evening game drive was particularly memorable. We started off at a giraffe kill site where hyenas and vultures were jostling for some food and action. The sighting got a bit busy with lots of Sabi Sabi cars wanting to come by so off we went looking for some more amazing wildlife. We saw lots of general game and had an awesome elephant sighting before finding a leopard once it got dark. We tried to keep up with her but she was busy hunting in long grass, so we after a nice sighting and a few photos we headed home⦠only to find another leopard walking around the lodge when we returned! We watched her trying to hunt a scrub hare but with no luck.
The next morning we had an awesome rhino sighting along with some other general game and birds, no predators but game drives are not always about predators!! We also enjoyed our walk where we were able to get reasonably close to some giraffes and learn about other interesting, smaller elements of the bush.
What we love about Nottens
- Great quality and quantity of food
- Large, comfortable suites with good size ensuites (bath, shower, outdoor shower)
- We had one of our favourite ever safari guides, though it looks as though he may not be there any more
- Owner run with a more personal feeling than many other lodges
- Free wifi at the main area
- Only 9 suites so even when full it is still intimate and relatively quiet
- Excellent quality game drives and game viewing
- Fully inclusive – including drinks and laundry
- The camp is completely UNFENCED so you are in the bush! (animals could move freely into and through camp)
- Offer guided game walks in big five area
- Excellent value compared to other Sabi Sands lodges
- There’s an onsite gym for those who like to get their exercise every day π
- The lodge overlooks a waterhole, which brings a higher likelihood of seeing wildlife while in camp
Considerations (things some people may not like)
- No air conditioning or electric lighting – it wasn’t a problem for us but it may get hot in summer months
- Unfenced camp – we personally love this but some people prefer the added security of a fence
- This lodge is great value and sees a lot of return visitation, which makes it difficult to book into unless you plan very far ahead!
- The pool is a good size but its location means it doesn’t really have a view of the bush/waterhole
- Traversing area is great but because Nottens shares with Sabi Sabi, some sightings can get quite busy given Sabi Sabi has a lot of game vehicles out when they are busy (this means you may not get to spend as long as you’d like at sightings as there are limitations on how many cars can be at each sighting)
So should you stay at Nottens?
Absolutely yes. My only hesitation would be in summer as I’m not sure how hot it may get without air conβ¦ but I’d probably still risk it as it’s such a great value lodge. Nottens was a really unexpected find for us as we hadn’t heard much about it prior to staying, but it’s definitely somewhere we want to visit again. We have since tried to book many of our clients here but often are disappointed as they are so popular! So if you’re keen, get in touch with us now so we can look at availability straight away (and if they are not available, we can suggest some similar lodges that are also in our top 5).
Contact us if you’d like us to create the perfect African safari for you!
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