Nkorho Bush Lodge is a small unfenced lodge in Northern Sabi Sands, located very close to the (unfenced) border of Kruger National Park. It is one of the more rustic options in Sabi Sands, although still rated four-star so you’ll still find all the comforts you need (and probably more) from a home away from home in the African bush!
Though they aren’t necessarily geared towards young children or infants, they do accept children of all ages which worked out well for us as we were lugging our 5-month old along with us! We were looking forward to checking out Nkorho, having already visited so many neighbouring lodges in the North of Sabi Sands including Cheetah Plains, Arathusa and Elephant Plains.
Nkorho’s Accommodation, Hospitality and Food
The lodge and rooms
Nkorho accommodates a maximum of 16 people across 8 rooms, all spaced out along their property. Not all rooms are born equal though, with some offering a better view of their waterhole and a little more privacy. We were pretty lucky and snagged Chalet 6 while we were there, which is a bit bigger than some of the rooms (great for us as we needed to fit in a cot) and with an awesome view of the waterhole. The rooms are thatched chalets with air-conditioning, queen beds, a desk, small fridge, coffee station, chair, cupboard and bathroom, plus ours had both indoor and outdoor showers. There was no bath in our room, but some of the rooms (including the honeymoon chalet) do have baths. There is also a family chalet available for families.
While the rooms are comfortable and had everything we needed they were on the older and more basic of the scale compared to other Sabi Sands lodges we have stayed. That being said we were told that they are getting a small revamp in November this year so this may improve them further. As I always say in these reviews though – the priority for us is always the safari experience and not the rooms or food so we don’t need the uber luxurious rooms. Nkorho is also one of the cheapest options in the reserve (with the same game viewing), so to us they represent very good value!
The lodge layout was good with all rooms relatively close to the common area and pool, and given the camp is small and unfenced you still had a real ‘close-to-nature’ feel. The infinity pool was a good size and overlooked the waterhole while there was plenty of undercover and uncovered areas to sit/lie and relax during the day. Nkorho usually has a spa, however (much to the dismay of our travelling companions) this wasn’t available during our stay as they were in the process of hiring a new spa therapist. They also have a bar and lounge area as well as a boma where dinners were eaten (weather permitting)
The Service
The service was probably as you would expect from a small four-star lodge. Some of the staff were a bit more reserved and quieter than other places however there was always someone around to assist if you need anything. We also appreciated the offer from one of the ladies to take Isla while we ate our lunch!
The Food
We scored the food at Nkorho a 6/10, but the caveat is that our scale works on comparison across all the lodges we have stayed, many of which are five star. So it’s a little unfair to be comparing a place the might cost $600 per person a night to one that costs double that. We don’t really care too much about food (so long as there is some and it’s nice enough) and there was plenty of food that was tasty here. It’s not going to win any culinary awards but they offered a good diversity and we certainly never went hungry! At Nkorho they serve a buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner every day that includes hot and cold options as well as a sweet “dessert”. Before game drive there are energy bars and muffins are provided during the morning coffee stop on game drive. In the evening there is also a good selection of snacks during the sundowner stop.
Going on safari with your baby or children at Nkorho
I am in the midst of writing a separate piece all about taking a baby on safari but in terms of whether Nkorho is a good option – it depends on the traveller! They don’t really market themselves to people with babies or small children and they probably aren’t as geared towards it as other lodges, however we had absolutely no dramas having Isla there during our two-night stay. They don’t have a cot on hand but that suited us as we prefer to use our own. One of the admin staff looked after Isla during our game drives and she did a great job. Also the fact that there is air conditioning and a fan in the room means there’s good options to make sure the temperature is appropriate for youngsters. The cost of babysitting was a reasonable R350 per drive.
If you are taking small children then something to consider is that Nkorho is not fenced, so you need to keep a close eye on the kids at all times. There is also no games rooms, children’s areas or safari clubs here which other lodges provide.
Game viewing at Nkorho
The wildlife sightings
Now for the part that really matters – what is the game viewing like? Well we were in Sabi Sands so we were expecting leopard sightings galore and we were not disappointed! Our first drive there were no leopards but that was forgiven since we found giraffe, zebra, a male lion (which I spotted!) which we then had to leave as we received word that two cheetahs were drinking from Nkorho’s waterhole! So we raced (very literally) back to the lodge and enjoyed a pretty awesome cheetah sighting (complete with some excellent photography). Our guide Callum was pretty happy as there were four people on the vehicle who had requested cheetah and he managed to deliver on the very first drive!
Not only this but we then managed to get a quick sighting of wild dogs in right as the sun went down (so not great for photography but still very cool to see). The next drive completed the super seven as we found buffalo, elephants and rhinos – actually during our two-night stay we had all the Big 5 except leopards come and drink at Nkorho’s waterhole, which is very productive in the dry months (June to September). Our two travel companions had requested cubs since they had gotten their cheetahs and they once again got their wish with not just a leopard cub but also two little lion cubs!
Their next request was ‘a kill’, to which I scoffed at…but then of COURSE they got this too on the second last drive, when a leopardess stalked and killed a baby scrub hare right next to our vehicle. It might not be an impala but it’s still a kill! At this point we realised that they were the absolute luckiest first-time safari-goers we had taken to South Africa as we had also found a PANGOLIN in Kruger just before heading to Nkorho… Who sees the Super 7, a leopard kill, honey badgers, porcupine and a pangolin on their first safari? Seriously. BUT I digress.
Here’s a short(ish) video we put together of some of our sightings while at Nkorho… Don’t forget to subscribe to our YT channel as well!
The Experience
So as you can see, the game viewing as expected in Sabi Sands, is excellent. This being said what I will say about Nkorho (as with most of Northern Sabi Sands) is that sightings are very busy – there were plenty of sightings we had to leave to allow other cars to come (eg. The cheetahs, the lion cubs and the leopard and cub), which can prove frustrating for wildlife photographers or those who have already ‘ticked off’ animals and would prefer to be able to spend quality time observing rather than racing around finding more animals. It is the perfect place to go on your first safari though if you are keen to see as many animals as possible and tick off the Big 5 (or even the Super 7 in our case).
Nkorho has a smaller traversing area of a bit over 5,000 hectares, but it’s plenty big enough to get the wildlife diversity and quality sightings you want. They share much of their traversing area with other lodges like Arathusa, Elephant Plains, Cheetah Plains and Chitwa Chitwa, which is why sightings can get quite busy.
What we love about Nkorho
- The game viewing is excellent – particularly good for leopards and elephants (as per Sabi Sands reputation)
- The lodge is a good size with a maximum of 16 guests – this also means it’s very unlikely you will have more than 8 people on your vehicle
- The waterhole is really productive in the dry season, which makes for added game viewing during the day – there were a steady stream of elephants, zebras, impala and wildebeest during the day and lions came both nights (though there is no spotlight so you can only see if you watch their online webcam).
- The lodge is unfenced – good or bad depending on your preference but we prefer the excitement of animals being able to roam through at any time. Also they are one of the few lodges that don’t require you to be escorted in the evening at all times (so long as you stick to well-lit paths) so this makes life much easier.
- They have trackers, which means you are more likely to find animals!
- It’s one of the cheapest options in Sabi Sands making it very good value so long as you aren’t looking for five star luxury!
Considerationsβ¦
- Traversing is not massive and it is shared with lots of other lodges making sightings very busy. There was also lots of times where animals were just outside their traversing area so just out of reach, which can be a bit annoying (ie. you can see elephants but you can’t get close enough to them as they aren’t allowed to drive over invisible boundaries (this is a common issue in private game reserves like Sabi Sands and Timbavati)
- While the food was absolutely fine, it’s not something you’ll write home about – however we don’t visit lodges for their food!
- Northern Sabi Sands is not the best for lions at the moment as they had a strong coalition of four male lions that decimated the population a few years ago and are still trying to recover. It’s more than likely you’ll still get lion sightings (we had three during our four drives) but if you are lion-obsessed there may be better places to go.
- Another issue of Sabi Sands is the prevalence of man-made structures – it’s hard to drive for too long without encountering another lodge/house, solar panel, power line or other man-made structure which detracts a little from the overall ‘wild’ experience.
So, should you stay at Nkorho?
We would definitely recommend Nkorho, particularly for people on their first safari who are looking to get a good quantity of sightings without spending a fortune on five star luxury. They are particularly a good option during the dry season as their productive waterhole means game viewing is not just limited to when you’re out on drive. They are likely to become even better value after their small revamp later this year..