The people who work at this lodge are competent, hard working and eager to meet any request. I had a private vehicle and guide for my three days in this part of Kruger and Sarah was an excellent guide/driver. Very versed in birds and animals of the region. The weather was unseasonably hot when I was there about 42 or 105 for the non metric. The lodge does not have true air conditioning due to some eco restrictions so it was not very nice at night. They use some sort of water cooled heat pump or exchange for cooling. This works in warm weather but cannot compensate for very hot weather. This place in cool or cold weather would be wonderful however.

Room quality is good. Nice shower, lots of room, great view of the open plains in front of the lodge. Unusual open air construction which is nice.

Value is reasonable, probably one of the nicest places to stay in this part of Kruger park. Not cheap but you get what you pay for. Bed quality is good. Everything is very clean. Sleep quality is not so good when it is over 98 degrees at night but that lasted only two nights and it was down to the 60's for the third night. Location of this lodge is good, a bit off the usual trip to Kruger Park and definitely different from the Sabi Sands type of eco system or southern Kruger Park. Long drive from Johannesburg airport but can be done if you leave by 8 am. Food quality is good, not super high end since they only have native cooks. If they send some of their staff to high end places for some advanced training this place could really shine. There seems to be a requirement to hire native staff to help the communities but there is a very large difference between a gourmet chef and a cook which the native community doesn't seem to understand. This hurts the ability to provide world level food and service despite a willingness to work hard.

Internet service is limited, fine for email which you can do in their office but you can forget about web surfing or any transfer of large photos or files. I am not sure if they use a satellite or if they have a fixed land line. If a few of the better lodges in the area chip in for a microwave link that would improve things quite a bit.

You can easily spend a week here. I was pressed for time since I wanted to see as much of Kruger in 9 days before going to a game reserve in the Sabi area. 3 days was barely enough to get an appreciation of this part of the park. Some people just spend a day or two, I would spend a month in Kruger if I have the opportunity in the future(might be many years from now unfortunately).

If you are interested in photography, a private vehicle is a must. Well worth the extra expense. You have total control of how long you want to spend looking at a bug, a cat or bird or any geographic feature. Also no kids or people who have no appreciation of nature. The price charged was a good deal less than in the game parks in the Sabi area where there is a need for both a driver and a tracker.

This lodge is a bit of a paradox, what they want to achieve regarding energy conservation is commendable but for a high end place not to be able to offer all weather comfort is not good. Even the standard Kruger Park facilities have air at all of their major rest camps. With these limitations I could not bring my wife out here in the summer, she would not put up with it, winter yes, this would be a great place. To me this limits the economic potential and benefit to the local community since I doubt this place would be fully booked when it get very hot.

An old mate was visiting from far and living in Musina, I wanted to make his visit as special as possible.
Yes. Cape Town is arguably one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but the bushveld…Well, the few that have discovered its secrets have never left or try and come back at every opportunity.
Of course it was all a surprise, and as we drove off on the Friday, Maritz was convinced we were going to Mapungubwe. If he only knew :)

Few things in life give as much pleasure as seeing the surprise and excitement on someone’s face, and knowing you made them feel that way. I guess this is what most people in the hospitality industry feel like, when welcoming guests. Especially folks that work at places like the Outpost. Places like these make us regular folk super-envious of their jobs.
Maritz couldn’t hold back and let out a slight, “Wow” as Charmaine opened the door to the rooms. It wasn’t a room, it was a view.
Yes. A view with a bed, a tub, a shower a great couch and then some more view.

The game-drives made the weekend uberspecial, but the one particular trip made it all worth it. The sunset was magical and as the last rays of sun touched the tree-tops, Joey got a call on the radio of some animal spotted around the next hill. We rushed off and then saw another Landy not far ahead. Joey prepared us for lions and told everyone to remain quiet and follow him, but as the picture came into full view from behind the bush, I couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t believe it. For the last four months I had been a very outspoken activist for these animals and the pointless slaughtering that goes on, yet I had only once ever seen one in rehabilitation, never in the wild….There before my eyes was a Rhino-mum and her calf! My day, weekend, year was made. How amazing and beyond human comprehension is nature? Who painted the zebra, taught the racket tailed-roller to dive, upholstered the elephant or keeps Orion on the run from Scorpio?
A weekend closer to nature, closer to friends, closer to God.

Perfect in every way! We have been fortunate to have travelled the world. In fact we have been to over 50 countries in the past 30 years and the Outpost is certainly one of the most wonderful places we have ever stayed. We absolutely loved it. The rooms are out of this world. The service was outstanding. The staff were amazing and the food was on par with any top London restaurant.
Being in the most northern part of the Kruger the game is not as plentiful as the south, so if you are looking for lots of game or the big 5, the Outpost is not for you. But if you are looking for a different experience - being in one of the most remote places in the world, with no light pollution and seeing the most amazing stars, with no one else to spoil your game viewing, seeing lots of birds that are not seen in other areas, staying in the most amazing accommodation with fantastic food and breath taking views – go to the Outpost.
We arranged to go on a walking safari on one of our days which was great. They went out of their way to arrange this at short notice. A big thank you to everyone at the Outpost. You deserve every award / accolade you have won - you certainly are among the best of the best and I am so so pleased to have experienced it. Thank you.

I am lucky enough to be able to travel often around Southern Africa and visit many of the best properties, some are as expected, some are underwhelming. The Outpost exceeded all my expectations and then some.

Starting with the staff and management who were wonderful. All members of the Makuleke community who are the ultimate owners of this spectacular property, they treated us like honoured guests and nothing was too much trouble. Service was excellent.

The rooms are incredible. Spacious and comfortable and simply furnished with the most magnificent views over the Luvuvhu River. Utter peace and tranquility.

Food was very good. Not haute cuisine but mostly delicious and certainly plentiful even for someone with a very healthy appetite (like me...)

The game viewing.... well I've seen the Big 5 a hundred times, so I could care less if I saw a pride or lions or not (we didn't). This is not for the folks who are doing a one week trip to Africa and are never coming back. The huge attraction of the area is that it is relatively untouched and unexploited and so there is a true feeling of "wilderness" which is so often hard to get in many other parts of South Africa. If however you have been to the bush a few times and are looking for something special and different, or incredibly romantic, then this is it.

There are huge baobab trees (all looking like extras from Lord of the Rings) and magical fever tree forests. There are lovely rivers and deep canyons. So much magnificent scenery - thinking back on the trip now it feels almost dreamlike.

We did see buffalo and elephant and some fabulous birds and lots of the usual antelope species and one or two smaller creatures too. Our ranger / field guide Byron was superb. Always interesting, knowledgeable and chatty. Who knew butterflies could be so interesting!

Bottom line, I left wishing desperately that I could have stayed another couple of days. This is a very special place indeed. Thank you Thomas and team!