The Welgevonden Game Reserve is located in Limpopo, which is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is a large reserve covering a little more than 1.6 million acres and contains an abundance of wildlife. The reserve can be characterized by a mountainous terrain with deep valleys. We stayed at the Nedile Lodge, which sits at the top of a valley, for a week last December. The lodge recently won the top luxury lodge on the continent of Africa, and after staying there, I can see why.
Mornings at the Lodge consist of getting up before dawn, heading out for several hours, and then heading back to the lodge for breakfast. Of course that can change depending on the wildlife activity. The biggest attraction are the lions and there are only two male lions in the game reserve. We had seen the male lion (named Tembe) in the northern part of the reserve where the Nedile Lodge is located. Near the end of one morning’s Game Drive, as we were ready to head back to the lodge for breakfast, we got word that the southern male lion had just made a kill and was resting. Breakfast was soon to become lunch. Our Rangers took us on a roller coaster-like ride for about 45 minutes south of where we had been, hoping that the lion was still there. Our hopes were rewarded as we found him still wide awake (male lions sleep 18-20 hours a day) and he posed for us for a while. Just another great day on our safari.