Impodimo was one of three lodges we stayed at in the Madikwe game reserve - 2 in the Western part of the park & 1 in the East. Impodimo is in the West & when we arrievd, our guide, Wayne told us that we had the bast selection of game right on our doorstep & he wasn't wrong!

It was great to stay at 3 completely different lodges within Madikwe as each one is totally different. Besides Impodimo, we stayed at a wonderful tented camp & another amazingly luxurious (& much more expensive) lodge but Impodimo was by far our favourite.

The main lodge is beautiful - very luxurious with lots of separate areas to realx in. The chalets are also of a very high standard with lovely bathrooms & great outdoor areas. It has the most fabulous views, being perched high up, overlooking the reserve.

As a family of 4, with 2 teenagers, we all loved the fact that being a lodge with no fences, the animals could wander right up to your tearrace - and they did! This meant that after dark, you must be escourted to your room by an armed guide but this only adds to the excitement of the lodge.

As for the game drives, this was our 8th safari, all over Africa & our guide Wayne & tracker Patrick were the very best we have ever had. They make a fantastic team & would always be the first ones, out of all the neighbouring lodge vehicles, to get to the best spots. Another thing that sets Impodimo apart is that whereas at some lodges you are pretty much seperate from the other guests, here, the guides all sit down to dinner with the guests, either in the outside boma or in the lovely indoor dining room (pretty good food too) & there is lots of cameraderie & fun as everyone recounts their day's tales. Other exclusive lodges can lack the sense of friendliness that to us, is all part of the safari experience.

We also liked the fact that they use open game vehicles which means that you can get up much closer to the animals in the undergrowth than in the covered vehicles that most of the other lodges use.

Impodimo manages to combine something very rare - luxury & friendliness - to create the perfect safari experience. We loved it.

Mu husband and I spent 3 nights at Impodimo in February 2007. The game viewing was excellent, our ranger and tracker did thier best to make sure we saw as much as possible - a lion and wild dog kill during a 3 night stay is usually unheard of!
The accomodation and facilities are very good. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food was of a very high standard.
I highly recommend Imopimo to anyone vivisting the Madikwe Game reserve. You can't go wrong.

We have just had the most fantastic six days at Impodimo,we drove up there from jo,berg it took about 4hours on a good road and a steady speed in the rain!
The weather was not being kind to us but who cares when you are in paradise.
We were met by the very friendly staff and showed to our room which I can only call wonderful and wanting for nothing. We had two game drives per day one in the morning 0500hrs and return about 0945hrs, the day is then yours after a huge breakfast until 1600hrs when after a bit of high tea it is out again for the evening drive and sundowners of course to return about 2045hrs for dinner. During the drives we saw every thing you would wish to see the big five were virtually a daily occourence but the other animal were just as interesting in some cases more so.
Our guide Chris and his tracker Ernest were really great Chris was most informative in his who, what,where and why the animals do what they do with out being to deep and thank goodness he had a sense of humour as well, especially when you are soaked to the skin but who cares when there so much to see.The weather did clear up on the second day .
After the game drives you are met with a glass of Port and hot towels ready for diner to chat about the days sighting.
The evening meal usually contained some game meat or traditional fare.
You cannot loose weight here with the very good home cooked food it was great.
I cannot express how well we were looked after by Steve and his staff but Chris and Ernest were exceptional.Thank you very much for a great time.

Impodimo Private Game Lodge is a 5 star property located in the vast 75000 hectare Madikwe Game Reserve 4.5 hours thereabouts self-driving NW of Johannesburg.

My wife & I had the privilege of staying there two nights (far too short of a stay in hindsight reflection ) three weeks ago, May 17th & 18th.

We self-drove from JNB International Airport & it took an easy four & a bit hours all on main highways to the Madikwe Game Reserve entrance gates & another ten minutes from the gates to Impodimo´s guests car park.

A stunning location, tucked into a hillside over looking a valley with perennial running water it is a private game lodge that for those who have experienced the upper echelon of South Africa´s private game lodge locations, rates amongst a select grouping of the finest we have had the fortune to stay.

The greater Madikwe Game Reserve is fairly ´new´ in so much as it was
inaugurated some decade ago, with most of the animal species relocated here from other parts of Southern Africa. In our short two days we were surprised to encoutner all of the traditional Big 5, but
we also had marvellous game drive - game viewing experiences with the
smaller animals, some of which are not often spotted such as genet, serval & honey badgers.

To add to the quality of the game viewing there is a small waterhole directly out off the deck of the bungalow / chalet accommodation unit
we were allocated to, which had continual visitors from family groups
of elephants to all sorts of bush bird-life, giraffe, Cape buffalo & all manner of antelope, so our balcony deck was akin to being on game
drive without leaving the room).

The staff at Impodimo are wonderful & we wanted for nothing - gracious yet attentive, in a manner which can only be found in African bush.

In terms of the accommodation, they have 8 double chalet / bungalows & the larger ´owners cottage´which is fully self-appointed with two guests suites under one roof, ideal fro two couples or a family travelling together.

Te chalet/bunglaow we stayed in had a bif bedroom, canopy styled bed,
plenty of cupboard space, electronic personal safe, a big bathroom with a large Victorian ´eagles feet´ styled deep bathtub & as well, both an indoor & a seperate outdoor shower. For anybody who hasn´t enjoyed the freedom of an outdoor shower in the African bush, here´s your opportunity.

The cuisine served at breakfast & dinner times is wonderous in quality & presentation & the servings are seemingly endless. Certainly Jenny Craig has never been to Impodimo, nor would it qualify in any way to feature in her proclaimed diets, & likely, nor has Impodimo ever pretended to be anything less than a 5 star experience from beginning to end; game viewing, to their classic African style accommodation & cuisine supreme.

Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the game viewing Impodimo offers remains imperceptive to the lay person - that being they provide a game drive experience to guests using both a qualified professional Ranger & an indigenous Shangaan professional Tracker.

Our Ranger - Tracker duo was Wayne & Patrick, both of whom worked tirelessly as a true harmonious team to ensure the guests got the absolute best game viewing experience these two could provide on any outing, morning or late afternoon-evening.

Our tracker - Patrick - who is native Shangaan African - is one of only two Trackers in South Africa rated with the highest level of bush tracking certification attainable & to say he could find an ´ant
in the Kalahari Desert´ is understating the man´s abilities - he proved to be a wizard time & again.

The species Patrick found & that other vehicles from other lodge properties in the Madikwe Reserve who don´t have Trackers aboard their safari game drive vehicles missed out seeing, were too numerous
to number. We witnessed many instances where other lodge game drive vehicles stopped to enquire of Patrick what he´d seen, & where the beast in question was last sighted at as legendry are his abilities widely known & respected.

Needless to say we were extremely happy with the game viewing that we were a part of - a marvellous experience to be sure. In two days we saw the big 5, had not one but two very special sightings of different leopard (which are fairly rare sightings in the vastness of
Madikwe) had a herd of 220 elephants ( we counted them!)ome to drink from the pool 50m from the front deck of the Main Lodge on both afternoons we were present & saw countless numbers of plains game antelope including gemsbok & hartebeest, zebra, Cape buffalo, giraffe, & a bevy of big male kudu in splendid condition.

And the litmus test has to be ´will we be back to Impodimo?

Absolutely, unequivocally yes, just as soon as the opportunity provides.

Allan & Muriel Falck
Buenos Aires, Argentina