A site visit by the BHS team

There’s a fairly good chance you’ll start planning who to bring back with you before you’ve even left Little Saseka.

A few friends, perhaps. The family together for a special birthday. Grandparents who would love to see the children on their first safari. With three bedrooms, a private pool overlooking the riverbed and a team taking care of you, it’s easy to picture everyone settling in.

Our recent visit took us to Saseka Tented Camp, Little Saseka and nearby Kamara House in Thornybush Nature Reserve, in South Africa’s Greater Kruger region. Drawing on Mariska, Maki, Geraldine and Rhalda’s impressions, there was plenty to share: beautiful rooms, lovely people and excellent food.

And one morning game drive that rather stole the show.

A warm welcome at Saseka Tented Camp

There is quite a lot to take in when you arrive at Saseka.

The main lodge opens towards the Monwana riverbed, with generous spaces on different levels and the sound of running water nearby. The interiors are fresh and contemporary, with enough warmth and texture to make you want to settle into a chair and stay a while.

The manager and team offered a warm welcome and showed us around before we headed through to Little Saseka. It was a lovely introduction to a place that made an immediate impression.

“Total WOW factor the second you walk in.” - Rhalda Worth, BHS Finance Officer

And that feeling continued into the rooms.

Saseka Tented Camp has eight luxury tented suites, each with a private deck and plunge pool overlooking the riverbed. They’re wonderfully spacious, with big bathrooms and plenty of room to unpack and make yourself at home.

Maki was particularly taken with them:

“It’s not only the communal areas, but the tents themselves are absolutely incredible. Huge, beautifully designed and really impressive from the moment you walk in.” - Maki Shahali, BHS Operations Manager

Thoughtful touches appear throughout, from coffee machines to bags for your game drives. You can imagine returning after an early start, making a coffee and enjoying the view before deciding how little you’re going to do until lunch.

A leopard connection in Saseka’s dining room

Saseka’s new dining room is a beautiful space, with a wine cellar and a boma area behind it for evenings around the fire.

For Geraldine, though, a smaller, cosy corner held her attention. Photographs of the female leopard Saseka and some of her offspring give it the feel of a little library, somewhere you’d happily pause to look through the pictures.

Among them was Ndzalo as a cub.

Geraldine and Maki had seen him on an earlier site visit. Geraldine had then encountered him again just a few weeks before this stay, now a large adult with a kill in a tree. Finding his baby photograph in the lodge was a lovely surprise.

Those connections are part of what makes returning to an area so rewarding. You begin to recognise individual animals and follow a little of their lives.

The possibility of drinks around a fire in the riverbed was another favourite. A good place to carry on sharing stories from the day.

Little Saseka: a safari to share

Little Saseka is the exclusive-use private villa at Saseka Tented Camp. It sleeps up to six guests and comes with a private chef, butler, and dedicated safari vehicle and guide.

You have your own living and dining spaces, a heated pool and a deck looking out over the riverbed. Meals together, a swim between drives, a quiet hour on a daybed: there’s plenty of space to enjoy each other’s company and still find a corner to yourself.

The daybeds in the suites were particularly tempting. All face the riverbed, and Geraldine could easily imagine spending an afternoon there.

The accommodation is arranged across a main tented bedroom and two adjacent suites. The main bedroom sits apart from the other two, with the shared spaces and pool between them. It’s a lovely arrangement for friends or different generations of a family, giving everyone a little breathing room.

Mariska also liked the private game-drive pickup point. When it’s time to head out, your vehicle collects you at Little Saseka. No need to make your way back to the main lodge.

It all makes spending time together feel very easy.

Good food and people who look after you

At Little Saseka, chef Kyle and butler Shepard were very much part of the welcome.

The food was excellent, with varied meals, beautiful presentation and plenty of care given to vegetarian dishes. Geraldine was full of praise for Kyle, both for his cooking and his lovely manner.

Rhalda liked the relaxed feel around the kitchen too. Being able to pop in for a snack makes a private stay feel that little bit more like home.

Throughout the visit, the team felt well looked after.

“Staff were super attentive throughout our stay. Real genuine hospitality.” - Rhalda Worth, BHS Finance Officer

That’s a big part of the pleasure of a stay like this. You can relax into your days, knowing there are thoughtful people taking care of the details.

A swim, a workout, or a quiet afternoon

There’s plenty to enjoy between game drives, even if your main ambition is to spend an afternoon beside the pool.

For guests who like to stay active, Saseka’s gym impressed both Mariska and Maki.

“The gym is very modern and extremely well equipped.” - Maki Shahali, BHS Operations Manager

There is also a lap pool, sauna, and ice bath, giving you a few more ways to spend those leisurely hours back at camp.

Of course, your own plunge pool and a good book might be all you need.

We’d leave a little room in the day for both.

The morning nobody wanted to stop for coffee

The first afternoon out with guide Joe was an easy, sociable drive. We watched a breeding herd of elephants at a waterhole, enjoyed being together on the vehicle and stopped for sundowners beneath a beautifully thin crescent moon.

A couple of hyenas appeared on the road afterwards, much to Mariska’s delight. They’re her favourite.

Then came the following morning.

For those who headed out, the sightings began with white rhinos. Next was a juvenile bateleur, its feathers fluffed around its face, giving everyone time for a proper look and some photographs.

Then Malewane appeared on the road ahead.

Watching the dominant male leopard moving through the bush was a treat. A lioness and her two youngsters followed, along with a beautiful sighting of brown-headed parrots.

By this point, it had already been a very good morning.

Then, in an open stretch that looked promising for cheetahs, there he was: a male stalking a herd of impala.

There was so much happening that the usual coffee stop simply slipped everyone’s mind.

“We had no coffee break on the drive, nor did we think of or want it!” - Geraldine Morelli, BHS Safari Consultant

Three hours, and plenty to talk about over breakfast.

Kamara House: somewhere to feel at home

We also spent time at Kamara House, the private three-bedroom villa at Thornybush Game Lodge.

It has a wonderfully welcoming feel. Geraldine loved the interiors, and Rhalda summed it up beautifully:

“Loved this place - it has such a homely feel, like walking straight into someone’s beautiful bush home.” -  Rhalda Worth, BHS Finance Officer

Sleeping up to six guests, Kamara has its own chef, butler and dedicated safari vehicle. The heated pool and outdoor spaces invite long afternoons together, while the fire-pit area is a lovely place to gather as evening arrives.

It’s easy to imagine a family making themselves comfortable here, catching up over lunch and sharing stories around the fire after an afternoon drive.

Our own preferences differed a little. Geraldine leaned towards Kamara’s cosy interiors, while Maki particularly liked Little Saseka’s views, design and facilities. Both had us thinking about the guests who would feel most at home in each.

Kamara is close to Thornybush Game Lodge’s main facilities, which will appeal to guests who enjoy having those spaces within easy reach.

If Little Saseka’s contemporary tented design catches your eye, Kamara’s homely feel may give you another lovely option to think about.

Bringing the family

A private villa is a wonderful way to share a safari. You have your own space, meals together, and the pleasure of heading out on a vehicle with the people you came to spend time with.

Both Little Saseka and Kamara House welcome children of all ages. Saseka Tented Camp’s individual suites welcome children from 12 years old.

For families, we would chat through the bedroom arrangements and your children’s ages before recommending the best fit. At Little Saseka, the main bedroom is separate from the other two suites, so it’s worth planning who will sleep where.

Maki also highlighted the value of outdoor play space for younger children. If your little ones love to run around between activities, we’ll take that into account alongside the pools, decks and room layouts.

Every family travels differently. Some want plenty of space for energetic little ones; others are travelling with teenagers or bringing three generations together. Tell us a little about yours, and we’ll help you work out which arrangement will feel most comfortable.

A few things to consider

Both villas belong to larger lodges: Little Saseka is at Saseka Tented Camp, and Kamara House is within Thornybush Game Lodge. You have your own private spaces, with the wider lodge nearby.

There is also an airstrip in the area. We noticed aircraft overhead at Little Saseka, and Kamara is particularly close to the strip, so you may hear flights during arrivals and departures. If quiet and seclusion are especially important to you, we’ll talk through the setting when planning your stay.

For families with young children, we’ll also confirm game-drive arrangements and help you choose the most suitable bedroom setup.

A stay we’re still talking about

We left with plenty of favourite moments: elephants at the waterhole, a morning that kept us out until breakfast, and lovely meals shared back at Little Saseka.

But just as much, we’ll remember how well we were looked after. Thank you to Kyle, Shepard, Joe, and everyone who welcomed us, showed us around, and made time for us during our stay.

It was a pleasure spending time here, and we’re excited to help our guests enjoy it too.

Plan your Thornybush journey

We’d love to help you enjoy a stay like this. Contact our BHS team, and we’ll chat about who’s coming, what you’d love to experience, and which lodge would suit you best. From there, we’ll take care of the details so you can look forward to your time away.