Luxury 4 star African Accommodation bordering Kruger National Park- Khaya Umdani

My husband and I really could not have asked for a better end to our 2 week stay in South Africa. Khaya Umdani was the perfect house & jumping off point for our 5 day safari adventure!

The house is located just a few miles outside of Kruger National Park in a private park called Marloth. Marloth backs up against Kruger at the Crocodile River, so we thoroughly enjoyed taking walks down to the river & viewing animals up close & safely behind Marloth's fence. The house sits on a beautiful piece of property which was equipped with everything you could possibly need. And because there are no property fences, you would see giraffe, zebra, impala, warthogs, etc grazing in your yard on a daily basis. Not to mention the monkeys - we saw a huge family of vervet monkeys & also the most adorable bushbabies!

The house was truly amazing, but it was the service that made the stay exceptional! Louise was such a great hostess - she helped us for weeks in advance of our trip with excursion & food options, and when we arrived, she had a bottle of sparkling cider on hand as a welcome drink. Laurika and her husband (the caretakers) were the nicest, most genuine people. Laurkia met us at the house when we arrived, and we had planned in advance for her to cook for us that evening since we were arriving late. Do NOT miss Laurika's cooking - she is the BEST cook (ran a restaurant in her past life). And also really great company! Additionally, the cleaning staff were great - always so nice & thoughtful!

If you are looking for a place to stay that rivals the luxury of some of the private game reserves, you should definitely consider Khaya Umdani. All of the little touches really made this house & our trip special. We thoroughly enjoyed having the house all to ourselves, having dinners on the porch just the two of us, and seeing animals so close. And the excursions that Louise set up were simply amazing - we took advantage of a full day game drive, a morning bush walk, and a night drive. All were fantastic, but do not miss the full day game drive with the guide Grobus! He spent a full 12 hours with us (it was just the two of us in his open air vehicle) and was so accommodating & educated on everything around us. We wanted to stay another day just to go out with him again on another game drive!

All in all, this was a trip of a lifetime and Khaya Umdani and Louise/Laurika just made it that much more special. We will definitely be back in the near future!

Our family of 5 stayed in Khaya Romantica while visiting the Kruger National Park area. Our highlights included the animal viewing at our own door step. We had kudu, wart hogs, zebra, a bush baby, baboons, a giraffe, and many other birds and animals. The house was nicely decorated and large enough to spread out. Please note, there is no washer here, but you could arrange to have it done for you by the housekeeper, or there is a laundry in town. Also, Marloth Park is "away from it all" and the only internet access we had was through our cell phones. Louise arranged some activities for us ahead of time. I highly recommend the night drive and dinner in Kruger, as well as the early morning walk in Kruger. Our driver was very pleasant and helpful, and it made these activities much more relaxing for us. If you are coming from Nelspruit, I recommended stopping in Malelane for groceries. There is a small market, and a produce market, in Marloth Park for some essentials, but your best bet is to shop on the way in. All in all it was a very memorable family vacation.

We were a mixed party of Aussies, Brits, and Czechs - all work colleagues visiting from the UK - we had a marvellous stay in November 2010. The property was beyond our expectations - extremely well equipped and luxurious appointed. The owners of the property, Louise and Dani, are absolutely wonderful - knowledgeable, helpful and great fun (they don't impose though, and if peace and quiet is what you're after that's fine too). You don't have to worry about a thing - you can arrive totally unprepared (we did) and they'll steer you in the right direction so that you get the most out of your stay. Some members of our party had stayed in private game lodges before - but this experience (having a whole private house to yourself) was far more enjoyable - and we saw more wildlife here! Marloth Park is an extraordinary place - it's literally teeming with wildlife. Wildebeest, zebra, warthogs galore, giraffe, impala, and much more - all these you'll see from the back garden of the property. Don't worry though, the animals are respectful of the garden and don't seem to come in - unless invited :-) The barbeque and camp-fire area (logs supplied) is just stunning - especially at night, with all the animal noises coming in from the bush - and incredibly, a resident bushbaby, who hops out at night to peer at you (from about an arms-length away). If you haven't seen one before - they are awesome - picture a bunny, with an owl's eyes, and kangaroo's legs - so cute! Louise and Dani arranged a safari for us in Kruger (which adjoins Marloth Park) in one of those classic open 'safari Landrovers' with a guide - we saw so much: 8 Lion's about 2m's away, rhino galore, elephants and all that sort of thing! Just perfect. Dani arranged a trip into Mozambique for us - which we strongly recommend - it's another world! Kind of Mad Max-like, but a real eye opener (the best peri-peri chicken in the world too). An evening safari and dinner under the stars polished-off what was a stunning trip and an absolutely perfect safari experience. We highly recommend Khaya Umdani - brilliant!