Ngala Tented Camp vs. Ngala Safari Lodge
Ngala Tented Camp vs. Ngala Safari Lodge: A Luxury Travel Advisor's Personal Guide
Ngala Tented Camp and Ngala Safari Lodge, while in the same private reserve, offer different experiences and it’s important to understand the differences before deciding which is the right one for your itinerary to South Africa. Read on to compare and contrast the two options before determining which works best for you and your trip.
Location
First things first, let’s talk about Ngala Private Reserve. Ngala Private Reserve, which is over 36,000 acres, shares an unfenced border with Kruger National Park so animals pass freely from the park to the reserve. However, guests of Ngala cannot pass from the Reserve into the park (you would have to enter Kruger via an entrance gate). This means, if an animal you are watching crosses into Kruger, you cannot follow it. This is most relevant in terms of the famous Birmingham Pride, a pride of approximately twenty lions that has become famous, not only for its large number of lions, but also for containing two of the four of the world’s white lions. The pride lives right on the border of Ngala and Kruger so sometimes they will be in the Ngala Reserve and sometimes they will be in Kruger (but not in the part that guests on safari in Kruger can typically see since you cannot offroad in Kruger National Park). However, when you are on safari in Ngala Private Reserve, you are allowed to offroad and do night drives, so you have much better odds of finding the Birmingham Pride and other prime sightings, provided the pride is in the Reserve during your stay.
Because Ngala Tented Camp and Ngala Safari Lodge are the only 2 lodges situated within this reserve, those are the only cars you will see during your game drive, which means that guests will have exceptional wildlife viewing opportunities. Only 2 cars are allowed at each sighting, meaning the animals are not stressed and you won’t be clamoring to see the animals from afar.
We did see the Big 5, in addition to wild dogs and the famous white lions, in our short 2 days at Ngala. And, in case you were wondering, Ngala means “lion” in the local language.
Key Differences between Ngala Tented Camp & Ngala Safari Lodge
Ngala Tented Camp
Despite its name, the rooms at Ngala Tented lean more towards rooms than actual tents. The roofs and walls are made of canvas material but they have wood structure and they don’t leave the doors/windows open at night for you to hear nature sounds. As such, you don’t have to let the word “tented” scare you off! Ngala Tented is the more modern of the options in terms of design with absolutely gorgeous common spaces. Rooms are spacious, with lots of room to walk around. The bathroom has a private water closet, unenclosed showers, an outdoor shower, and an outdoor bathtub. The bar area featured TWO fridges, additional drinks on top, snacks, and a coffee machine and milk frother, complete with coffee, tea, and hot chocolate supplies. Rooms overlook the river/riverbed and feature private decks with furniture for outdoor dining and lounging. The rooms have air conditioning. Each room also comes with a set of SWAROVSKI OPTIK binoculars for use while at the camp.
This Camp has a communal pool, a gym, a bar, and a spa. Elephants have been known to visit the pool to drink during the dry season. Animals like to graze on property because they feel safer around the humans so there were constantly impala and kudu around our room and camp. There is Wi-Fi in both the guest rooms and the communal guest areas.
Ngala Tented Camp is much closer to the edge of the reserve, so in terms of accessibility, it makes the most sense to fly to Hoedspruit Airport and then take a 45 minute ground transfer to the resort. It likely won’t make sense to use the lodge’s airstrip, which is a 20 - 30 minute transfer from the Camp, unless you are flying from somewhere that doesn’t fly directly to Hoedspruit.
Ngala Safari Lodge
Rooms at Ngala Safari Lodge are thatched cottages with private verandas. The decor here is more traditional. The Lodge has a total of 20 rooms, including three family cottages and one family suite. They are currently in the progress of adding a private villa and more family suites. Rooms have air conditioning, private water closets, indoor bathtubs, outdoor showers, unenclosed showers, individual verandas, and a personal bar and coffee station. Each room also comes with a set of SWAROVSKI OPTIK binoculars for use while at the camp.
Ngala Safari Lodge is family friendly, so there will be children present, and due to the number of rooms, the guest count is much higher than at Tented Camp. However, because of the larger size, it drives down the price and it makes it one of the economical luxury options within a private reserve.
What was most surprising about the rooms here is that most of the rooms overlook each other/the walkways so there is very little privacy and the rooms are very close together. There are a few rooms that don’t overlook a room that you can request but only a few people will get those.
Safari Lodge also has various configurations and programming that work well for families. They are currently building a Family Villa and they also have Family Cottages and one regular Cottage that can be set up in a triple configuration if you have just one child with you, or 3 adults traveling together. They have a dedicated WILDchild programme, which offers fun and interactive activities for children to interact safely with the African bush. Please note that there are minimum age requirements for game drive, nature walks, and other activities but, ultimately, children participation will be decided based on Lodge Manager discretion based on the evaluation of your individual children.
The Lodge has a communal pool, gym, spa, bar, and lounge areas. Elephants have been known to visit the pool to drink during the dry season; in fact, some had been stopping by right when we were visiting the Lodge! There is Wi-Fi in both the guest rooms and the communal guest areas.
Ngala Safari Lodge is an additional 30 minutes past Ngala Tented Camp into the reserve. For Ngala Safari Lodge, it may make sense to use the lodge airstrip to save driving time, depending on where you are flying from.
Need to Know
Guests of both Ngala Tented Camp and Ngala Safari Lodge are eligible to stay at Ngala Treehouse, a very special experience that you can only do here. Read more about my experience staying in the Ngala Treehouse here.
Ngala Tented Camp:
Laundry service is very fast, with turnaround time within a few hours.
The pool is not heated.
There are no mosquito nets around the bed.
The shower is unenclosed.
Mocktail offers aren’t great (basically soda).
Ngala Safari Lodge
With 20 rooms, and more being built, there is the potential to be 40+ guests at the lodge at once, offering a less intimate experience than most safari lodges.
The decor is very traditional and the rooms are smaller.
Rooms overlook each other and offer little privacy.
There are no mosquito nets around the bed.
Pricing
Ngala Tented Camp offers a smaller, more intimate, and more luxurious experience, with only 9 rooms and a maximum of 18 guests. The price point reflects that and Ngala Tented is approximately 35% more expensive than Ngala Safari Lodge. The exact price will depend on the the number of nights, the other lodges you are staying at, etc (as that changes what kinds of offers you are eligible for),
While staying at Ngala, your rate includes your accommodation, three meals daily, afternoon tea, snacks, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits and beers, teas and coffees, refreshments on game drives, laundry, safari activities, 1-hour nature walks accompanied by experienced armed trackers (subject to availability), emergency medical evacuation cover, VAT, transfers to and from the lodge airstrip, a Guides' Journal with regional information and wildlife illustrations, and the use of one pair of SWAROVSKI OPTIK binoculars per room to share for the duration of your stay.
The rate excludes Administration fees, telephone calls, curio shop purchases, gratuities, all items of a personal nature, champagne, cognacs, fine wines, premium brand spirits and cigars, wellness treatments, private safari vehicles, government bed levies, conservancy fees, park fees, and landing fees.
We suggest you budget a minimum of the following amounts per night for gratuities at a safari lodge in South Africa:
Ranger/Guide: R 500 per couple per day (approx 27 USD)
Tracker: R 250 per couple per day (approx 14 USD)
Butler: R 250 per couple per day (approx 14 USD)
Lodge/Camp Staff: R 500 per couple per day (approx 27 USD)
Recommended Stay Length
I would generally recommend at least four nights here, unless you will be combining with another stay at a neighboring reserve, in which case, you could get away with a stay of three nights.
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