Mpumalanga - Limpopo Holidays from £1,491

Camp Shawu Tents have a unique location in front of a watering hole that house Hippos, and see a string of animals come to hydrate like elephants, impalas, and giraffes....You can seat on your deck and enjoy the show. Our Safari Guide Sifiso, was AMAZING! He made the trip even more special. The property lacks maintenance ...the pool was not maintained hence looked like a mosquito fest, the umbrellas were all broken hence no shade to sit out on the beautiful deck overlooking the watering hole, the doors of the main area were mostly out of service hence not allowing a proper breeze to flow through...The food was average. That said, you pay for the location and an amazing guide not for the property....

What an absolute experience! We were treated so well by all the staff from arrival to departure! We came with our parents and friends as part of our honeymoon and the manager and her team made some extra special touches to our room including a romantic dinner for 2 on the last evening - we loved it and so appreciate the lovely gesture. On the first evening I was feeling unwell from the flight and was attended to personally by the manager and offered some things to make me feel better which was really amazing as we didn’t even think to bring with Rehydrate or things like that. We had incredible sightings of elephant swimming in front of the lodge in the river as well as in the bush, hippos in front of our bungalows in the river, lions, cheetah (freshly released as we were ther), plenty buck and more. Do note that this park has thick Mopane bush so sightings are spread out but you do still see a lot and the ranger and guide make a big effort to ensure that. We even got to take part in a conservation darting exercise - which is a once in a lifetime experience- where a team of vets, conservationists, a helicopter and a group of tourists (us) went with the mission of replacing a male buffalos gps collar and a male lions collar that had a small snare on it. The darting was very professionally executed and so special to witness the conservation efforts of about 30 people and Abelanas team take part in. Thanks Abelana!

We had the most extraordinary stay at Shalati, every part of it exceeded our expectations and made it an excellent end to our 2 week holiday in South Africa. The pictures don’t do justice for the beautiful rooms with stunning views. We were in carriage 1 and had 2 resident buffalo below the room we could watch throughout the day along with several hippos on both sides of the river. Watching animals whilst in the bath and in the stunning pool was amazing. The staff are incredible, so friendly and helpful and always there when you need something. The food was some of the best we’ve ever eaten with beautifully crafted menus and if you’re fortunate enough to be there on a Braai night (Wednesday or Sunday at the moment) then that is a completely different and unique experience too. Conveniently located near to Skukuza airport however flying back we used Nelspruit which was only 2 hours away and Shalati arranged a transfer for us. Over all we would 100% recommend Shalati and hope to be in the position to go back again.

We saw a special that was advertised and after making the booking were told that the special was no longer on. For what we eventually paid, it was a rip off.! The first nights dinner was at the Boma. We asked for steak that was medium rare and received a well done steak after waiting at least 30 minutes for the dancing to finish. The steak was ordered before the dancing but not brought to the table.! The next nights dinner , we were given an Ala-Carte menu with prices.! We did not know if this was included or not as the prices differed substantially. There was no communication. ! Will not recommend this to anyone. Sorry !