Wildehondekloof Game Lodge

Great remote wild experience. Friendly attentive staff. Safe hiking routes. Game warden very knowledgeable. Clean modern rooms. Eating breakfast with njala buck 2 meters away. Game drive had beautiful kloof and great variety buck. Saw the cape lapping lark doing mating flight for first time.

A Wonderful Family Getaway We had such a lovely stay at Wildehondekloof! It was the perfect escape from the busyness of everyday life. The setting is absolutely beautiful – peaceful, scenic, and ideal for long, relaxing walks on the farm. The self-catering unit had everything we needed, making it easy to just settle in and enjoy our time together as a family. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming, which really added to the warmth of the experience. Highly recommended for anyone looking to unwind and reconnect with nature and loved ones. We’ll definitely be back!

We loved our stay at Wildehondekloof! The morning game drive was an unforgettable experience, with breathtaking views of wildlife, especially during coffee among the giraffes and elands. A private hike was a perfect way to explore, learning about wild plants and enjoying nature up close. The friendly staff took great care of us, with Hannelies and Elizabeth standing out for their exceptional hospitality. We would definitely return!

Such a friendly, helpful team. Spotless accommodation (with beautiful linen and comfy bed) and tasty unpretentious meals. Just a perfect place to unwind. We enjoyed an excellent massage and a guided walk as part of our experience. A place to return to, that’s for sure.

A beautiful farm with very comfortable and spacious rooms. The staff were friendly and helpful; meals exceeded our expectations. We loved everything about our stay, especially the animals who were roaming on the grounds and lawn outside our rooms. We highly recommend this lodge!

There is South Africa with Table Mountain, with wine tasting, the Big 5, with game lodges - all you get as you would expect from Internet and travel books.... and there is Wildehondekloof! Wildehondekloof requires to take a gravel road detour north into semi-wilderness from the paved road connecting Calitzdorp with Oudtshoorn. Digital natives, beware! Roads along canyons are to be used which partially no network coverage! :-) But you are rewarded with images of rock structures and cloud formations passing in front of mountain ranges which probably aren´t reported by others so far. With a brownish dust cloud behind our car, we felt, for the first time, close to Africa. WIldehodekloof is a "colonial style" lodge set up in the cloof (canyon) named after Wildehonde (wild dogs). Before it became an open visitor lodge, I was told it was used as a private hunting lodge, because lots of wild animal around used to approach the canyon for water. This tells that Wildehondekloof is much less an artificially set up game lodge just resembling a zoo. Wildehondekloof appears more like a large game reserve which has developed naturally, including the hills and valleys around. Wildehondekloof offers safaris / game drives like other game lodges do, too. But in case of Wildehondekloof, semi-domesticated Big 5 won´t file along the jeep for pictures. One really has to look for them for a while, like one would expect in wilderness! Our safari guide Christiaan really did a good job in detecting all sorts of small and big wildlife, which to our urbanized eyes where nearly invisible at first. I will never forget the encounter with a group of giraffes, which allowed us to come very close. When quite a large turtle blocked the way for the jeep, we expected Christiaan, the guide, to do the "Crocodile Dundee"-thing: focussing his mental force onto the turtle to make it walk away. But turtle decided otherwise, so we all took a coffee break with explanations on fauna and flora of the countryside. Wildehondekloof is separated from larger settlements. This means: nights are darker than you are used to! Christiaan, our guide, was setting up a telescope late evening and gave an introduction to the universe. We could see the stars of the southern hemisphere, and the Milky Way was easily detectable, too. We were a group of 6 with various expectations, including previous experience in South Africa. But Wildehondekloof and the staff of the lodge have left a strong impression on everyone. I guess if Hemingway was born 80 years later, he would have come to Wildehondekloof to write on his books on the veranda, to look at the animals at day and to the stars at night, reflecting on life ...