I’ve written before about my stay at Lion Sands Ivory Lodge and I meant every word of praise I gave it. But if you asked me which lodge I actually left a piece of my heart at during my 10 days in South Africa, the answer is Monwana Game Lodge in the Thornybush Private Game Reserve, in the Greater Kruger area. It is no wonder that its tagline is “Coming Home.”
Monwana is tiny — just six suites and a villa — and that smallness is exactly what makes it so special. There’s an intimacy here that’s hard to manufacture at a larger property. You’re not one of dozens of guests; you’re one of a handful, and by day two, the staff know your name, your coffee order, and which animals you’re still hoping to see. If you haven’t already, I’d also recommend reading my first-timer’s guide to what a South Africa safari is actually like for the bigger picture on planning a trip like this one.
Here’s my honest, detailed Monwana Game Lodge review — from the food to the staff to the wildlife moments I’ll be thinking about for the rest of my life.
Monwana Game Lodge at a Glance
| Location | Thornybush Private Game Reserve, adjacent to Kruger National Park |
| Best For | Couples, honeymooners, small groups wanting an intimate, personalized stay |
| Not For | Travelers who want a large, bustling lodge with lots of other guests around |
| Recommended Stay | 3-4 nights, especially when paired with another reserve like Sabi Sand |
| What’s Included | All meals, drinks, laundry, twice-daily game drives |
| Standout Feature | Open air lodge and pool overlooking an animal watering hole |
| Getting There | Fly into Eastgate Airport (Hoedspruit), short transfer to the lodge |
About Monwana Game Lodge and Thornybush Reserve
Monwana Game Lodge sits within the Thornybush Private Game Reserve, on more than 11,000 hectares of bushveld along the Monwana River. Like Sabi Sand, where Lion Sands is located, Thornybush shares an unfenced border with Kruger National Park, which means the wildlife here moves freely between reserves rather than being contained. As I explained in my Ivory Lodge review, this is what a true private concession offers: small groups, off-road tracking, night drives, and guides who can follow the animals rather than sticking to marked roads.
Monwana is part of the More Family Collection, the same family of properties as Lion Sands, so if you’re planning to split your trip between the two reserves (which I’d highly recommend), you’re in good hands the entire way through.
What sets Monwana apart isn’t the size of the reserve — it’s the size of the lodge itself. With just six suites and a villa, Monwana never feels crowded, on a game drive or otherwise. The Thornybush Game Reserve is home to around a dozen lodges and camps in total, ranging from small four-suite hideaways to larger 16-suite properties, so it’s worth knowing that not every stay here looks like mine.
Virtuoso Amenities
When booked through a Virtuoso travel advisor, such as myself, guests receive the following amenities (subject to change, check on current options.)
- A complimentary 50 minute massage for up to 2 guests per room, once during stay
- *Private riverbed sundowner with lanterns, styled bar, and chef’s canapés, once during stay
- Monwana Signature Gift
- Stays of 4+ nights will also receive a complimentary VIP luxury transfer from Hoedspruit Airport (high-end SUV or V-Class)
- Stays of 5+ nights will also receive a complimentary scenic helicopter flight, once during stay
- Early check-in / Late check-out, subject to availability
*Please note: The private riverbed sundowner takes place en route from the afternoon game drive and is weather dependent. Should river conditions not allow, a suitable alternative experience will be offered.
Getting To Monwana
Getting to Monwana was part of the adventure itself. We flew in on Federal Air, a small bush plane, from Skukuza Airport near Sabi Sands to a tiny airstrip right in Thornybush. It was a short 20-minute ride, where you are never high enough to need an oxygen mask. I don’t love small planes but the ride was smooth, although I did feel a little motion sickness when trying to look out the window to scan for animals. We were met at the plane by our guide and tracker, who loaded up our vehicles for the short ride to the lodge.
On the way, our guide told us he had a surprise for us. At first we thought he meant impalas, but that was a purposeful misdirection because we soon came upon a male lion sleeping comfortably on his back under the shade of a tree.
Flying out was a different story. From Monwana, we transferred to Hoedspruit Airport (about a 30-45 minute drive) and took a larger Airlink flight to Johannesburg. While the airport is small, it still has a nice little lounge for premium travelers.
Monwana Game Lodge Review
The Public Spaces at Monwana
Even with just six suites and a villa, Monwana doesn’t feel small when you step into the main lodge. There are more than enough spaces to spread out and have privacy with cozy seating areas, a fireplace, walls decorated with old maps, and shelves of books that give the whole space a warm, lived-in character.
One of my favorite details is the wine cellar, which you can peek into via a glass floor built right in front of the bar. The wine cellar is available for private dinners or wine tastings, which feels like a wonderful way to spend an evening if you’re celebrating something special or just want a quieter night in.
There’s also a small gym and a spa for anyone who wants to fit in a workout or a treatment between game drives. One of the other highlights is the pool that overlooks the property’s watering hole. One afternoon a herd of elephants wandered down to drink, giving just one of many “wow” moments that occurred during my stay.
Monwana Accommodations: Why Small Feels So Luxurious
Each of Monwana’s six suites has its own private plunge pool and deck, positioned for privacy and looking out over the bush or the property’s waterhole. The suites are smaller than what I experienced at Lion Sands Ivory Lodge, but by no means small — mine had a full bar area with a well-stocked mini fridge, a desk, a couch, and a walk-in closet. The design leans warm and comfortable rather than sleek and contemporary, which suited the whole feel of Monwana perfectly. You really don’t want to leave.
The bathroom alone could be its own selling point: a soaking tub, a giant shower, double sinks, a separate WC, and a beautiful outdoor shower, complete with its own caddy of bath products to use outside. Glass walls in the bathroom open right onto the porch area leading to the plunge pool, blurring the line between indoors and out.
One thing I love about the More Collection properties in general is their focus on wellness. All the properties I stayed at included effervescent vitamin tablets and healthy food options throughout the stay, along with impressive bath products like bath salts. The bed was extremely comfortable, wrapped in mosquito netting, and the closet came stocked with everything you’d need for game drives: a straw tote bag, bug spray, sunscreen, and a lantern. Laundry, which is included, went out in the morning and came back that evening, cleaned, folded, and put away in the closet.
The personal touches are what really stayed with me. Each night, I’d find a message from the housekeeping staff written on my bathroom mirror. And on our last night, they left us a wooden plaque engraved with our hometown and its distance from the lodge — such a small thing, but it’s the kind of personalized detail you truly appreciate.
The Food at Monwana (and the Chef Who Made It Unforgettable)
If there’s one thing that defines the Monwana experience for me, it’s the food — and more specifically, the chef.
When we arrived, the chef came out to meet us personally, not just to run through dietary restrictions but to actually get to know us: what we liked and what we didn’t. That kind of attention is rare anywhere, let alone on safari. And it showed in every single meal that followed.
Our first lunch after arriving was, without exaggeration, my favorite meal of the entire 10-day trip — and we had some genuinely excellent meals along the way. It was served family style and included a fresh salad with harissa chicken, chicken tacos, delicious freshly made pasta, and, somehow, the most delicious skinny fries I’ve ever had at a safari lodge (or maybe anywhere).
For dinner, one night was a multi-course meal with options customized around our preferences from that very first chat with the chef. The next night shifted gears entirely for a traditional boma barbecue buffet, eaten outdoors under the stars. All were accompanied by some amazing South African wines from the previously mentioned wine cellar.
Service and Staff: The Payoff of Staying Somewhere Small
At a lodge this size, the staff-to-guest ratio does something special: it turns “service” into something that feels much closer to friendship. By our second day, the team knew our preferences without asking. When we left, it was hugs all around.
Our guide, Colin, and tracker, Benny, were another fabulous duo that worked as a team with humor, impressive knowledge, and skill.
Game Drives and Wildlife Moments I’ll Never Forget
This trip was my first safari, so I didn’t have anything to compare it to, but Monwana set an incredibly high bar. A few moments from our drives are permanently etched in my memory.
One night, a male lion walked right past our vehicle, so close I could have reached out and touched him, roaring into the darkness just inches from my arm. It’s one thing to hear a lion roar from a distance. It’s an entirely different experience to feel it.
On another drive, we came across two lion cubs wrestling and playing, tumbling over each other with the kind of pure, clumsy joy that made me wish we could have just parked there for hours and watched.
And then there was the baby elephant who apparently decided our vehicle needed to be scared off — flapping his tiny ears and spinning a branch around like a tiny, adorable warning. It was one of the funniest, sweetest wildlife encounters of the whole trip.
We ended up seeing the full Big Five within just two days at Monwana, including a herd of 100 or more African Cape buffalo — a genuinely staggering sight to come across in the bush. We even saw endangered African wild dogs and an elusive honey badger!
I loved that our guide, Colin, gave us a wildlife and flora/fauna checklist to use throughout the stay, so we could track everything we spotted along the way. I have always loved checking things off of a list!
The Blyde River Canyon Helicopter Experience
One of the most incredible parts of our stay wasn’t even on the ground. Guests staying five nights or more at Monwana receive a helicopter excursion as a Virtuoso amenity, and it turned into one of the highlights of the entire trip.
We flew over Blyde River Canyon, known as the world’s largest “green canyon” thanks to its lush, forested walls, and landed for a picnic on a mountain cliff with sweeping views over the landscape below. From the air, we saw waterfalls and views of the canyon that you simply can’t get from the ground.
The flight itself started out feeling like a safari in the sky. Before we ever reached the canyon, we spotted herds of buffalo, rhinos, and other animals from above, which gave us a completely different perspective on the same landscape we’d been driving through just days before.
The picnic at the top was a lovely surprise, too. It was fully gourmet, with smoothies, wraps, dried fruit, and biltong, the South African take on venison jerky. Sitting on a cliff’s edge with that view, snacking on something so delicious, is one of those moments that’s hard to describe unless you’ve experienced it yourself.
If you’re staying five or more nights at Monwana, don’t skip this. It’s the kind of add-on that turns a great safari into an unforgettable trip.
Monwana vs. Lion Sands Ivory Lodge: Don’t Choose, Stay at Both
Here’s my honest take: Ivory Lodge is the award-winning choice for ultra-luxury seekers. Monwana, on the other hand, is all about intimacy — the feeling of being genuinely known by the people taking care of you, from the chef to the housekeeping staff to your guide.
But truthfully, you don’t have to choose between them. Pairing a stay at both, as I did, gives you the best of both worlds and lets you experience two safari experiences.
Do you need help planning your trip? If you are feeling overwhelmed and don’t have the time or resources to wade through tons of information and question your decisions, I help clients plan a custom itinerary, tailored to your interests and travel style. Learn more about my Travel Advisor and trip planning services.
Tamara Gruber is an award-winning travel writer and the founder of Your Time to Fly. With more than a decade of professional writing experience across two travel publications and hundreds of destination guides, she specializes in crafting practical, detailed itineraries that help travelers explore the world with confidence. Her work reflects years of on-the-ground research across the globe. Tamara is a member of SATW and serves on the Board of Directors of the Family Travel Association.
