On our October trip to Africa this year, we added a very new AndBeyond lodge, Tengile River Lodge. The property is located in the Sabi Sands private reserve area west of Kruger National Park in South Africa, one of our favorite destinations. It’s really a second lodge on AndBeyond’s Kirkmans Kamp property, and it has “transit rights” (meaning guest safaris can use) parts or all of a number of major nearby properties. In all, it gives Tengile a very large area to drive in searching for wild animals.
The lodge is made up of nine individual villas, each of which has a private plunge pool and a large roofed but open veranda deck, overlooking the Sand River. All of the rooms are very senior and handicapped-friendly, having only one level, and they’ll run you to and from your room in golf carts. Each room has a separate living, bed, and bath area. There’s a large and very well-stocked bar in the living area, and all the areas are heated/air-conditioned as conditions demand. It’s surely the nicest accommodations we’ve had in Africa, and the rooms (even the ones closer to the main area) are quiet.
Meals are served in the common area or in an outdoor boma, and the food is excellent. Breakfast is served family style from a tray, with orders of hot food taken at the table. Lunch was sometimes done the same way, and sometimes ordered from a menu. Dinner was either a menu or boma meal. Drinks, except some very premium stuff, is included.
The Sand, at least this October, is largely what the name suggests—sand. There’s still a bit of water flowing and so it attracts animals, which you can see from your room. Birds and monkeys live in the trees around the room, and there was a young female leopard named after the lodge because she came and rested in the foundation of Room 5 (which happened to be our room!) during construction. This leopard actually walked right through camp while we were watching her, and Daryl Dell, our ranger, had to radio in to get the guests and staff safely indoors.
Speaking of leopards, Sabi overall is great for them, and Tengile was no exception. In a seven-day stay, we saw 13 different leopards, doing everything from mating to eating on kills. Leopards are the hardest of all the “big five” (lion, leopard, Cape buffalo, rhino, and elephant) to see, so if you want to see the big five, Tengile is a great spot. We saw them once this trip on a single game drive, in fact. There’s also wild dog in the area at least occasionally, and we were lucky to see them, and to watch an encounter with a pack of hyena over a kill (https://youtu.be/hP1YUOJaW-w).
Tengile isn’t cheap; it’s the most expensive AndBeyond facility we’ve stayed at, in fact, but the accommodations and the game drives are phenomenal. It’s also the best facility we’ve visited in accommodating people with mobility issues. They’re served by a nearby airstrip so it’s easy to get in and out from Johannesburg, where most international flights will connect. This, to me, is a must-see place