Health Spa Reviews - Etali Safari Lodge, Madikwe Game Reserve

  

Review by Gwen Watkins

Etali Safari Lodge is one of the 30 private game lodges within the Madikwe Game Reserve in North West Province and is dedicated to new beginnings and wellness. Its name 'Etali' means new beginning in Tswana and it certainly meets that promise. Situated in the northern part of the park, the malaria free area offers the big five and numerous other species in and around the lodge. As the lodge is not fenced and has one of the few waterholes, guests experience game watching at very close quarters - one of the Lodge's prize photographs is an elephant having a drink at Chalet 5's swimming pool!

The Lodge has only eight chalets and two family rooms, so camaraderie is quickly formed from the first night's dinner in the boma under the African skies. The distant roar of lions was a promise met on the early morning game drive as three young lions debated the ownership of a hunting area. The food is a wonderful blend of African and European tastes, which intrigue and stimulate the predominantly international visitors. I was particularly touched by the efforts of the chef to provide egg-free muffins and bread rolls for me, as I am allergic to eggs.

Chalet 5, which I occupied is magnificent and has the largest bed I have ever slept in - Emperor at least! The lounge area has its own fireplace, a necessity in nippy Bushveld winter evenings and little rugs for evening reading of recent magazines. It has an equally impressive bathroom with hip bath overlooking the bush and shower roo. With its own outdoor heated whirlpool and restful interior design, it provides so wonderful a comfort zone that I felt as if I had been away from Johannesburg for at least two or three days.

The accommodation price includes all meals, and high tea; two game drives per day or one drive and one walk; and use of the gym and the star telescope. The tea, coffee, soft drinks in the bar are part of the package as is the local wines and beers served with meals - guests only pay for spirits and imported drinks.

The lasting impression of the Lodge and Spa is one of superb service, from arrival, through the game drives until you leave - overseen personally by the owners Susan and Koos Potgieter.

The spa treatments, which are charged separately to accommodation, take place in the Wellness Centre bush lodge next to the outdoor gym, which offers a workout surrounded by trees and birds. Still decorated in the warm African sunset colours of winter, the three treatment rooms are dappled by sun shining through the bush trees outside the lodge. The summer colours of lime green and burnt orange rejuvenate the Spa's look and feel from September onwards.

My therapist, Lerato, has her 3-year diploma in beauty and therapy and has been at the Lodge for nine months. A Jo'burg girl, she loves the bush and meeting the new clients at the lodge and both she and Gerald, the other therapist find the international visitors stimulating.

Matching the incomparable service of the Lodge in general, Lerato explained that the Spa services are available day and night and can be done in the privacy of the guest's room. Some guests want treatments after they have had the early morning game drive, some want it in the drowsy stillness of the afternoons and others prefer them after dinner to ensure a relaxing night.

On Lerato's advice, I went for the Tlhakanya African massage - this is a mixing and coming together (hence the name) of African and global massage treatments. It uses knobkerrie, lomi lomi, Swedish, hot rocks, aroma and shiatsu movements to create a totally relaxing hour of bliss from top to toe, while listening to the quiet sounds of Bach drifting through the room. I was so relaxed; I skipped out on the aroma filled steam room option and simply went back to my room, wrapped myself up in the complimentary gowns and slippers and snoozed until dinnertime. An hour's massage is R580 and worth every cent.

Another favourite option is the delightful chocolate wrap experience, which combines coca bitterness with orange-sweet aroma oils - it energises and removes fatigue and according to one of the male guests, though it is sticky, it is wonderful but the chocolate smell doesn't linger - costs here are R400 for a 60-minute wrap.

The spa offers massages that are more traditional from 30-90 minutes, body wraps and deep cleansing treatments, facials, and manicures, pedicures and other services such as waxing or eyelash tinting. Each guest receives a complimentary aromatherapy bath salt in his or her room on the first night after dinner, to begin that unwinding process that is the hallmark of a stay at Etali Safari Lodge.

To get there

Madikwe Game reserve is 380 kms from Johannesburg on the Zeerust/Gabarone R49 road. The easiest (though perhaps not the shortest) route is to take the Hartebeespoort Dam road, (R511) detour around the dam towards Brits and then pick up the N4 to Rustenberg. This toll road bypasses Rustenberg and ends at Zeerust (261 kms), allow around R65 for tolls one way. In the town of Zeerust, turn left at the 3rd stop street (marked Gabarone) and travel 85.6 kms to the Abjaterskop Gate, the entrance to the park. Etali Safari Lodge is almost at the Derdepoort Gate 32.3 kms from the Abjaterskop Gate so follow Derdepoort signs until the first Etali sign, where you turn left off the main dirt road. Allow 3 hours to get to Zeerust, just under an hour to get to the gate and 45-60 minutes to get to the camp (allowing for game spotting, which I had lots of). The other alternative is to fly up on scheduled flights or charter a flight.

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