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Djuma Game Lodge, Sabi Sand, Kruger National Park: Accommodation Review

Djuma Game Lodge
Sabi Sand, Kruger National Park
Mpumalanga Province
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Accommodation type: Game Lodge
Number of stars: 4 & 5
Rooms starting from (per person sharing): R1950
SA Blog recommends? Enthusiastically!

Snippet
Djuma gained its Fair Trade status for a variety of reasons, but chief among them has to be its extraordinary support for local education. The Lodge’s owner, Jurie Moolman, has capitalized on his relationship with the local Shangaan-speaking communities – a relationship that began during apartheid, when Moolman was a political activist and the communities provided him with safe harbor – to begin a series of school-building projects that has grown from strength to strength.

(See full review below.)

Low season specials? No
Breakfast included? Yes, plus all other meals and drinks (except in the case of the the self-catering lodge; see below).
Dedicated non-smoking rooms? Yes
Staff friendliness (out of 10): 8
Staff competence (out of 10): Not reviewed

Room options: Double, Suite
Room comfort level (out of 10): Not reviewed
Noisy? No
Does the TV remote work? N/A
Fan or A/C? Both
Pool? Yes

Concierge? N/A
Restaurant? For guests only.
Conference facilities? No
Three ink blot adjectives: Wild, luxurious, fair trade
Value for money? Yes, especially given the price of other luxury game lodges in the area.

Booking information
Djuma Game Lodge
P. O. Box 338
Hlukuvani 1363
South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 13 735 5118 , Fax: +27 (0) 13 735 5070
djuma@djuma.co.za
www.djuma.com

Review
You don’t have to take SA Blog’s word that a stay at the Fair Trade-certified Djuma Game Lodge will provide a stunning safari experience: just visit the Lodge’s website, which features recent pics of the of the wildlife encountered on its twice-daily game drives.

Djuma is located in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin, a private game reserve that shares a fenceless border with the Kruger National Park – which means that all the latter’s magnificent biodiversity can more or less wander right up to your front door and invite itself in for dinner. (Careful – you might be the dinner.)

As a Djuma guest, you can choose between three levels of luxury: the five-star Vuyatela Lodge – which, with its contemporary-African-crafts interior decor theme, truly breaks the mold of a classic colonial safari lodge – has everything from 24-hour internet access to a spa, plus its own birdwatching tower; the four-star Bush Lodge is the epitome of rustic luxury; and, for those seeking privacy, the four-star Galago Camp provides a self-catering option, which can accommodate up to ten people. Rates for the first two lodges are inclusive of all meals and game drives.

Djuma gained its Fair Trade status for a variety of reasons, but chief among them has to be its extraordinary support for local education. The Lodge’s owner, Jurie Moolman, has capitalized on his relationship with the local Shangaan-speaking communities – a relationship that began during apartheid, when Moolman was a political activist, and the communities provided him with safe harbor – to begin a series of school-building projects that has grown from strength to strength.

The first creche that Moolman’s project built was opened in 2001 by none other than Nelson Mandela – an event that led to the creation of a trust, and, to date, 4 primary schools, 2 high schools and a second creche. The trust’s work is ongoing.

You can see this work first-hand by taking one of Djuma Lodge’s optional village drives; but merely by choosing Djuma for your luxury Kruger trip, you’ll have helped contribute to local development, for the Lodge directly subsidizes several schools’ operating costs, including the provision of all-important high-nutrition school meals.

For its high accommodation standards, and its unstintingly generous work in surrounding communities, Djuma is the first recipient of SA Blog’s “Best of Kruger” award. Well done!