JABULANI – KAPAMA PRIVATE GAME RESERVE – GREATER KRUGER 

Jabulani is a stunning luxury lodge set within the Kapama Private Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger area and is famous for the chance to meet and interact with the resident herd of elephants nearby.  The lodge has just six superior suites and an exclusive and private Villa ideal for small groups of family or friends.  The spacious and elegant suites are luxuriously furnished and features both a private deck and a plunge pool.

A highlight of staying at Jabulani is the opportunity to learn about the herd of elephants which were rescued nearly twenty years ago and talk to the elephant carers who share stories of their life journeys with the Jabulani herd. Respectfully observe the elephants during their daily routines – while they enjoy their midday swim, forage in the wild and return single file to their stables in the evenings.

Jabulani is a member of Relais and Châteaux.

LOCATION

Jabulani is located within the Kapama Private Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger Park area of South Africa.

LODGE

Jabulani has 6 luxurious air-conditioned suites with ensuite facilities and butler service, hot beverage facilities and mini bar fridge and private plunge pools. Your stay includes all meals, snacks, beverages and local branded alcohol, daily elephant excursions and game drives. Children from the ages of 6 years old can stay in the suites with their parents.

Zindoga Villa is specifically tailored to smaller groups or families with children of all ages and has two individual suites which are connected by a joint lounge and dining area. Each suite has a massive bedroom with an ensuite bathroom including a glass enclosed shower, expansive wooden deck, and a private heated plunge pool. One of the suites has an adjoining twin room with private bathroom for two children sharing.

The Villa is serviced by its own dedicated team – including a ranger and private vehicle, chef and butler.

ACTIVITIES

Your dedicated Jabulani ranger will ensure that your safari experience is tailor-made to your personal preference whether laid back and relaxed or filled with game viewing and other activities.

Elephant Interaction – the Jabulani Elephant Experience is a very personal and highly immersive connection where you will meet the elephants on equal terms.  The first meeting is directly at the Lodge where you have the opportunity to touch and feed the elephants and to have photographs taken.

Whilst at the camp you will be able to join in tracking where you join a senior trails guide, a senior elephant keeper and their ranger to track the Jabulani elephants within Kapama Private Game Reserve. Once the herd have been located the afternoon is spent watching the elephants and hearing about their individual stories, their personalities and how to identify them.  You will also participate in field research.

Game Drives – the Reserve is home to a wide variety of wildlife including elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros and large populations of giraffe, impala, blue wildebeest, and kudu. Predators include lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena and many smaller species. Birdwatching is rewarding and more than 350 bird species have been recorded including the rare Gymnogeg and Knob-billed duck.

Guided Bush Walks – experience a guided walking safari. Heading into the bush with an armed ranger you can learn more about the many different facets of the bush. From tracking spoor (animal prints left in the ground), to touching and examining trees and plants, to sitting quietly and simply absorbing the many smells, sounds and sensations of Africa – this is a safari in its purest form.

Hot Air Ballooning – glide silently over the vast landscape of the private game reserve below.  Meet before sunrise and enjoy a piping-hot cup of coffee while you watch your hot air balloon inflate and enjoy the sunrise as you gently drift over the scenic terrain below. At extra cost.

Blyde River Canyon Helicopter Flip – at extra cost.

GIVING BACK

Jabulani was built on the foundation of rescuing and reintroducing orphaned elephants to new herds. This can be tricky, as elephants decide whether they accept a new elephant to their herd. However, over the past 20 years, we’ve successfully reintroduced orphaned elephants into new herds. In 2019 Adine Roode, Jabulani owner and MD, founded HERD (Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development), South Africa’s first dedicated elephant orphanage in our reserve, alongside the Jabulani elephant homestead where the rescued elephants stay at night. Adine has been integral in rhino rehabilitation of poaching victims and survivors and their rewilding.

Jabulani’s innovative aquaponics system allows lodge to grow fresh produce most commonly used in the kitchen, giving more control on the quality and source of the ingredients available to Jabulani’s chefs.

Jabulani works with HERD Trust to support a local school, called Mpisi School, through nutrition programmes, as well as Pack for a Purpose, to enable guests to donate items the lodge can pass on to the school or to the Hlokomela Clinic in Hoedspruit.  The lodge also works with HERD running a women’s empowerment initiative called the JabuLadies, giving local woman in local communities the chance to engage in new opportunities to create an income for themselves and their families. The JabuLadies receive training for various projects for making items such as embroidered placemats and bookmarks or elephant dung products. Through HERD and Jabulani the lodge helps to sell these items and give the women a market to sell to, and provide them with an income for their work. This helps to create entrepreneurship opportunities for women to help counteract gender equality in the country.

JABULANI IS OPEN ALL YEAR ROUND 

THE LODGE WELCOMES FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN AGED 6 YEARS AND OLDER AND CHILDREN OF ANY AGE CAN STAY AT ZIZDOGA VILLA