"The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa, for he has so much to look forward to"
We believe that this anonymous 19th century quotation expresses how special the continent of Africa is. The central ethos of Lalibela is to ensure that what visitors experience with us does justice to these sentiments.

Lalibela Game Reserve is located in the Eastern Cape, which means it is not only malaria free, but spans 5 ecosystems (valley bushveld, savannah grassland, fynbos, riverine forest and acacia woodland), resulting in a breathtaking diversity of plants, animals and birds. The three main aspects of any safari are the game-viewing, the accommodation and the food. At Lalibela we take special care to ensure that heartfelt service combines with these three "ingredients" to make your African safari experience a memorable one.

Lalibela Game Reserve consists of 7,500 hectares (approximately 18,500 acres) and is home to the Big Five (lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard). Lalibela is unique in the Eastern Cape in that we have no public roads running through our property. Lalibela is also home to cheetah, wild dog, hyena, hippo, giraffe, zebra, warthog and numerous species of antelope and it is one of the few Eastern Cape game reserves where all the animals, including the predators, roam freely throughout the entire reserve.

We currently have three game lodges - Lentaba Lodge, Mark's Camp and Tree Tops - all offering decor that is infused with the essence of Africa, as well as warm and friendly service and unforgettable game viewing. Lalibela brings you the charm of authentic Africa and is a perfect blend of the formal and informal.

Lentaba Lodge, Mark's Camp and Treetops (a tented camp) are built to the same standard, each with its own unique appeal. Each en suite unit has a private observation deck to make the most of the surrounding views. All the lodges boast a large lounge, viewing deck and a sunny swimming pool. Three family suites are available at one of the lodges together with a special children's programme. At Lalibela, food is true safari cuisine with an emphasis on local specialties, ranging from centuries-old recipes to exciting contemporary African dishes.

Mark's Camp
The stone and thatch chalets and main lodge of Mark’s Camp are decorated in a relaxed Pan-African style. This lodge sleeps up to 20 guests in four individual chalets and four family chalets. Each comfortably furnished chalet has an en-suite bathroom and air-conditioning for those warm summer nights. The chalets open up onto a private deck with views over the surrounding bush. Between game drives, guests can relax in the large lounge, bird watch from the viewing decks or laze around the swimming pool. Mark’s Camp has an outdoor dining “boma” for fireside dinners and open-air brunches, as well as a gracious indoor dining area. Mark's Camp is perfect for families travelling with young children. The 3 family rooms & 1 family suite can sleep up to 10 adults and 8 children. An exciting children's programme is offered at this lodge.

Lentaba Lodge
Lentaba, the "lodge on the hillside", sleeps 16 people in eight secluded thatched chalets, placed where magnificent indigenous gardens merge into the surrounding bush. Each en-suite unit has a private observation deck to make the most of the views over the valley bushveld. Each chalet has air-conditioning as well as a ceiling fan. The main lodge is decorated in a traditional safari style and boasts a large lounge, viewing deck and a sunny swimming pool where you can spend a lazy afternoon. The outdoor dining "boma" has a commanding view of a waterhole which is spotlit after dark for night game viewing. There is also a stylish indoor dining area. Brunch is served al fresco on the main viewing deck.

Tree Tops
Tree Tops differs from our other lodges in that it is a tented camp. The luxury safari tents perched high on thatched platforms at "tree top" level are joined by raised walkways and offer spectacular views over the thickly-wooded valley. The rooms, with their canvas walls and thatched roofs have huge window areas and give guests the feeling of being right in the bush. Each air-conditioned room has a private veranda where guests can sit and relax in privacy. As with our other lodges, Tree Tops lodge has a large lounge and open-air dining deck with a view over a small waterhole. Guests can sun bathe around the swimming pool or relax in the shaded gazebo. Special care and consideration was taken during the construction of Tree Tops lodge to minimise the impact on the pristine vegetation in the valley. Tree Tops sleeps 10 people in 5 rooms. To get the most out of your safari experience we recommend that you spend 2 or 3 nights with us.

Safari Cuisine at Lalibela Game Reserve
We believe that warm hospitality and memorable food are as important as the game-viewing element of your safari experience. At Lalibela, food is true safari cuisine with an emphasis on local specialities, ranging from centuries-old recipes to exciting new contemporary African dishes. Dining at Lalibela is unforgettable whether it is brunch on a sunlit deck, or a safari cuisine dinner in an indoor dining room or outdoor boma.

The atmosphere at our lodges is one of "relaxed informality" and we encourage interaction between guests at the dining table. Dining at all of our lodges, whether indoors or outdoors, is always around a large central table. The table is a place where our guests discuss the day's activities with their ranger, discuss items on the menu with the chef or just make new friends from around the world.

All meals and all drinks are included in our overnight rate. There is a special menu and dining area for children under 8 (see children's programme). Vegetarian meals and other dietary requirements are catered for. Please advise us of any special dietary requirements prior to your arrival.

Children on Safari at Lalibela
There is a huge demand for families wanting a safari holiday in a malaria-free area, because of the risks associated with taking children to a malaria-infested area. Lalibela's location makes us ideal for families travelling with children, who are wanting to combine a family safari with the Garden Route and Cape Town. We have devised a children's programme which we feel optimises the safari experience with quality family time.

An overview of our children's programme is as follows:
In the early morning Lalibela's child minders come on duty so that parents can leave for their morning game drive. The children are given a chance to wake up, get dressed and be ready for the day. Breakfast is served and then it is time for the activities of the morning, starting with a short game drive with their own game ranger and in their own special game viewing vehicle, taking care to avoid any close encounters with dangerous game. Parents are welcome to stay behind and accompany their children on the kiddies' game drive.

The middle of the day is time for the family to spend together. Before the adults go out on their afternoon game drive, high tea is served for both adults and children. The children then head out on their own afternoon game drive and return to the lodge for an early dinner before getting creative with some arts and crafts activities. Young children are looked after by child minders during the adults' dinner sitting.

Children of all ages are welcome at Mark's Camp which has 4 twin rooms on one side of the lodge and 4 family rooms on the other side of the lodge. We have spent a great deal of time carefully considering our child policy to ensure the correct balance between providing an exciting safari experience for children, ensuring our young guests' safety at all times and providing a wonderful family holiday, yet ensuring that the enjoyment of other guests is not compromised at all.

The children's programme is on a fully inclusive basis: all meals, soft drinks at Mark's Camp and on game drives, activities, entertainment, child minder's services and children's facilities are included in the rate. The children's programme is designed specifically for children under the age of 8 years, but children older than 8 (including parents) are welcome to join in on any or all of the activities.

The child minders look after children and babies of all ages as well. They are on duty from 06h00 - 10h00 in the mornings and again from 16h00 - 22h00 in the afternoon/evening. Should any additional childminding be required outside of these hours, the host or hostess will gladly arrange it. Kindly note that the additional hours are an extra charge.

Overnight Programme at Lalibela
Check-in is between 12h00 and 14h00 on your day of arrival. Should you arrive before 13h00, you are welcome to join us for a complimentary lunch either at the reception area or at your lodge (kindly note that drinks at the reception are an extra charge - drinks elsewhere on the reserve are included in the overnight rate. Should you have lunch at the reception area your ranger will transfer you to your lodge at approximately 14h00.

After high tea you depart on a sunset game drive, returning after night fall for a safari cuisine dinner. The following morning you have a light breakfast followed by a game drive, returning to the lodge for a sumptuous brunch. Check-out from your lodge is at about 11h30 when you are transferred back to reception. An overnight stay at Lalibela is fully inclusive of accommodation, 2 game drives, all meals and all drinks at your lodge and on game drives. We recommend a 2 or 3-night stay to get the most out of your safari experience.

Weddings at our conference centre and boma restaurant
For larger weddings of between 50 and 110 people, our brand new conference centre and boma restaurant is ideal. Fragrant flowers and twinkling lights transform the boma restaurant into a magical banqueting hall, while the theatre-style conference venue is perfect for the actual wedding ceremony. We will also gladly assist in arranging the minister/priest, flowers, wedding cake, photographer, dance band, etc, for your special day at an additional cost.

We offer small, intimate weddings at any of our 3 lodges, with each wedding package specially designed for the bridal couple. We will also gladly assist in arranging the minister or priest, flowers, cake, photographer, etc, for your special day. These arrangements are an additional cost and are not included in the overnight rate.

A popular choice for smaller weddings is for the wedding group to book out an entire lodge, with the bridal couple and guests staying at the reserve for a couple of nights. You can choose to have your ceremony performed either at the lodge itself or out in the bush. If you would like to get married in the bush, on arrival at the reserve you will be taken out on a game viewing vehicle to choose the spot where you would like to have your ceremony.

We pride ourselves on our ability to offer you the best in Big 5 Game viewing. Game drives in an open vehicle with an experienced game ranger bring you face to face with a multitude of game species, ranging from mighty elephant, lion, rhino and buffalo to tiny blue duiker and rock hyrax. Lalibela is also home to cheetah, African wild dog, hyena, hippo, giraffe, zebra, warthog and numerous species of antelope, such as eland, kudu, bushbuck and wildebeest. On thrilling night drives under the vast African sky, we search for the elusive bat-eared fox, aardvark, black-backed jackal, aardwolf and the curious spring hare.

Lalibela now comprises 7,500 hectares (18,500 acres) of valley bushveld, savannah grassland, fynbos, riverine forest and acacia woodland, all coming together to make Lalibela the ideal home for the Big 5 in Southern Africa. There are no public roads running through the property and all the animals, including the predators, roam freely throughout the entire reserve. With the increase in the size of our property, our carrying capacity has increased significantly to the extent that we have been able to bring in more lion (a male and female lion). These two have established their own pride separate to our existing pride of lion.

We were very pleased to have reintroduced African wild dog at Lalibela. These highly endangered mammals used to roam freely in the area before being hunted almost to extinction in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth hundreds.

Our location in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa makes us a perfect extension to the Garden Route and Cape Town. Cape Town and Port Elizabeth airports allow visitors to South Africa to save precious holiday time - many of our guests fly into Cape Town, drive along the Garden Route and end with a safari at Lalibela. Check out time at Lalibela allows for guests to fly out of Port Elizabeth and connect with international flights from either Cape Town or Johannesburg, which depart in the evenings. The popularity of doing a safari in the Eastern Cape has grown and this is borne out by the fact that our region boasts a variety of safari products such as Addo Elephant National Park, Shamwari, Kwandwe, Gorah, Kariega, Amakhala and, of course, Lalibela.

Malaria-free: Increasingly, people are choosing to have their safari in a malaria-free area. The Eastern Cape is malaria-free, which means that your safari at Lalibela can be enjoyed without having to take any anti-malaria medication. Enjoy your African safari in a malaria-free game reserve in South Africa.

Map & Directions for Lalibela Game Reserve
Lalibela Game Reserve is situated on the N2 between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown and is easily accessible by making use of one of the following:
Road transfer
Transfers can be arranged between Port Elizabeth Airport & hotels and Lalibela. Rates are per vehicle - R700 per transfer for 1 to 2 people and R850 per transfer for 3 to 7 people.
Light aircraft
We have a landing strip which can accommodate light aircraft. Our airstrip co-ordinates are: South 33°27’613” East 026°14’860”.
Self Drive
Lalibela is 90km from the Port Elizabeth Airport and the drive takes about 1 hour: Take the N2 highway out of Port Elizabeth in the direction of Grahamstown. After about 51 km you will come to a large "spaghetti" junction. Follow the signs for N2 Grahamstown. Drive along the N2 until you cross the Bushman's River.Exactly 13 km later you will see the large Lalibela sign on your left hand side.

  Fact Sheet