GUEST BOOK

Trish Armstrong, South Africa
I have just taken my first holiday in 5 years and had the absolute privilege to visit Arathusa. What an experience!!!! Your staff fully understand the concept of costumer care and each and every one of them goes beyond the call of duty to, not only make sure that every whim is catered for but to spoil your guests rotten. Nothing is too much trouble and they never seem to stop smiling and stop spoiling. Little things, like flowers on the bed, extra care with luggage, knowing each and every guest name, who they are and what their needs are - goes beyond the call of duty and makes your lodge - not a holiday place - but heaven.

The Visit at Arathusa, would not have been nearly the same if it was not for two very special people..... Jason and Roy.... Jason's knowledge is really exceptional. It is not limited to our four footed horny friends but included anything with wings, feathers, hair, mud and the odd ball of dung. He explained with patience and never made our overseas guests feel stupid (one lady asked him how often do elephants eat meat). The "veld picnics" were done with grace and class, the vehicle well maintained. He made sure we experienced the veld and nature to its fullest. Roy and him have an extra special bond. Their communication is at the level where a look or a sign is understood by the other. Jason's driving skills are worth mentioning.

I thank you for an exceptional experience... I have updated my facebook page with direct link to your website. I only had 3 days leave.. but it felt like a holiday of a month. I compliment you, your staff and kindly request that you send them my fondest regards and very special warm thank you.. to all of them. And extra hug for Jason and Roy for being awesome!

Jim & Jane Embury, Perth, W. Australia – 16/12/2011
Wow! Amazing location, wildlife & experience. Thanks heaps to Phillip, De Beer, Derrick & all the staff for a great holiday!

Leigh & Kylie Vial, Perth, W. Australia – 17/12/2011
Thank you to all at Arathusa lodge! Derek, Phillip & De Beer – you guys are legends – saw so much, so beautiful. To all the staff - couldn't have asked for anything better, & food amazing!

Shelia Huub, Holland
The best place you can imagine! Roy & Jason are fabulous. Good food, nice people, beautiful lodge. We will come back.

Roger, Susan, Evan & Sara Meessen & Mary Stein, Seattle WA, USA
This was quite the experience! Thank you to all of the fantastic staff & our wonderful guide & tracker (Jason & Roy). It could not have been more perfect. I'm sure we will be back

Anthony, Naresh, Su-Xian & Wendy, Sydney, Australia – 24/12/2011
Mind blowing experience!! Amazing holiday in the wilderness. Special thanks to our ranger, Ryan & tracker De Beer for their diligent effort on the game drives. Thank you to all the staff for looking after us! Beautiful place, delicious food & wonderful people.

Pijpers Family – 26/12/2011
Thank you very much for this wonderful experience we have enjoyed every minute of it. Fantastic game drives, delicious food, good massage, and friendly people. It was great.

Claire & Will Squiers, London, UK – 31/12/2011
Thank you for such a fantastic trip! We've absolutely loved it. Happy New Year!

Esther & Gerardus van Giversbergen, Netherlands – 03/01/2012
It was great! Beautiful accommodation and animals. Great ranger & tracker.

The McNamaras (Pat & Beth), Chicago, USA – 04/01/2012
Fantastic experience! Wonderful lodge, great ranger, tracker and staff. Excellent food & drink.

Warren & Yvonne Rosen, Brisbane, Australia – 05/01/2012
We have had the best holiday ever! Thank you to all the staff for a wonderful stay. We enjoyed everything while we were there for the three days. Thanks so much.

Dean & Michelle Jacobson, Toronto, Canada – 04/01/2012
The most incredible experience of our lives. The experience is one that we will never forget. The food, the rooms & of course the safaris, were first class. We will remember this forever & return soon. This is a special place with special people & we loved it!

Nishimura's Family, Brazil
Very nice place! We enjoyed it a lot! Debeer & Derick were great on our safari!! Thank you so much.

Mr & Mrs.Fidanligul, Istanbul Turkey – 14/01/2012
We were referred to this lodge by recommendation of our friend & we loved it. We will recommend Arathusa to all of our friends who want to experience the Big 5. Thanks to our ranger & tracker - they were excellent. We saw all of the Big 5 in the same drive!

Joseph & Ernestine Machado, San Jose, California
We had a wonderful time – loved the game drive, awesome location & friendly staff.

Kevin & Linda Wilson, Glouster, UK
Thank you for making our first time in South Africa so wonderful. Thank you Max for the excellent vegetarian food! We will definitely try to come back here. Thank you!

Ingrid, Peter & Sarah Lenga
We had a very good time! Thank you for everything! The safaris have been great, the service fantastic!!

Michael & Galina Gandelman, New York, USA
Thank you. We had a great time. Didn't even expect it! Room is superb, service is fantastic. Hope to come back with grandchildren.

Becky & Anthony Boothman
Thank you for an amazing safari experience, everything was wonderful from the animals to the food! We would highly recommend Arathusa.

Megan & William McCall
Thank you for a wonderful stay – we will be back!

Hans, Kanna, Fredrik, Zabina & Marcus Norrell, Enkoping, Sweden
We loved to be here, it was very great! And the personal was fantastic, we will return. Thanks for all!!

Jeff & Barb Fisher, Dayton, Ohio USA
What a wonderful, wonderful experience. We will probably return with friends – thank you for the memories created!

Michael & Joan Alexander, LA, California USA
Thank you Arathusa for making our first trip to South Africa a memorable one. Max, the food was 5 star. Ranger Ryan – we learned a great deal about animals, birds, bugs, trees, thank you for clarifying the realities of the big 5! You are a wealth of information. And to DeBeer who helped lead up to the most amazing animal viewings ever! Wild dog kills, baby hyenas, leopard & oh the big wonderful male lion! Thank you Arathusa!

Richard Stoloff & Audrey Fraser
Your hospitality will be a memory for a long time. We will think of the lodge when we are home looking at our pictures.

Xavier & Sandrine Basselier-Mulot, France
A wonderful time to remember! That was a great way to spend my 40th birthday at your place with leopards, lions, wild dogs & hippos. Thanks for everything!

Christian & Ruby Bossa, USA
An eye opening experience we will never forget. And it's not just because we're on Honeymoon. Thank you for the memories & warm hospitality!

Jacques & Florence Meredon, Paris, France
It was a fantastic stay – we have seen so many animals & of course, the Big 5.
Thank you to the ranger, tracker, staff & the cook. All the best from Paris, France.

Steve Meisel, USA
Thanks for a wonderful safari experience last month. Great accommodations, guides, food, setting, and experience. You all worked together to make it an awesome experience! Thanks to all!

Harry, Australia
Arathusa is totally fantastic! An extraordinary experience! One we will cherish forever! The place, the staff, the facilities, the attention to detail, the care, the fabulous safaris.....it was utterly beyond our wildest expectations. Thank you so much for all your patience and your assistance. I will certainly recommend both Siyabona Africa and Arathusa if anyone asks me for advice on where to look for great experiences in Africa!

Pete & Kirst
Such an amazing place! Thank you for making the start of our honeymoon so special and for some unfortgettable experiences!!!

Linda & Wendy, England, Cornwall
Once in a lifetime experience, and an amazing place. Thanks to Phil and Rufus and all the staff which made our stay so wonderful.

The Marhsalls
An amazing adventure, a wonderful place with terrific people and spirit. We hope to be back!

Kristine & Keith March. New Brumswick, Canada
Thank you to everyone at Arathusa especially Andre & Chris, for such an amazing and inspiring experience!

Werkmeisters. USA, New Jersey
Thank you for makng my 40th birthday EXTRA special! The game drives were amazing and we all had an amazing time.

Wyrowski family. Chicago, IL, USA
Thanks to everyone at Arathusa for making our very first safari unforgettable. The staff was informative, food delicious, rooms luxurious and game drives filled with animals. Special thanks to Andre and Chris! Thanks! Keep well!

Paolo and Silvia Marabini. Bergamo, Italy
Arathusa is like a paradise in wild nature. Thanks for two unforgettable days.

Pam and Robin. Geneva, Switzerland
Thank you "the Arathusa Team" you made our stay such a wonderful & memorable one. The is super, clean and what a "view" magical. Ryan & De Beer are the "best". Our first visit to SA and Sabi Sands and your lodge. We hope it won't be the last and we bring our 2 kids with us. PS. the cook was very good!!

The De Speville family from Mauritius
Special thanks to Roy and John.To all Arathusa Team including the Chef!!! This stay was the best we ever had in South Africa. Thanks alot and see you next year.

Claude & Marie
Switzerland

"First drive at Arathusa : a female leopard feeding her cubs!!!!

Thanks to Jason and Ryan, you did a terrific job.

Congratulation to all the Team and thank you for this fabulous experience in the bush."

Janis Ramsey
Australia

"Thanks heaps Andre, you have a special place with me for showing me the ‘Wild Dogs’.  That was my ultimate Dream and you made that come true. Thank you. 

To Ryan – The Legend who showed us the ‘Big Five’ on one morning game drive .

To Michelle – Hello.  I am recommending Arathusa to everyone who I speak to.   You should be very proud and pleased as punch with your lodge."

Peggy Feistauer and Michael Golding
London, UK

"Arathusa Lodge Safari was one of the best things we have done in our life. After waiting for so many years to finally be able to travel down to South Africa we flew into Johannesburg and from there to Hoedspruit.

The pick-up from the airport in Hoedspruit with driver Andrew worked perfectly and when we arrived we were amazed by the location of the lodge and houses (rooms)at the dam in the middle of the Sabi Sand Reserve where we always could watch Impalas, Zebras, Kudus, Hippos, and at night even lions and elephants would find their way to the lake taking a bath and having a play in the cooling water.

The people - staff as well as visitors - were all so nice and we got so many interesting contacts. The game drives were fantastic, even waking up at 5am!!!!! was a pleasure once you knew what you could expect. We enjoyed the coffee breaks in the morning and the sundowners in the evening taking loads of pictures of the African rising and setting sun.

The breakfast and lunch on the terrace and the dinner in the Braai Area was gourmet class, very lekker.

Special thanks go to Andre and Rifos, our ranger and tracker, for making our dream come true and seeing the big five within in the first two games drives, what a fantastic thing. We got the most beautiful pictures of all the animals, more than we had thought to see, i.e. Cheetahs, Rhinos, Elephants, Vultures, Giraffes, Chameleons - just to name a few.
Our 3 days were over so quickly, we were saddened to leave.

All in all we only can highly recommend Arathusa Lodge, for us - and I am sure at least for the people we have met there like Honeymooners Sue-Ellen and Nick from Herfordshire - it was a very special stay!

Thank you, and I am somehow convinced that we will come back one day!

All the best for you and your team and stay the way you are!"

Rob & Anne Bristol, UK

What a wonderful place! We hoped to see some cats and were not disappointed. 6 different leopards and 5 lions. Add on all the other sightings and we had a good couple of days. Thanks Ryan & Maurice. As for the lodge – very comfortable & good food as well. A great all round experience!

Dani and Kath, USA

Spectacular Staff, Accommodations & beautiful animals in the beautiful “bush”. Unforgettable!

Jayson & Jessica

Fabulous Experience for life! Thanks to all the staff. Cheers from Canada.

Rasha, Cairo Egypt

A great vacation. Thanks to all of you guys working here in Arathusa. A big applause to Ryan and Maurice for taking great care of us. A real five out of five for them. We’ll miss you guys.

Stephen Sullivan, Washington, DC - USA

Thanks to Ryan and Maurice for tremendous game viewing! Your ability to find all the animals… big and small… was amazing. Thanks also to the staff for the wonderful accommodation, food and service. We’ll be back!

Lauren Carsen, UK

Thank you so much for the best three days ever. We came here as a family for our mums 50th birthday and it couldn’t have been a better celebration. Thank you to Andre for taking us to see the most unbelievable sights – really out of this world & for Nelson for teaching us Shangaan! Many thanks for making this the most special holiday.

Amandine and John, France

A lovely place with lovely people. Thanks for service and honeymoon and thanks to Andre & Rifos for this amazing time with the big Five.

Mimi and Stefan Moest

We are back from SA. We spent the most incredible holiday ever !!! Our Safari Trip at ARATHUSA was fantastic.
Everything went fine and we actually had not only the big five but THE SUPER SIX !!!
We can recommend to stay in the Arathusa Lodge. The staff is great and the rangers & spotters are excellent.
Thank you for your kind help to make this dream come true.

Joh, Patricia, and Claire

We have had a wonderful safari experience – exciting animal sightings, comfortable rooms, beautiful setting and a fantastic, helpful staff. Ryan and Maurice were a great guide / tracker team. Thank you for everything.

Aimee and Andy

What can we say, we’ve had an amazing time, totally exceeded our expectations. Hospitality, safari, food, lodge, service have all been amazing. Well done and thank you. We’ll be back next year for more fun.

Tim Feuz and Kathleen Sparks

Arathusa and all… we had the most wonderful time and such a great introduction to safari and South Africa. You were all so nice and friendly you made us feel part of your family. Best wishes, good food and great times

Ken and Linda St Clair – USA

Had a fantastic time. Service was excellent. We will be back with our kids! Thanks for making our honeymoon so special.

Wes & Ilze – South Africa (Kwa Zulu Natal)

Definitely one of the most beautiful and relaxing places we have come across and it’s so lovely to know its in our country. Your service and friendship was amazing and we will always remember you and your dam. Thank you Arathusa.

"Sweden"

Best ending on our journey! Lot of nice animals and good food and staff. Great service and people working here. Thank you very much

Margaret and Alastair Duff

Two years ago we came and fell in love with Africa. Did a game drive and thought it could never be bettered but here you have proven us wrong. Fantastic reserve. Wonderful witty ranger and superb meals. Hope we get back.

Mary and Brian Thomson

Well done The Arathusa Team. Our stay was most enjoyable and your leopards made our trip even more memorable. We will come back

Stuart and Marik. UK

Thank you all for making so many of our dreams come true!

Klaus and Dagmar, Germany

Thank you so much for a wonderful time. You made us feel so welcome. Thanks to Andre and Sidwell for the overwhelming animal sightings. It just couldn’t have been better. We hope to see you all again one day. Thank you and God Bless

Jim and Sandra Storrar

Thank you, Michelle and Brendon for your wonderful hospitality and for sharing beautiful Arathusa with us. Thanks too, to Andre, Sidwell and Jacques for your enthusiasm, your skill, your knowledge, and your lasting patience in answering the same questions so many times.

Pablo Martinez, Spain

Excellent service in a unique place in the world.

Guests from Ireland

You are running a tight and professional operation. We felt safer in your rangers’ hands than we have elsewhere in Africa. Thanks for an excellent safari.

Caroline & Julien, France

Thanks for giving us so much fun and pleasure! It was just a magic moment! Every member of the staff has been very welcoming. We will never forget the Arathusa Experience… Thanks for everything. You guys are really great… .

Gail, David, Ben and Elise, Australia

This has been the most wonderful experience for us. Arathusa is above and beyond all of our expectations. The staff, lodge and drives are all exceptional, and we will have fantastic memories of this place. Can’t wait to come back again to enjoy the peace and tranquility and the wonderful hospitality.

Diane Lee. USA

I think I have died and gone to heaven! My family of 8 are having a wonderful time. Jacques & Roy are a wonderful team who thoroughly seem to enjoy animals - and it is contagious! Thank you very much for a marvelous vacation.

Carl & Tracey. UK (repeat visitors - 10 night stay)

A fantastic place to stay, the staff made this return visit a very special occasion for us. Great people at the lodge and the game viewing is amazing with a leopard kills to end this trip on a high! Thanks to everyone.

Dave & Caz Matthews

As part of honeymoon you could not have done better – a lifetime experience thanks not only to the benefits of Sabi Sand’s wild animals but lovely people.

Dale & Marla, United States

Thank You! You have exceeded our highest expectations. The staff, the accommodation, the game viewing were all phenomenal! We can’t wait to make plans for our next visit. Baie Dankie

Ruth Culbertson, USA

Thanks for a wonderful experience….thanks to Andre for birds – beautiful ones - and a gracious, kind staff.

Annelie & Dop Seppen, The Netherlands

"It was wonderful. The animals, the sun, the people who help here. We enjoyed it very much! Till next time..."

Monique & James McLeary, Max Finkel, Pieter Buntman

"This is heaven on earth! Our sighting this evening is a ONCE in a lifetime experience. The leopard "Karula" with her kill kept me in absolute awe! Then the lion & a hyena sharing the kill. I since this experience see all these animals with great respect! Bravehart "stood" her ground against 9 hyenas. We are so grateful for this experience! We will be back - Thank you"