Search Places to stay in
South Africa

Click for Interactive map

Leshiba Wilderness Game Farm

Makhado Limpopo - South Africa

Email Leshiba Wilderness Game Farm Reservations: booksa@madbookings.com

Leshiba Wilderness Game Farm Accommodation

Venda Village Lodge
The Lodge is an authentic traditional village re-created together with internationally renowned Venda artist, Noria Mabasa. The Village has 5 en-suite African style huts that open up to sculpted sun-baked courtyards. It has:
- a lounge with an indoor fire place
- an outdoor open fire place
- a pool deck with a stunning view over the Duluni valley
- and the famous “most delicious bath in Africa

Luxury Suites
Mwedzi and Duvha luxury suites offer a romantic and secluded stay with private plunge pools and patios overlooking the animals grazing on the plain below.
The two suites are in close proximity to the lodge but well hidden away in beautiful bush surroundings to ensure complete privacy.
The suites also boast fully-equipped kitchens and lounges to allow the choice of a fully catered or self-catering experience. They are equipped with:
- a lounge / kitchen / dining room
- an outdoor open fire place and braai / barbecue area
- private plunge pool
- en-suite bathroom with a large stone bath, double shower and outdoor shower
- 100% cotton luxury linen

Hamasha Bush Camp
Hamasha Bush Camp offers self-catered accommodation. Surrounded by trees and nestled within a spectacular amphitheatre of high cliffs and mountains.
This eight-bedded Camp has a magnificent view through Hamasha gorge. The perfect getaway for small groups of nature lovers and the ideal base to discover the flora and fauna of Leshiba on foot along a well-marked network of trails. It has the following:
- private small bush camp for max. eight people
- fully-equipped kitchen and outdoor braai / barbecue area
- Comfortable, cozy lounge with open fire place
- Two units with two en-suite inter-leading bedrooms each
- Outdoor showers
- Ideal for small groups and families
- remotely situated and offering total privacy and exclusivity
- no cell reception
- Excellent value for money
- Please note: 4 x 4 or high clearance vehicle required

Hamasha's magic
Hamasha offers some magical experiences. Clamber down the gorge for a spectacular swim in one of the many rock pools with waterfalls filled by summer rain.
The central braai area is splendid for night fires and storytelling and all the rooms have their own outdoor showers for stunning starlit splashdowns.

Indigenous Knowledge Centre
The Indigenous Knowledge Centre is Leshiba's group accommodation venue. It is situated close to the cliffs with endless views and is ideal for workshops eg. yoga, photography, retreats; small conferences and interest groups eg. hiking, birding, dendrological.
All the systems have been designed to be eco friendly and self–sustainable, the centre is equipped with the following:
- max. 28 people sharing (bunk beds)
- excluding the bunks, max. of 16 sleeping 2 per room
- 3 large rondavels, divided into two, each able to sleep 2 to 4 people
- two outside bathrooms with showers & toilets
- a fourth rondavel divided into two has en-suite facilities, shower & toilet & sleeps 2 in each room
- a large open plan thatched communal room with kitchen, lounge and surrounding verandah
- outdoor boma
- solar powered & grey water is filtered into a dam, which attracts game to the immediate area
- wireless internet

'Think tank' to secure indigenous knowledge
Leshiba established its Centre for Indigenous Knowledge to research, develop and promote the rich culture and heritage of the people of the area.
The Centre is a “think tank” to secure indigenous knowledge and emerging technologies in fields as diverse as music, dance, traditional medicine, medicinal plant harvesting, traditional building, agriculture, wood carving, pottery, textiles story-telling, beadwork and permaculture.

Leshiba Wilderness Game Farm Facilities

Please note that the facilities listed below are available in some of the rooms and not in all the rooms.
In-Room Facilities
- Area information booklet
- Bar fridge
- Bathrobes
- En-Suite Bathroom
- Bathroom towels supplied
- Bed linen supplied
- Cots / Highchairs for children
- Cleaning materials supplied
- Complimentary toiletries
- Desk
- Fireplace
- Fully Equipped Kitchen
- Mini- / courtesy bar
- Patio / Balcony
- Private pool
- Smoking is prohibited
- Tea / Coffee facilities
Facilities On-Site
- Braai / barbeque
- Complimentary tea / coffee
- Gardens
- Daily Housekeeping
- Off Street / Undercover Parking
- Reception during business hours
- Restaurant / dining room
- Smoking only in demarcated areas
- Smoking prohibited indoors
- Swimming pool
- Other Transfers

Attractions and Activities
Leshiba offers a variety of guided and unguided activities. Twelve marked walking trails weave along cliff faces, down gorges, and through open plains.
Wander freely amongst the rhino and other wildlife. Splash into rock pools in the summer or enjoy the pool and plunge pools at the lodge with panoramic views of the valley.

Adventure horse trails
Leshiba has a family herd of Nooitgedacht ponies. Built for rough mountainous terrain, these amazing horses roam freely throughout the day and are stabled at night.
For experienced riders only, our rides head out in the early morning and vary in duration from an hour and a half to 3 hours. The trails take you along quiet bush tracks, under canopies of trees and down rocky ridges.
Feel the wind in your hair as you gallop through the plains and watch with awe as you encounter rhino, giraffe and other game, all unperturbed by your presence.

Champagne Breakfast
The last turn into the forest doesn't quite reveal the surprise in store. As we disembark from the game vehicle, we turn and see a most magical display beneath the forest canopy.
Tables beautifully laid and the delicious smells of a bush breakfast cooking await us. Champagne corks pop! Bubbly and lightheaded we gaze out at the waters of Tolkien’s stream and wait to indulge all our senses. Romantic, romantic, romantic!

Game Viewing
Leshiba offers game viewing at its best. With two valleys that each have their own wetland area, you are certain to have an exhilarating game experience.
The reserve is a sanctuary for white rhino, giraffe, Burchell’s zebra, bushpig and warthog, while large antelope are represented by amongst others kudu, waterbuck, mountain reedbuck and impala.
Common and red duiker, Sharpe’s grysbok and klipspringer count among the smaller antelope species. The Soutpansberg only place in South Africa to find all 5 primates.

Our night drives may reveal civets, genets and African wild cats while sightings of leopard, brown hyena, porcupines and pangolins as well as the delightful aardvark are also possible.
The Soutpansberg is the only place in the country where one can find all 5 primates including the Lesser and thick-tailed Bushbaby, Samango and Vervet monkeys and Chakma Baboons. Sundowners on Hamasha plain with views fading to the rest of Africa, make your game drive unforgettable.

Guided Walks
Leshiba’s guided walks offer an opportunity to experience the bush in a completely new way. Our knowledgeable rangers will show you medicinal and useful plants, how to identify trees, teach you tracking skills and take you up close and personal with wildlife that includes rhino.
They also afford a wonderful opportunity for birders to locate and identify new species. Our guided walks are a perfect introduction to gaining confidence in the wild and for learning about the African bush and all she has to offer.

Massage therapies
Leshiba offers an indulgent range of therapies designed to relax the body, soothe the spirit, improve muscle tone and evoke a feeling of well-being.
Our two therapists, Nancy and Lutendo, will ease and rejuvenate tired limbs and help calm your mind, creating a natural harmony within.
The Full Leshiba Body Massage
Take a deep breath, close your eyes and gently relax. This is full body massage uses a combination of traditional strokes and deep tissue techniques, which improve blood circulation, reduce stress and completely relax your body.
Bush Back Massage
Take a load off your shoulders and feel the deep warmth of the natural oils relax you completely. This de-stressing massage focuses on releasing tension in the often over-stressed muscles of the back, neck and shoulders.
Inspirit Hair & Scalp Indian Head Massage
The ultimate indulgence. 45 minutes of an alternating slow and vigorous massage, concentrating on pressure points on the scalp, neck and shoulders.
Zinziba Hand Ritual
Let our therapists take you by the hand…This treatment feeds the skin with nourishing nutrients that lock in moisture with a relaxing, hydrating hand massage.
The Mountain Path Foot Ritual
Leading you to relaxation…indulge your feet with a soothing and revitalizing foot and lower leg massage.
Zwonake Full Body & Indian Head Massage
Pure Leshiba therapy. This massage combines the wonders of a Leshiba Full Body Massage and an Indian Head Massage.

Mountain biking
'We cycled along the gravel track and as we came around the corner, a startled group of impala pronked across the road in front of us.
A bumpy uphill and then rush downwards between boulders and grassy patches and out into the open plain where some rhino grazed amongst zebra, giraffe and waterbuck…'

Bring along your mountain bikes and gear and enjoy an exhilarating cycling experience at Leshiba. The reserve is 4km wide by 7km long and there is a wide network of roads and animal tracks over varied terrain. Ride amongst the wildlife, up mountains and through grassy plains.

Rock Art sites
Our guided archaeological trail at Leshiba offers an enlightening and mystical venture into the past. Leshiba has seven rock art sites where there are Bushman (San) paintings and Khoe Khoe hand and foot paintings and three sites where there is evidence of habitation.

The paintings are between 200 and 2000 years old. Our rangers have studied the subject extensively and are able to give interesting and insightful information on the lives and habits of the Bushman, including demonstrating the tradition of fire making with sticks.
The walk also details the medicinal and useful plants that the Bushman and other African cultures used. This is Leshiba’s signature trail, a MUST DO!

Self-guided walks
Leshiba offers an exceptional walking experience. Meander along one of the 12 well-marked trails varying in time from 1 and ½ to 7 hours.
Special features of the trails include baobab trees (in some areas), sparkling rock pools where you can enjoy a refreshing swim after the summer rains and deep gorges framed by high cliffs. On some of the trails hikers are rewarded with breathtaking views from lofty vantage points.

How To Get To Leshiba Wilderness Game Farm

Take the M1 North out of JHB
Get onto the N1 North to Pietersburg (just before Pretoria but you do not go into Pretoria so you need to keep a good look out for the sign) It is not long after the Shell Ultra City.
At Pietersburg follow signs N1 to Louis Trichardt and Zimbabwe Take the N1 to Louis Trichardt, at Louis Trichardt, the first main 4-way stop that you come to is Rissik Street or the R522 to Vivo.

Turn left into Rissik, the BP garage that you will come to on the left is the last fill up spot. Take Rissik St all the way out of Louis Trichardt and +- 33km outside of town you will cross over a railway line.
Carry on over the railway line for +- 5km and you will cross over the SAND river Bridge. After the bridge +- 300m down the road you will see our sign on the right hand side.

Carry on along the dirt road. After +- 3 and a 1/2km's, you will pass a farmhouse on your left After the farmhouse, a few hundred metres up ahead, the road forks and you keep to the right.
There are signs so you shouldn't go wrong. Follow the road up the mountain to our gate and from there to RECEPTION.

NB. Please ignore the signs that say 'gate locked' and ensure that you close the gate properly. If you put your speedometer to 0 at the first four way stop at Louis Trichardt, where you turn left into Rissik Street (R522), it is 36.1km to our turn off .

P.S. Just a reminder that you need to take it very slowly up the mountain...

Email Leshiba Wilderness Game Farm Reservations: booksa@madbookings.com