Travel ReportMantobeni Honeyguide Camp in Manyeleti (South Africa)
Manyeleti Game Reserve and the Mantobeni Honeyguide Camp
From Hoedspruit, take the R40 onto the R531 and then turn right just before the Orpen Gate, which leads into the Kruger National Park.
A few more 100 meters and you reach the entrance gate to the park, which is unfortunately very run-down. The control is therefore rather casual, you are only asked where you are going.
Just follow the signs to the camp. You can’t drive directly to the camp, but leave the car at the reception of the sister camp. Here you will be picked up by a guide and driven to the actual lodge in an off-road vehicle.
Where is the Mantobeni Honeyguide Camp in Manyeleti ?
What you should definitely think about
Local currencies: South African Rand: “ZAR”, but US dollars are also accepted everywhere and gladly in the lodges. If possible, take small USD bills with you for tips. Money can easily be withdrawn from any ATM. Otherwise, credit card payments work everywhere.
Vaccinations: Coming from Germany, no vaccinations are required. However, the standard vaccinations are recommended, see Foreign Office suggestions. Malaria prophylaxis is not absolutely necessary between May and October, but of course everyone has to decide for themselves.
Luggage: The photo equipment should definitely be taken on board, so pay attention to the cabin luggage dimensions (!) Otherwise, any type of suitcase or bag will do.
Clothing: The onion principle, functional clothing and sturdy shoes are best.
In the lodges in Africa you can usually have your clothes washed free of charge – as in Mhondoro – or for a small extra charge. You often get them back the same day. This saves a lot of luggage.
Elephants at the reception
While you wait to be picked up at the reception of the sister camp, where the camp’s pool is located, you can already experience the first highlight, provided you arrive at lunchtime: Elephants by the pool. Now you quickly realize that the camp is not fenced in and that the elephants and other wild animals roam freely here. The view of an elephant from the ground is completely different to that from the safari car. This gives you a much better impression of how big and powerful these animals really are.
Mantobeni Honeyguide Camp
Mantobeni belongs to the Honeyguide Group and is a 3-star camp. It is a simple tented camp with a main house, infinity pool and ten tents. All meals are served in the main house area and you are seated at the tables with your fellow passengers in the safari car. So there is practically a fixed seating arrangement.
Mantobeni Honeyguide Tents
The tents are different. Some have the bathroom and shower in the tent, others have the bathroom area outside and larger tents. The tents are equipped with the essentials, have a small terrace area and sleeping area and there are sockets by the bed and in the tent to recharge electrical appliances. However, you should not expect any luxury in these tents, with the exception of electric blankets for the cold nights, which we have not yet experienced in a lodge of this category and which surprised us positively.
As the tent and the entire camp are not fenced in, you are accompanied to the tent by a guide in the evening and are not allowed to leave until sunrise. You should therefore make sure that everything works in the tent while the guide is still on site.
The beds in the tents are comfortable and clean. However, the bathroom area urgently needs to be renovated and overhauled. The toilet and shower were in a very borderline state. The main reason for us not to book this otherwise very nice camp again. Which is actually a great pity.
Meals and Drinks
The food is surprisingly good for a camp in the 2-3 star category. The kitchen goes out of its way to serve both healthy and tasty dishes. Of course, a lodge in this price category cannot compete with the 4-5 star lodges. Nevertheless, we didn’t miss anything and we were full.
Drinks such as wine or soft drinks, or everything except water, have to be paid for separately. However, the prices are very moderate. You sign your receipt every evening and this is then paid at reception when you check out.
Highlights Mantobeni Honeyguide Camps
The highlight of this camp is certainly the infinity pool, which is visited by several herds of elephants every day between noon and 2 pm and where you can take wonderful selfies with yourself and the elephants or simply enjoy the time with these really great animals because you will rarely get this close to them.
Service
The staff are very friendly and try to make your stay as comfortable and pleasant as possible.
Game Drives Mantobeni Honeyguide
Wake up is at 6:00 am. This is done with a loud drum from the main house and if that doesn’t wake you up, you have to set your own alarm clock. Departure for the game drive is at 6:30 am. Between 6:00 am and 6:30 am you can get hot drinks and a few cookies in the main house.
Depending on the animal sightings, the guide may or may not make a coffee stop in the morning. The morning game drive lasts until 9:30 am.
In the afternoon we set off at 3:30 pm and depending on the animal sighting, we may or may not stop for a sundowner. You are usually back at camp by around 19:00.
The Manyeleti Reserve is unfortunately very bumpy as far as the roads are concerned, so the drives are a little strenuous. However, the area itself is beautiful and offers varied landscapes and correspondingly great animal sightings, often including cheetahs, which is really something special.
Safari Cars
The vehicles are occupied by up to 10 people and tend to be older. But they are well maintained and do their job. For us, a camp with up to 10 people in a safari vehicle would be a definite no-go, which is why – as we did – you should make sure that there are no more than 6 people in the vehicle. The guide – Michael in our case – is one of the best guides in the area, very nice and courteous and he loves his job and the animals. He can also adapt to the needs of photographers, which is a big plus. Another special feature of this camp is that all the vehicles have a canvas roof to protect them from the sun or rain.
Is it possible to combine a trip to the Manyeleti Reserve with other safari areas?
Yes, you can. Here is an example of the route we took:
1.Day: Munich -> Johannesburg -> Welgevonden
2nd-4th day: Mhondoro Safari Lodge
4.-5.Day: Polokwane (Protea Marriott Hotel)
5.-7. Day: Hoedspruit (Safari Moon Luxury Bush Lodge or Unembeza)
7.-11.Day: Saseka Lodge Thornybush
11.-13.Day: Saseka -> Mantobeni Honeyguide in Manyeleti
13.-16.Day: Mantobeni Honeyguide in Manyeleti – Simbavati Hilltop (Timbavati)
16.Day: Simbavati Hilltop -> Hoedspruit -> Johannesburg -> Munich
See our other travel reports for the lodges mentioned.
Conclusion Mantobeni Honeyguide Camp in Manyeleti
Manyeleti is a really great driving area where you can experience a lot of beautiful animal sightings if you get used to the bumpy roads.
The Honeyguide Mantobeni Camp is unfortunately a little outdated as far as the bathroom areas in the tents are concerned. Completely redesigning these would make the stay much more pleasant and would also make you want to book this lodge again. Tintsvalo is an alternative in this area, but significantly more expensive.
Overall, this is a great pity, as the guides (in our case Michael) are really great and a real plus, especially for photography enthusiasts, as they understand how to approach the animals.
The elephants that regularly come to the lodge’s pool are a highlight and reason enough to spend two nights here. We would not recommend staying longer due to the poor bathrooms in the tents. However, if the lodge gets this under control in the future, the entire camp would definitely get a thumbs up and be a recommendation for ambitious photographers.
Want to order a calendar from our photo tour?
as of 18,90€, Sizes A2-A5
What photo equipment for Manyeleti?
The photographic equipment we took with us is listed below. You also have the option of ordering the photographic equipment we used directly via our Foto-Store and requesting further technical details. There are also lots of extras available there.
Cameras:
- Z8 (Nikon)
- Z7ii (Nikon)
- Iphone
Lenses:
- Z 70-200mm f/2.8 (Nikon)
- Z 24-120mm f/4 (Nikon)
- Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 (Nikon)
All in a Lowepro Runner 450 (Backpack)