Sibuya adds a fourth lodge, and it's sole-use

Sibuya Game Reserve has opened a fourth lodge. Nel's Lodge welcomed its first guests on 14 December 2025, after roughly six months of conversion work, and it is the first property on the reserve built around sole use — the whole lodge goes to one group rather than being sold by the room.

The building was the home of one of the reserve's founding family members, converted in their memory after they passed away. It sits on a plateau within the reserve, and the family's own carpets, furniture, artworks and pottery have been worked into the interiors rather than cleared out. That is an unusual thing to be able to tell a client about a lodge, and it is the sort of detail that does the selling.

For a UK operator the useful part is what it adds to the reserve rather than the lodge on its own. Sibuya already had River Camp on the edge of the Kariega, Forest Camp among indigenous forest, and Bush Lodge overlooking the estuary. A sole-use property alongside them means a family, a multi-generational group or a small private party can now be placed on the same reserve as differently-shaped bookings, without moving anyone to a different destination.

The wider context still applies. Sibuya is malaria-free, so there is no prophylaxis conversation for young children or for travellers who would rather avoid it, and every camp is reached by boat along the Kariega River from reception at Kenton-on-Sea, which turns the transfer into the first part of the safari. The nearest airport is Chief Dawid Stuurman at Gqeberha, roughly 80 to 100 minutes away by road, so the reserve programmes into a Garden Route itinerary without a light-aircraft leg.

Kusa Connect represents Sibuya Game Reserve to the UK and Ireland travel trade. Rates, availability and FAM trip enquiries for Nel's Lodge go through kusaconnect.com/contact.