Thandile Country Lodge

Luxury accommodation inclusive of dinner, bed & breakfast, all inclusive in the daily rate. There is a restaurant on the premises with 2 communal lounges, one of which is in the restaurant area with a beautiful terrace overlooking a large fire pit with barbeque facilities and 2 dams with game and farm animal roaming the front lawns, The self-catering cottages situated on the bank of the river, are completely self-contained each with its own bathroom(shower only), kitchenette & braai facilities. All our facilities are serviced and cleaned daily in compliance with health management standards. As activities we offer 2 all -year-swimming pools, walking – and mountain bike trails on our +-200h of game farm stocked with kudu, impala, warthog, giraffe, vervet monkeys, bushbuck & zebra at no extra cost to our resident guests. Paid activities include guided horse trails and catch-&-release fishing. We are only 5,2 km from the Elements golf course and24km from Zebula Golf Estate. From 1 June 2024 we will also have a Spa facility on site with a range of luxurious spa treatments that can be booked in advance.

Area Info

“Thandile” is a Zulu word which means “I loved it”, a past tense verb deliberately chosen to serve as an affirmation, carefully selected to capture the emotion expressed by everyone who has had the privilege to share in the magic of this “little piece of heaven” in the Waterberg.
Thandile Country Lodge started off as a family-breakaway for a Johannesburg based family when the owners tried to balance their respective Corporate- and entrepreneurial careers with fortnightly visits “to the farm” to regenerate their souls and to find inner peace, to connect with each other and to build the resilience to create meaning in their lives.
They succeeded so well in doing this that the farm became the regular “meeting place” for friends and family and as everyone loved it so much there, the idea of “Thandile Country Lodge” was born.
Thandile Country Lodge formally opened its doors to the public on 1 December 2012 and since then, it has often been said that “whereas you may arrive as a stranger, you’re always leave as a friend”.
Thandile Country Lodge is owner-managed and based in the original farm house built in 1856, beautifully restored to its former glory with 7 beautifully “Colonial-style” furnished units, all leading onto the wrap-around veranda, the majority of which overlook the beautiful surrounding of a typical game farm in the Waterberg.
Thandile Country Lodge offers luxury accommodation on a B & B basis with kitchen- and braai facilities for self-catering lunches- & dinners. We cater for special events in our beautiful restaurant, The Elephant Tree restaurant, that can be booked for a small conference; birthday ( upto 70 people) or a small wedding.
It is locally believed to be one of the oldest farm houses in Bela-Bela and where possible the originally feature of the historic building were maintained e.g. The original fireplace in the Kitchen, the yellow-wood ceilings including the “Old Waenhuis” where the Ox wagon was stored.
The large Monkey Thorn Tree in front of the Lodge facing the dams were planted by the previous owner of the farm, Mr Grobler whose daughter turned 82 recently and this tree is captured in the logo of Thandile Country Lodge to commensurate this significant event.
Evidence of historic events are everywhere to be found at Thandile Country Lodge with the horse trail following the route of the Boer Oxwagen’s trek across the Waterberg, including evidence of the South African War that can be found in the mountains on various places on the farm.