Mbazo Safari Lodge
Small lodge with suites and family chalets · The private reserve on the western side · Mbazo Safari Collection
Top-end
Inside the park
Ownership unconfirmed
Five units, three executive suites and two family chalets, on the private reserve on the western side, sold under the Mbazo Safari Collection name together with Dzombo Lodge. The record leans towards owner-run but does not confirm who owns it. Rates are muddled: the lodge's own page shows R5,995 a person sharing but refers to 2023, while an agent sells 2026 at R8,075 all-inclusive and Booking.com showed R18,000 a room. Game viewing is guided only, two drives a day. Choose it if you are a family and want a chalet of your own on a small lodge; skip it until the lodge confirms a current rate in writing.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Two family chalets in a five-unit lodge
- All-inclusive on the agent rate
- Two game drives a day
- Small and quiet
Cons
- The lodge's own rate page is from 2023
- Three sources give three different prices
- Guided only: no self-driving
- Ownership not confirmed
What's here
- Family rooms
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
We could not reach a website for Mbazo Safari Lodge, so this list is incomplete by definition. Ask them directly.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Pilanesberg National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryR748 per international adult per day at USD 1 = ZAR 16.36.
- $46per person, per day
- VehicleR168 per car per day, about $10.
- $10per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $306 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Guests at lodges inside the park usually pay the fee through the lodge; several private-reserve lodges include it in their rate.
The full fee schedule for Pilanesberg National ParkRates at Mbazo Safari Lodge
From $494 pppn (reseller rate). Agent rate for 2026, read 24 Sep 2026: R8,075 (about $494) per person sharing, all-inclusive. The lodge's own site shows R5,995 a person sharing, but the page refers to 2023. Booking.com showed R18,000 ($1,100) per room. Most lodges on the private reserve say the park conservation fee is in their rate; confirm it and VAT. Rand at R16.36 to the dollar.
All inclusive. The rate covers meals, drinks, activities and the transfers named below. Park fees are charged separately.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked against our research of 24 September 2026 and converted at R16.36 to the dollar. Where a lodge publishes its own rate we use it with its date. The per-person figures for Ivory Tree, Shepherd's Tree, Kwa Maritane, Bakubung Bush Lodge, Tshukudu, Tsholo, Umoya, Mbazo and Dzombo are a named agent's or reseller's and say so; the guesthouses, The Kingdom and Tlou come from one Booking.com night (14 to 15 October 2026) or LekkeSlaap's list. The price filter and sort use per-person rates only: campsites, rooms, villas and whole lodges show their rate in the text but carry no sortable figure. The park conservation fee comes on top outside the gate: R748 per foreign adult, R168 per South African adult and R168 per car, per day since 1 December 2025, card only, and a new tariff could start on 1 December 2026.
Questions about Mbazo Safari Lodge
What does Mbazo Safari Lodge cost in 2026?
An agent sells it at R8,075 a person sharing, all-inclusive, for 2026. The lodge's own site shows R5,995, but on a page that refers to 2023, and Booking.com showed R18,000 a room. Ask the lodge for a written 2026 quote.
Is Mbazo good for families?
It has two family chalets out of five units, which is unusual on the private reserve. We found no published child policy, so ask about ages on game drives.
Can you self-drive from Mbazo?
No. Lodges on the private reserve on the western side are guided only; you see the park on the lodge's two daily drives.