Named after the prolific and indigenous boekenhout tree, “mongena” in northern Sotho, the 63-bed four-star Mongena Game Lodge guarantees an unparalleled bush safari for the international business or leisure traveller with time constraints.

Just an hour OR Tambo International Airport and equipped with its own private airstrip, Mongena offers top-notch activities, events, accommodation, dining and conferencing.

Accommodation is in the form of 25 tastefully furnished chalets providing single, double/twin or family accommodation. Look out for the resident family of Nyala living in the grounds of the main lodge. Additional facilities include a state-of-the art conference centre, a la carte 5-star restaurant and a romantic wedding chapel.

And you don’t have to be an overnight guest to enjoy wildlife and superb cuisine at the Kingfisher Restaurant, which is open seven days a week to the leisure or business traveller seeking a true bush experience.

To enable guests to make the most of different wildlife species, Mongena offers numerous daily game drives in the company of highly experienced game rangers and trackers on a fleet of well-maintained game-viewing vehicles. During the summer months five drives are planned, and during winter there are four, with times varying according to the seasons.

Although the Big Five and an array of other wildlife can be spotted virtually anywhere within the Dinokeng Game Reserve, Mongena prides itself on finding the best locations. The resort also has an expansive 28ha dam that serves as a watering hole for thirsty and hungry animals.

The viewing deck at the Fish Eagle boathouse boma on the dam is worth a stopover on your game drive to enjoy the splendid views, photographic opportunities and the possibility of spotting hippo and numerous bird species.

As an alternative to vehicle game viewing, you might prefer to board a luxury boat for a cruise and enjoy a famed African sunset and the emergence of nocturnal animals along the shoreline while sipping cocktails in comfort.