About Sungulwane
Located on the game-rich Zuka reserve within the Munyawana conservancy, the 8 attractively contemporary rooms at Sungulwane are a more budget-friendly but still high-quality alternative to the well-known andBeyond Phinda lodges also found in the conservancy.
Pretty much everyone has heard of Phinda – after all, since its establishment back in the early 1990’s as KZN’s first private game reserve, it’s built up a solid reputation as boasting arguably the finest game viewing in the province, not to mention being home to several excellent lodges operated by the andBeyond group under the Phinda name. What isn’t as well known however, is that Phinda is not actually a stand-alone reserve at all – rather it is one of the main pieces of land that constitutes the Munyawana Conservancy, a 30 000-hectare piece of stunning wilderness bordering the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the provincial Mkuze Game Reserve.
The other major piece of land that makes up the Munyawana Conservancy along with Phinda is the Zuka Reserve, originally founded by the Getty family back in 2001, with the fences coming down between it and Phinda in 2004. Zuka then expanded over the subsequent years as additional neighbouring farms were either purchased or incorporated into the reserve, with Sungulwane farm (owned by the Morrison family) joining back in 2018.
That’s all a very long history lesson to try to properly position the new Sungulwane lodge which opened at the back end of 2021. In a nutshell, it’s one of a just a couple of privately owned lodges in the reserve which isn’t operated by andBeyond, but which also traverses over some of the most sought-after and extremely game-rich land in the entire country!
Located on the western slopes of the Lebombo mountains whose southern reaches bisect the conservancy, Sungulwane consists of 8 spacious and stylish rooms which boast attractive contemporary design and décor elements. They’re elevated on pillars so that they almost end up perched in the forest canopy amongst the red ivory trees that cover the hillside. Probably the rooms’ most notable feature are the floor to ceiling glass stacking doors which make the rooms attractively light and airy. Note that because they are literally perched in the trees, not all rooms offer unfettered views across the valley – however the presence of many birds in the tree canopy makes the decks a hugely pleasant place to relax!
There are 6 Luxury Suites which are perfect for couples – we particularly like the spacious bathrooms with their double vanities and the huge window in the showers allowing views out into the surrounding forest. There’s also an outside shower on your private deck if you prefer showering in the open-air! Then there are the 2 Family Suites which add a separate twin bedroom for the kids which leads off the main bedroom – these 2 bedrooms then share a spacious bathroom.
When it comes to Sungulwane’s public areas, the same contemporary and fairly minimalistic aesthetic applies, with an open plan bar, dining and lounge area opening out onto a spacious deck and swimming pool. We love the colour palette used here, with light wood and tan leather perfectly offset by the charcoal grey walls upon which various décor items are displayed – it all looks warm, organic and attractively welcoming. It’s the perfect place to spend time between game drives, made even more welcoming by the unfailingly friendly staff! Meals out on the deck are a highlight with guests consistently praising the delicious meals on offer at Sungulwane!
Talking of game drives, given that you’re traversing on Zuka reserve, you would expect the game viewing here to be of high quality and Sungulwane definitely delivers on that front! All of the Big 5 are present and correct here, but perhaps the stand-out and slightly less common highlight from a game viewing perspective are the excellent cheetah sightings, with the Munyawana offering arguably the best cheetah sightings of any reserve around! Perhaps the only slight negative compared to the andBeyond lodges found elsewhere on the Munyawana, Sungulwane only utilises rangers on game drives (albeit that they are consistently raved about by guests for their excellent knowledge and enthusiasm) with no trackers involved. On the other hand, Sungulwane boasts a stunning hide which overlooks an active waterhole - this is an (extra cost) option which will no doubt delight keen game enthusiasts and photographers!
