Bukela Lodge is situated within the 6000 hectare Amakhala Game reserve, just 40 minutes drive from Port Elizabeth.

Bukela means to "admire or a place of great admiration" in the Xhosa language. This area has been created to offer visitors a malaria free and intimate encounter with the African Bushveld.

Bukela Lodge therefore offers the guest a true African experience encompassing all of ones senses, and not tempered by Western or European influences except where comfort and service are concerned.

Accommodation at Bukela Lodge is luxurious and of an international standard. The main lodge comprises of a reception, dining and sitting area with a central fireplace which is always welcome in winter, a media and library area with Internet, television, DVD player, games and books and a large wooden pool deck overlooking a small dam frequented by buffalo. A separate area known as a “boma” adjoins the main lodge where bush braai’s and special festivities may be enjoyed under the African sky.

The four suites, each individually styled in African simplicity, while never compromising on luxury, sleeps 2 guests and is privately located separate from the main lodge.

Each suite is well appointed for a guests’ optimal comfort with every amenity including, large en suite bathrooms each with a spa bath overlooking the African bush, an indoor and outdoor shower for the more adventurous, a central fireplace for romantic evenings, a private wooden deck, bar fridge, and hot drink amenities.

Beds are King size or 2 singles depending on guest requirement, and air conditioned, while bar fridges and automatic kettles are an added convenience. All our suites are luxurious, but the “honeymoon suite” with a huge four poster mahogany bed can be reserved for that special occasion.

Bukela Lodge is situated in an area which was considered to have the highest concentration of game in South Africa before the hunting parties of the 1800’s changed this.

Continued conservation endeavors and the shared vision of ‘turning back the clock’ has ensured that future generations will also be able to appreciate the splendor of the area. Eco- tourism has in part ensured this, but of equal importance is the contribution guests make when visiting the area towards the development of skills in previously disadvantaged indigenous communities.

This has empowered communities to achieve economic independence, a sense of self worth and has further ensured a symbiotic relationship between man and nature.

Game that may be viewed include

Smaller game includes

Approximately 250 bird species may be viewed in the area including the rare African Finfoot and include many raptors such as the Fish Eagle, Crowned Eagle and Jackal buzzard.

A variety of snake and insect species may also be discovered. Flora and fauna is typically African valley bushveld punctuated by colorful wild flowers specific to the area. The word “Amakhala” is a Xhosa name given to the regal Aloes which proliferate here.

With their striking orange flowers, this well known medicinal plant grows in abundance in the reserve. Flat savannahs and riverine forests offer a variety of habitat for game and the area has 20 small dams and 17 kilometers of the Bushmans river winding through it.

From a historical perspective, Bukela Lodge offers their guests an ideal platform from which to explore and discover not only the many 1820 English and Dutch settlements in the surrounding area, but also stone age “workshops’ dating back 300 000 years. The first Stegosaur skeleton (Paranthodon Africanus) to be documented in South Africa was discovered in the Bushmans river valley less than one kilometer down river from the reserve.