About This Property
Few & Far Luvhondo sits on a cliff in the Soutpansberg Mountains of Limpopo, near Waterpoort, inside the UNESCO Vhembe Biosphere Reserve. Official inventory is six solar-powered Cliff Suites, each with a valley-facing verandah and private plunge pool. Go2Africa and the operator sell the stay as fully inclusive: meals, drinks and daily guided activities. The official from-price is USD 1,200 per person per night; Go2Africa’s published band is USD 1,950–2,600 PPS. A conservation levy is extra.
This is not a Kruger Big Five factory. Published wildlife includes leopard, giraffe, zebra, kudu, rhino and more than 600 bird species. You game-drive, walk, hike, mountain-bike or e-bike, join conservation work, and — on the current official site — ride Solyrus, the solar aerial cable car (Relais & Châteaux still marks it as coming in 2026). Sleep-outs under the stars are listed (Smith: March–October). Mapungubwe and a Samango monkey forest are optional day trips.
Suites are tented timber-and-canvas, about 120 sqm on Relais, with a king bed, indoor and outdoor showers, a soaking tub (CNT), air-conditioning at the bed, a minibar and a butler hatch (Smith / CNT). Official sleep number is two; the contact form allows 2 adults and 3 children. The main area has an infinity pool, restaurant, bar, boma and a small spa beside a large baobab (CNT). Founders are Sarah and Jacob Dusek (Under Canvas). Relais names Warwick and Giselle Guy as hosts. Minimum stay two nights. Opened December 2024 / January 2025.
Why We Love It
We like Luvhondo because it is the Soutpansberg one: six cliff suites, baobabs, a plunge pool on the verandah, and a stay that is sold fully inclusive rather than as a Kruger copy. The official from-price of USD 1,200 PPS is the number we have used; Go2Africa’s USD 1,950–2,600 band is the partner card, and the USD 960 early-booking rate is a special, not the rack.
Solyrus, the sleep-out and a conservation day are why you come this far north — once the cable car is confirmed running on your dates. We would budget the extra conservation levy so the invoice matches the T&Cs, and we would not treat Relais’s “Vhembe World Heritage” line as gospel: Mapungubwe is the World Heritage Site; this lodge sits in the biosphere around it.
Six rooms is the right size. Two nights is the published minimum. Bring the children if they fit 2 adults plus 3, and leave the Big Five for Kruger on the way.
Rooms & Details
Cliff Suites
Six solar-powered Cliff Suites sit on the Soutpansberg escarpment, each about 120 sqm with a king bed. Indoor and outdoor showers, a deep soaking tub, air-conditioning at the bed, a minibar and a wraparound deck with a one-person plunge pool. Official sleep number is two; the contact form allows two adults and three children, with extra beds and cots on request.
Main lodge
The restaurant, bar and boma sit a short step from the communal infinity pool. Meals are fully inclusive, with bush breakfasts, picnic lunches and fireside dinners. Wi-Fi, laundry and a small curio shop with local artisan goods are in the main area. The drive to Kruger National Park is about 3–3.5 hours if you are adding Big Five days after the mountain.
Infinity pool
The infinity pool sits beside the main lodge, looking over the valley. Plunge pools on the suite decks are for one person; this is the shared swim. In the same Soutpansberg range, Leshiba Wilderness is the other mountain lodge on this site.
Spa
The spa sits beside a baobab estimated around 3,000 years old, with an outdoor soaking tub nearby. Massages and facials include private verandah treatments. There is no gym; yoga mats are in the suites. Further south in Limpopo, Marataba Mountain Lodge and the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve are the usual Waterberg next stop.
Amenities & Features
Cancellation Policy
Official T&Cs (page headed valid 7 December 2024–31 December 2025 — confirm still current for 2026): non-refundable 30% deposit to confirm; 70% balance due 120 days before arrival (full balance at confirmation if inside 120 days). Cancellation 120 days or more before arrival: 30% of total; inside 120 days: treat as 100% unless the lodge confirms otherwise in writing. Cancellations in writing. Postponement free of charge if requested no later than 14 days before travel, subject to availability and seasonal rate adjustment.
Photo Gallery
Rates
Prices start from $1,200 per night. Final pricing depends on season, room type, and availability. Check current rates on our booking partner's site for the most accurate pricing.
Price From uses the official from-price of USD 1,200 per person per night (fewandfarluvhondo.com: “Starting at $1,200 per person, per night”). Go2Africa headline is USD 1,950–2,600 PPS fully inclusive (all meals, selected beverages) — not used for Price From. Early-booking special from USD 960 PPS (travel in 2026, book by 30 April 2026, 25% savings) is a promotion — not used. Minimum stay 2 nights (official T&Cs / Relais / Smith). Conservation levy extra: official early-booking T&Cs USD 100 per person per night; YourPerfectAfrica quotes R575 adult / R288 child 6–17 per night — confirm which applies. Spa and some activities extra. Six Cliff Suites; official “Sleeps 2”; official/contact: maximum 2 adults and 3 children per suite (Relais: 5 travellers, 120 sqm, 1 king). Children: Go2Africa “Children Under 12 Welcome”; extra beds and cots (Smith); Relais family-friendly. Relais & Châteaux member since 2025. Opened December 2024 / January 2025 (official about / CNT).
What's Included
- Breakfast (lodge or bush; Go2Africa: fruit, made-to-order hot meals, pastries)
- Lunch (lodge dining or picnic in the bush)
- Afternoon tea (Go2Africa) and dinner (restaurant, boma braai, bush dinner or private deck)
- Drinks on the fully inclusive rate (Go2Africa: selected beverages; Smith: including alcoholic beverages; minibar with house drinks)
- Daily private-guided activities on the fully inclusive rate: game drives, guided nature walks and hikes, wildlife tracking, mountain / e-biking (official early-booking T&Cs; Go2Africa)
- Solyrus solar-powered aerial cable car (official site presents it as operating; Relais & Châteaux still says coming 2026 — confirm)
- Sleep-out under the stars (Go2Africa; Mr & Mrs Smith: March–October, weather permitting)
- Conservationist-for-a-day / conservation experiences with the reserve team (official; Go2Africa)
- Picnic lunches, bush dinners and boma dining (Go2Africa; official)
- Stargazing (Go2Africa; Relais: with an astronomy expert)
- Young Explorers programme for children (official; Condé Nast Traveler)
- Cultural / Venda heritage evenings (official; spa and some excursions extra — Mapungubwe and Samango monkey day trips listed separately)
Official and Go2Africa: fully inclusive — accommodation, all meals, drinks (Go2Africa: selected beverages; Smith: including alcoholic beverages; early-booking T&Cs: all meals and drinks). Daily private-guided activities as listed. Conservation levy extra (USD 100 pppn on the early-booking T&Cs). Spa treatments extra. Flights, Mapungubwe and Samango day trips extra/confirm. Laundry is available (Go2Africa) — not listed as included. Minimum 2 nights.
Location
How to Get There
By air — Polokwane
Official: commercial flights to Polokwane, then private car about 1.5 hours. Relais: Polokwane Gateway International Airport 141 km. Condé Nast Traveler / official blog: lodge-arranged road transfer about 90 minutes. Official blog: three daily flights from Johannesburg is the route most international guests take.
Charter to the private airstrip
Official: direct charter to the lodge’s private airstrip near Waterpoort, at the foot of the mountain. Guide meets the aircraft. Mr & Mrs Smith: charters can be arranged from Kruger-area, Waterberg, Johannesburg or other South African airports, including helicopter, at extra cost.
By road
Official: about 4.5 hours from Pretoria or Johannesburg (N1 north through Polokwane); about 3 hours from Hoedspruit on the lodge homepage, 3.5 hours in the official “Five Roads” blog (March 2026). Relais: by car on the R523 Waterpoort. Last stretch: official blog — gate in the Limpopo lowveld, then a steep shale 4×4 road through baobabs to the lodge (about 30 minutes). Mr & Mrs Smith: free parking; free Polokwane transfers can be arranged.
By rail
Official: Rovos Rail (Pride of Africa) arrives at the property from Victoria Falls once a week. Relais: Waterpoort station 4 km. Smith: the stop is only bookable via the lodge, with plenty of notice.
Nearby Attractions
Western Soutpansberg Nature Reserve; Vhembe Biosphere Reserve; Waterpoort; Mapungubwe National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site — official / Relais day trip); Samango monkey forest (official day trip); Limpopo salt pans / traditional salt harvest (Relais); Kruger National Park / Greater Kruger (about 3–3.5 hours, official)
Things to Do
At the property
Swim in the infinity pool or your suite plunge pool. Spa treatments extra. Walk the labyrinth (CNT). Eat in the restaurant, at the boma, as a picnic or as a bush dinner. Stargaze from the deck. Young Explorers for children (official / CNT). Wi-Fi throughout (Smith / Go2Africa).
In the reserve
Game drives, guided walks and hikes, mountain-biking and e-biking, conservation work (planting, tracking, alien-plant clearing — official / Smith / CNT). Solyrus aerial cable car on the current official site. Sleep-out in season. Relais also lists salt-pan hikes and mineral-water floating as a regional outing.
Day trips
Official: Mapungubwe National Park; private Samango monkey tracking. Kruger / Greater Kruger is about 3–3.5 hours (official) — a combination itinerary, not a casual afternoon. Rovos Rail is an arrival, not a day trip from the lodge.
Good to Know
Not a Big Five Kruger lodge: This is the Soutpansberg / Vhembe Biosphere, near Waterpoort, Limpopo — leopard, giraffe, zebra, kudu, rhino and 600+ bird species are the published sightings (CNT / Relais). Elephants and lions are a rewilding aim, not a guaranteed game-drive list. Mapungubwe National Park is a separate day trip. Suites: Six Cliff Suites only (official blog, CNT, Relais, Staygrand). Official card “Sleeps 2”; contact form maximum 2 adults and 3 children; Relais 5 travellers / 120 sqm / king bed. CNT: three rollaway beds; extra beds and cots (Smith). Check-in: Relais 14:00 / 10:00. Mr & Mrs Smith 16:00 / 10:00 (flexible up to three hours either way, extra fee). YourPerfectAfrica / HotelBest also print 16:00. We have used Relais 14:00. GPS: Relais −22.9201, 29.4541. Go2Africa schema −22.9112, 29.5912. Mr & Mrs Smith −22.9298, 29.5717. Relais also prints Waterpoort train 4 km, which sits more easily with the Smith/Go2Africa pins than with 29.45 — confirm with reservations before self-driving. What3Words: none published. Hectares: Do not treat as one figure. CNT: starting about 50,000 acres, aiming to regenerate more than 200,000 acres over a decade. Smith: 35,000 hectares in conservation. Lodge holiday blog: 11,000 hectares. Western Soutpansberg Nature Reserve (CNT) inside the UNESCO Vhembe Biosphere Reserve. Relais calls Vhembe a World Heritage Site — that is Mapungubwe; Vhembe is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Solyrus: Official homepage and activities treat the solar cable car as part of the stay. Relais still says “coming 2026”. CNT (written as a 2025 opening piece) used the name Solfari and a May launch. Confirm it is running on your dates. Power / waste: Fully solar (Go2Africa / CNT). CNT: 100% zero waste; no single-use plastics; Verra-registered carbon project. Accessibility: CNT: no accessible rooms. Smith: remoteness is a challenge; suites nearest the main lodge reserved if you have mobility concerns. Relais: single-storey, at least one room and common areas accessible — conflict, confirm. Hosts / kitchen: Relais maîtres de maison Warwick and Giselle Guy; chef listed as Henlu Van Niewenhuizen. CNT names chef Nhlakanipho Sokhela (Chef Sox) and sommelier Erica Taylor. Founders Sarah and Jacob Dusek. Conservation manager Dawn / Dawn Booyens (Smith / CNT). Do not treat any one chef as current without a recheck. Levy: Early-booking T&Cs USD 100 pppn extra. YourPerfectAfrica R575 / R288 — confirm.
Who It's For
Couples, friends and families (suites take 2 adults and up to 3 children) who want a small, fully inclusive mountain lodge rather than a Kruger Big Five camp. Relais and the official blog flag it for honeymoons. Minimum two nights. Not for guests who need confirmed wheelchair-accessible rooms (CNT). Not for anyone expecting elephants on every drive — this is Soutpansberg leopard, plains game and birds, with Big Five day trips elsewhere.
Best Time to Visit
Official: year-round. Condé Nast Traveler: green season December–April (lush after rain); gold season May–November (drier, better for game viewing); May–June described as peak; October starts butterfly season. Mr & Mrs Smith: sleep-outs March–October.
