PLAN YOUR SAFARI

Inside the lodge, rooms, drives and days at Founders

Seven luxury suites in a 1940s manor. Daily game drives extending onto the adjacent Shamwari conservancy. A sunken photographic hide, a private Railway Carriage, and stargazing on the lawn.

ACCOMMODATION

Seven luxury suites. One Railway Carriage.

The lodge offers seven luxury suites across the 1940s manor house and its adjoining contemporary wing: a Master Suite, a Heritage Suite, four Contemporary Suites and a Honeymoon Pod. Separately, the Founders Railway Carriage is available for exclusive-use bookings.

SEE ALL SUITES

IN THE MANOR

Master Suite

King-size four-poster, writing desk, private veranda. Connects via adjoining passage to the Heritage Suite for families.

IN THE MANOR

Heritage Suite

Classic in feel, period furniture, private veranda. Sold as single occupancy or one adult and one child, and pairs with the Master Suite via an adjoining passage for extended families.

CONTEMPORARY WING

Four Contemporary Suites

Private patios overlooking the Founders Watering Hole. Two with open-plan bathrooms, two with enclosed. Two pairs sit behind adjacent doorways for families travelling together. There is no direct interconnecting passage, but they sit close enough for parent-and-child configurations or older children rooming alongside.

ABOVE THE LODGE

Honeymoon Pod

Perched above the central lodge. Panoramic views across the valley. Designed for couples.

EXCLUSIVE USE

The Founders Railway Carriage

A restored carriage with three cabins sleeping up to five. Available for exclusive-use bookings only, minimum two nights, minimum two guests, no children under four.

ON THE LAND

Twice-daily drives. Big Five habitat.

Founders Lodge runs morning and afternoon game drives daily, led by qualified field guides. Drives extend into the adjacent Shamwari Private Game Reserve under contractual traversing rights, giving guests access to Big Five sightings across the greater 25,000-hectare conservancy.

On the Founders Reserve itself, guests encounter plains game species and white rhino, along with the bird life and smaller predators native to the thicket biome.

EXPLORE THE RESERVE

BEYOND THE DRIVES

A day at Founders

FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

The Photographic Hide

A sunken hide at the waterhole with a live feed to the lodge’s Founders Reserve live cam, built for photographers and patient watchers.

AT THE TABLE

Bush Dining

Lodge-curated meals served at a single sitting-room table in the manor, on the deck, or on location in the reserve.

ON FOOT

Guided Bush Walks

Guided walks and conservation activities available on request, subject to guide availability.

A DAY AT FOUNDERS

HOW A DAY UNFOLDS

05h30 · Coffee on the veranda as the reserve wakes. The morning drive leaves with the light, extending onto the greater Shamwari conservancy under traversing rights.

09h30 · Back for breakfast at the manor. The morning is yours: the sunken hide, a guided walk, or nothing at all.

13h00 · Lunch, then the quiet hours, the pool, the library, a siesta behind thick manor walls.

16h00 · The afternoon drive, ending with sundowners wherever the day’s sightings suggest.

19h30 · Dinner in a different setting to last night: the dining room, the deck, or out in the reserve under the stars.

No two days repeat, and with seven suites there is no convoy and no queue. The vehicle leaves when you are ready.

PRACTICAL DETAILS

GOOD TO KNOW

Check-in from 14h00; check-out by 11h00. The lodge welcomes children from four years, and the Bear Grylls Survival Academy, an accredited children’s programme, turns the reserve into the classroom. The Master and Heritage Suites adjoin for families.

Road transfers from Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport are arranged on request at an additional cost; self-drivers should allow for roughly 15 km of good gravel road after leaving the N2 at the Sidbury signpost. Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Diners Club are accepted. All suites are non-smoking, and pets stay home.

Between drives the lodge keeps two outdoor pools, a small gymnasium and a steam room, and evenings tend to end at the Founders Bar, where a billiards table waits beside the fire. The restaurant seats sixteen, which is the point: every guest at one table, every meal a shared one.

Reservations: +27 41 404 9300 · reservations@mantiscollection.com · Questions first? See the FAQ.

QUICK ANSWERS

Frequently asked

How many rooms does Founders Lodge have?

Seven luxury suites at the main lodge, one Master Suite, one Heritage Suite, four Contemporary Suites and one Honeymoon Pod, plus the Founders Railway Carriage, which is available on an exclusive-use basis.

Can I see the Big Five at Founders Lodge?

Yes. Game drives from Founders Lodge extend into the adjacent Shamwari Private Game Reserve under traversing rights, where all Big Five species are present. Plains game and white rhino are also resident on the Founders Reserve itself.

Is Founders Lodge family-friendly?

Yes. The Master and Heritage Suites connect via an adjoining passage, which makes them the most natural pairing for families travelling together. The four Contemporary Suites are not directly interconnected, but two of them share adjacent doorways, a comfortable arrangement for older children (around 10 and up) or for a parent-and-child configuration per room. Every Contemporary Suite is also spacious enough to accommodate a cot or roll-away bed for a baby or toddler.

Beyond the suite configuration, the lodge itself is malaria-free and secured against dangerous wildlife, so younger children can move around the grounds freely, a combination that makes Founders a practical and low-stress choice for multi-generational travel.

The lodge welcomes children from age four upwards on game drives. Children aged three and under may stay at the main lodge (rooming-in with parents) but cannot be accommodated in the Railway Carriage.

Can I book the entire lodge?

Yes, exclusive-use bookings for the main lodge and the Railway Carriage are both available. Enquire directly for rates.

WHAT GUESTS SAY

★★★★★

“The whole experience of staying at Founders Lodge was fantastic. The safaris were brilliant, the rooms, the food and staff were wonderful.”

TripAdvisor · December 2025

TripAdvisor 5.0/5 · 211 reviews · Travelers’ Choice 2026.

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