Our 10 person group was supposed to be picked up from our hotel at 6.30am, the driver was 2 hours late and we had to call to find out where he was. This made us late on arrival and we had 10 minutes to put our things in our room before having a very late lunch and going out on our first drive.
The driver Joseph who picked us up in Johannesburg was a terrible driver and we had an additional passenger, a mechanic who was being delivered to the lodge to do some work. They both talked the entire time distracting the driver who leant over closer to the passenger and used one hand the entire trip to steer the van. The van and the trailer swayed all over the road and when we arrived one of the trailers tyres was flat. This was extremely dangerous. It was an UNSAFE 7 hour drive.
We were very happy with the lodge, and the staff were friendly. The tours were fantastic, the food was lovely (and didn't make anyone sick).
We were crammed into the van for the return journey 13 people plus the driver. The vehicles are designed for smaller people than us, it was a long drive back. We stopped for lunch, the driver must get a commission of the tips as he made comment when we paid 'is that all you ordered'.
Other than the transportation to and from the Thornhill Lodge we were very happy with our accommodation, the meals and the tour.
Steve Flanagan, April 2013