Timamoon Lodge Review
Timamoon Lodge is an excellent getaway for your trip along the Panorama Route and Blyde River Canyon. Check out this Timamoon Lodge review that will convince you to splurge!
The lodge is just under 5 hours from Joburg. Though you can easily come just to spend a weekend here, Timamoom Lodge would be a perfect final destination along the Panorama Route, as it is 40 minutes from Sabie (the southernmost town along the route). Plan this as a romantic getaway, rather than a base to explore the Panorama Route.
The lodge is perfect for nature, privacy, and romance. Each villa on the property has its own pool and fireplace. The villas are themed and are exquisitely designed with antiques the owners have collected from all over the world.
Getting to Timamoon Lodge
Check-in is at 2 pm. Check-out is at 11 am.
If you drive from Joburg and do not make any stops along the way, you should leave around 10 am. If you leave Joburg earlier, you could stop in Sabie for lunch and check out the waterfalls. You’ll need around 1 hour to see all the waterfalls so plan accordingly. Check out the Panorama Route Ultimate Travel Guide for details.
If you’re following the 9-day itinerary for the Panorama Route, you’ll drive around 2.5 hours from Hoedspruit to Timamoon Lodge. Stop along the way for an early lunch at Shiloh Coffee Shop.
The lodge is 15-20 minutes off the main road. A high clearance vehicle is suggested but you can do the drive in a sedan.
Once you’re off the highway, you’ll take a small bridge over the Sabie River and be welcomed to Timamoon.
Timamoon Lodge Cost
Full room and board for 2 adults is around R8000 (around $560) per night. Check the latest on Timamoon Lodge’s accommodation page.
Check TImamoon’s Facebook page and their website for offers. We received 20% off on our stay by booking directly through the official website.
Here I am pretending that cost means nothing to me.
The Food
Breakfast and dinner are included in your stay. You’ll likely spring for a cute picnic lunch and some great wine pairings as well. You can choose to have your breakfast and dinner set up in your villa. Otherwise, you’ll dine at the restaurant outdoors around the koi pond (weather permitting) or indoors.
The dinner menu rotates every 7 days, so you’ll be offered something new at every opportunity.
One day I was totally obsessed with the fresh Norwegian salmon offered at Timamoon Lodge that I had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Breakfast
Daily, you’ll be set up with fruit, yogurt, and muffins or scones with orange juice, coffee, and/or tea as you decide your hot breakfast option. Options include scrambled eggs, eggs benedict, potato rostis, and omelets.
Watch out for the cheeky monkeys as you eat outside. They aren’t brave enough to come to snatch your food, luckily.
On our last morning, we choose to have breakfast in our villa. It was a foggy morning so we made the right choice.
Lunch
Lunch is served between 12-2 pm. You need to decide on your lunch by 11:30 am so that the kitchen can prepare it. Lunch is brought to your villa in super cute picnic baskets with fruit and a dessert. There are burgers, wraps, and salads available. The cost of the lunch basket is R300. There is a light lunch option of a cheese and fruit platter for R200.
On our second day at Timamoon, we decided to chill at the lodge so we ordered a salmon salad and a greek salad for lunch. Both were delicious!
Dinner
Prepare to be wow-ed at dinner. Each morning you’ll be given a curated dinner menu with three options for the appetizer, entree, and dessert. Be sure to tell the lodge if you’re vegan, veg, pescetarian, etc, so they can prepare the menu accordingly. We decided to go for pescetarian options for dining. There was a combo of fish and veg dishes so sometimes I got a fish entre while Wilhelm got a veg entre… and we would split. Sharing is caring.
The dining experience is so lovely intimate.
My pictures don’t do the food justice! Hopefully, you’ll see that the meals are prepared beautifully and take my word for it that they are delicious.
On our first evening at Timamoon Lodge, we choose to have dinner in our cabin.
Activities at Timamoon Lodge
The lodge staff assists in making you feel like you’re in a secluded, private palace. You’re not disturbed in your villa unless you request food, drink, or some other service like assistance with getting a fire started.
Go on a hike
There is a great 7km trail on the property that leads you down from the lodge to Sabie River and then back up again.
You can also ask for a riverside picnic to be set up for your arrival.
On the hike, you’ll pass the property gate (stop to take a cute pic) and walk along the river. You can take a dip in the river and lounge. The water felt so good on the hot day we hiked and we jumped in 3 times! From there you’ll follow the hiking signs back to the lodge.
If you’re lucky, you’ll spot some animals around your villa and on your hike. We saw the red duiker (a type of small antelope) on our first day (but never again). Look out for otters in the river. Otters are shy and we didn’t see any. However, we did notice a bunch of interesting paw prints around the edge of the water. So keep your eyes open!
You’ll pass a tree with fruit that looks like an orange. You will be tempted to take one of the hanging fruit. This is no ordinary orange. After a couple of jumps from Wilhelm, he grabbed the ‘orange’ and peeled it. We could barely take a bite as the fruit was crazy sour!
Watch a movie
Ask to book the outdoor cinema for a cozy evening with your favorite movie. The setup is so cute!
Relax
Spa sessions are available to book.
You can take a relaxing bath, complete with rose-scented bath salts and orange bloom bubble bath.
Enjoy a sundowner (a happy hour drink) while watching the sun go down, and set get the fireplace started.
Check out the full list of activities on the lodge’s website.
Activities around Timamoon Lodge
If you’re like me and never want to leave Timamoon because it’s so beautiful, you can skip this section… hehe. If you have more than 3 nights at the lodge and want to explore a bit, then you’re in the right place.
Visit Sabie
Sabie is one of the southern towns along the Panorama Route and Blyde River Canyon. You can visit: Horse Shoe Falls, Lone Creek Falls, Sabie Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls for a 3+ hour adventure from the lodge. The lodge is 40 minutes away from Sabie and you’ll need an hour to visit all the sites. Get a drink a Sabie Brewing, get a bite to eat, and check out the town on your way back.
Check out the Panorama Route Ultimate Travel Guide for all the info.
Visit Hazyview
Hazyview is one of the many ‘gateway’ towns to Kruger National Park. Perry’s Bridge Trading Post has a collection of shops and restaurants. Stop in at Africa Silk for scarves and home decor made nearby in Graskop, Shautany Chocolatiers for Belgian style chocolate, and Tsonga for great quality shoes.
Grab a filling lunch at Tanks Bush Pub, a bush-style bar with bar-style food. Any burger can be made into a veggie Burger thanks to Fry’s (a popular plant-based meat substitute company)! We got the nachos and a Mexican-style burger with a great enchilada sauce
Get lunch at Shiloh Coffee Shop, a cute coffee roastery between Sabie and Hazyview. They also have fresh ginger and turmeric products available.
Kruger National Park
Arrange a day trip with Timaoon lodge to visit Kruger National Park, just about an hour away. Kruger is also available as a self-driving safari. Kruger is home to the famous “Big 5” animals. If you’ve got your heart set on seeing a leopard, then head to Kruger.
The Villas
There are six villas available, each with a “moon” name”: Moon River, Bombay Moon, Blue Moon, Secret Moon, Amber Moon, and Many Moons. Many Moons is a two-bedroom villa, best for 2 couples or a family. All other villas only accommodate one couple.
I identified so much with the design and style of Timamoon Lodge. Think of a mini palace in a faraway ‘Arabia’ with artifacts from all over the world brought over on a camel caravan. In fact, the owners (Gaylyn and Maurice Hammond) named Timamoon after an Algerian oasis of the same name. I’ve googled this and can’t seem to find the real thing though. The Hammonds have collected art from Tibet, Indonesia, Mali, Benin, Mozambique, and India. Local artists are also featured.
Bombay Moon Villa
We stayed in the Bombay Moon villa and it was a spectacular experience. We had a hard time choosing which villa we wanted to stay in. Each has its own private pool, daybeds, fireplace, and unique bath.
The entrance to the villa had a bell that I rang for the heck of it every time we entered the villa.
Bombay Moon’s pool with a view over the surrounding mountains and the Sabie River below was beautiful. Though it was a little cold (as the pools are not heated), we took a dip because it was too incredible not to!
The villa had a lounge space, with colorful doors brought over from India. We put the fire on our first evening because it was a little chilly.
One of my favorite features in the villa was the shell chandeliers by the bed. They look like rope but it’s actually hundreds of tiny shells!
I could have lived in the bathroom. The stone shower was beautiful but it really was the mermaid tub that elevated the room. The mermaid is from the Java islands in Indonesia.
Check out all the pictures of the villas on Timamoon’s website.
Hope you enjoy your stay!