Is Hoedspruit South Africa's Best-Kept Secret?

I’ll be honest, until I met Juls, I had never even heard of Hoedspruit.  I grew up loving the bush, but it was always something I dipped into for a weekend here and there, not a place I truly knew.  Then Juls invited me to visit her family’s home in Leadwood Estate Hoedspruit, and my perspective on the bush changed completely.

It’s difficult to explain unless you’ve experienced it yourself, but being in Hoedspruit felt like falling in love with the bush all over again.  At Leadwood Big Game Estate, you have all the comforts of a modern home (a large sofa, state-of-the-art appliances, modern bathroom, Wi-Fi that works as well as any in the city) but step outside and you are right in the middle of the African wilderness.  Lions call in the distance at night.  Giraffes wander past your veranda.  Sometimes, you’ll wake to find an elephant has pushed down a tree on your stand or discover fresh leopard tracks in the driveway.

It’s peaceful, yes (quiet in a way that only the bush can be) but it’s also raw and alive.  The bush changes daily.  One morning it’s just birdsong and the rustle of wind through the indigenous trees, the next it’s the drama of a cheetah kill or a rhino with her calf ambling by.  That unpredictability is what makes Hoedspruit feel so authentic.  Nothing is staged.  Nothing is curated.  You’re part of nature.

The landscape here is astonishingly diverse.  Within a short drive from our bush villa in Hoedspruit, you can be sitting at a dam watching hippos, weaving through a riverbed lined with giant sycamore figs, exploring the tamboti thicket, or climbing a rocky outcrop for a sunset view that makes time stand still.  This is Greater Kruger at its most magical.

Juls & I enjoying the view from a rocky outcrop located on Rietspruit Private Game Reserve.

For us, the connection was instant.  On our very first visit, we bought a property in Moditlo Big Game Estate.  By the second trip, we bought a villa on Leadwood Big Game Estate.  That’s how deeply Hoedspruit got under our skin.  Even though we currently spend extended periods abroad, Little Leadwood gives us a reason to come back to South Africa as often as possible.  Every time we arrive, it feels like coming home.

Hoedspruit is, quite simply, South Africa’s best-kept secret.  It’s not a big city, it’s not overly developed, and that’s exactly why people fall in love with it.  Whether you’re staying at a self-catering safari villa, looking for long-term safari villa rentals, or just passing through to explore the Greater Kruger, Hoedspruit offers something that no other destination can: authenticity.

Living among the wildlife here is a privilege, one that we never take for granted.  It’s a place where boundaries dissolve, where you feel free, and where every sunrise brings a sense of anticipation. To us, that’s the magic of Hoedspruit.