Bulungula Lodge

“Spectacular… something very special… should be on your must-do list.”
Lonely Planet 2004

Ethical Travel Award: Worldwide runner-up
Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk 2009 Travel Awards

“One of the World's Top 25 Ultimate Ethical Travel Experiences”
Rough Guide 2007

One of the first lodges in the world to be Fair Trade accredited.

Contact us:

Phone: within South Africa: 047 577 8900
outside South Africa: +27 47 577 8900
alternatively try: 083 391 5525
Email:
or fill in our booking enquiry form here...

Why you should come to Bulungula

The Bulungula Lodge is the realisation of a dream dreamt during years of travels through the most remote parts of Africa, China and South America: to create an eco-friendly backpackers lodge in the most beautiful place in South Africa in partnership with a vibrant, traditional community.

The lodge is situated in the most beautiful location of any lodge in South Africa. Have a look at the photo’s. Beach, forest, lagoon, rolling hills, dolphins, whales, you name it. The sky is so clear, we guarantee shooting stars – look at the night’s sky for half an hour without seeing one, and you stay that night free.

We run on solar power, our rocket showers are legendary and our 10 huts have been positioned for great sea and forest views. Sarah, our resident London artist, has spent 9 months creating a visual spectacle – each hut has been theme painted and our odourless compost toilets are brilliant.

During the day you can wander around the village – horses are available - or you can chill out in our hammocks or on the beach. Our music collection is superb. Girls can head off with the village women for a crazy day of face painting, brick making, maize stamping, traditional food preparation, beer brewing and firewood collecting. Local fishermen will show you how to catch fish with throw nets, catch crayfish and octopus by hand and to make your own fishing rod from wood and wire. Lindile is your main man who’ll lead you on your journeys through the village and local culture. We have a lot of wise old people in the village who have seen it all and have amazing stories to tell. Go meet Bob Marley, the elder who can tell you anything you want to know about the history of the area… despite being a big smoker in his youth, he still remembers everything. Or maybe you want to go chat with the old legend Tholelesilo who worked at the Cape Town harbour in the sixties - he has a few tales to tell. Nozolile the sangoma is always the first to laugh, and will beat the drum into oblivion after a few jugs of Umngqombothi beer. Sundays are merry – it seems every second hut has brewed beer and you won’t escape without trying some.

The community offer canoe trips up the beautiful Xhora River where kamikaze fish may jump into your boat and Malachite kingfishers hunt in the forested cliffs upstream. You will also see the ancient cycad trees, relics from the dinosaur era. All this with a cooler box of beers...

And on special celebration nights there are the parties: real booming beach fire parties – we dance until dawn. And if you’re lucky you’ll dance on the stars.

But don't take our word for it, click here to see what other travellers
have to say about Bulungula.
(This a random Google blog search so we have no control over which blogs appear or what travellers have written.)

Why you shouldn’t come to Bulungula

If you are on a whistle-stop tour ticking off locations on your list in a mad rush to “do” South Africa in two weeks, then you’re probably not going to be able to fit us in on your hectic mission. It is not worth coming here for just 1 night. We believe travelling is about immersing yourself in new experiences and being open to the possibility that you’ll click with a place and stay for a week or 6. (If your time is very limited, rather spend more time at fewer places.) Obviously racists, sexists, etc are not welcome at all.

Getting Here

As the new Lonely Planet says, we “overlook one of the most spectacular and remote beaches on the Wild Coast [and the lodge is] something very special… and should be on your must-do list… but getting there is a mission”.

Paradise is by definition hard to get to, but we reckon it’s a fun mission. Which ever way you choose to travel, please call us the day before to let us know.

MTHATHA SHUTTLE: Our shuttle collects from the Mthatha Shell Ultra City (Baz`Bus, Translux and Greyhound bus stop) at 3pm daily. You MUST call us the day before to book your seat and thus ensure that the shuttle is sent to fetch you. The shuttle costs R65 per person.

LOCAL TRANSPORT: We believe that most backpackers in South Africa are missing out by not travelling around the country on local transport. Not only are minibuses and non-tourist buses much cheaper and quicker but they are also often the best way to meet interesting people and to learn about local culture. We recommend a crowded bakkie taxi filled with people, chickens, groceries and laughs over luxury transport any day. Coming by local transport is definitely the only way to appreciate the unique location of the lodge. In fact, anyone who arrives at the lodge by local transport from Mthatha gets the first night free.

Please take the following precautions when using minibus/bakkie taxis:

• Only catch taxis from a taxi rank not on the side of the road (remember that taxi ranks are popular with pickpockets);
• Don’t get into a taxi with a drunk driver;
• Women travellers should be wary of taxis that have only male passengers – this is unlikely to be a taxi and is more likely a football team car or something;

If you want the cheapest and quickest way to get to Mthatha from Cape Town, take the DMJ Transport bus from the main Cape Town bus station (the DMJ office is next to the Greyhound office). The bus is as luxurious as the Greyhound (toilet, video, drinks, etc), costs R350, takes only 13 hours (it uses a much shorter route than Greyhound/Translux) and on your return to Cape Town they drop you at the door of your lodge/house for free. (Tel: 021 419 4368). The only down side with coming to Bulungula on the DMJ bus is that it gets into Mthatha at around 9am while our shuttle only leaves Mthatha at 3pm... a long wait... Therefore, if you come by DMJ the best bet is to continue on local transport (minibuses) all the way to Bulungula (and get your first night free).

SELF-DRIVE (click here for map): it isn’t possible to drive to the lodge without a 4x4. However we have arranged secure parking at the nearby shop for R15 per car per day. To get to the shop, take the Coffee Bay turn off the N2. On your right you will see Sibulele Store, you can a buy a map there for R1 or alternatively print the copy above. It takes about 2 hours to drive to the parking area from Mthatha, 4h 30min to drive there from East London/Cintsa and 8 hours from Durban/Port Elisabeth. The normal collection time is 5pm. You MUST phone us the day before to arrange that the shuttle fetches you (R45) otherwise you could be left with a lengthy wait at the shop…

If you're driving a normal car and want to come earlier in the day, you can drive your car to Bulungula Store (see the map), take your bags out of the car and leave them with the shopkeeper and then walk down the hill to the lodge (3km, 45 minute walk downhill). The 5pm shuttle will collect your bags and bring them to the lodge for free. Please make sure you tell us which option you plan to do else we'll be waiting for you at the main parking area while you're merrily walking down from Bulungula Store!

4x4 VEHICLES: Either print the map above or buy one for R1 at Sibulele Store which is on your right as you turn off the N2 onto the Coffee Bay road. Small 4x4's (X-trails, Freelanders) and other vehicles (bakkies/vans) are able to get to the lodge with this road but they will not be able to leave the village if it rains as the road becomes impassable. Please note that we do not cater for 4x4 self-catering campers.

PLANE TO MTHATHA: SAA flies directly from Johannesburg (only) to Mthatha daily (book well in advance to get cheaper seats). You must catch a flight that gets to Mthatha before 3pm so you can catch our shuttle or alternatively you can hire a car at Mthatha Airport (Avis, Imperial Car Rental and Budget Rent a Car) and drive to our parking area.

PLANE TO EAST LONDON: 1time airlines (budget) and SAA (more frequent but more expensive) both fly to East London from Cape Town. From East London Airport you can either hire a car (we recommend Around About Cars which have unlimited kilometres) or you can catch the Airport Shuttle (Tel: 082 569 3599 ) to the East London bus station where you can catch a Greyhound or Translux bus (these depart EL at 12pm) to Mthatha where our shuttle collects daily from the Shell Ultra City at 3pm.

How much

We have 5 beautifully decorated huts with 4-6 beds and 5 beautiful huts with double beds (or 2 single beds). They all have bedding and beautiful views.

• Dorms (4 to 6 single beds): R120 per person
• Triple room (3 single beds): R390 for the room
• Double/twin/single room (1 double bed or 2 single beds): R300 per room
• Luxury Safari Tent (twin beds or a double bed with bedding): R280 per tent
• Camping: R70 per person (3-man tents or smaller only. Unfortunately no 4x4 self-catering campers allowed.)

Food

We fully cater for 3 meals a day at very reasonable prices: we cook excellent meat and veggie options every day. Our menu:

BREAKFAST: Cereals/porridge (R16), cooked breakfasts (R30).

LUNCH: toasted sandwiches (R16) and traditional lunch (R20).

DINNER (all include salad and cost R52): Malay Chicken Curry with Rotis, Lamb & Butternut Bredie, Cape Malay Bobotie with Yellow Rice, Swiss-style Alplermacaroni (a la Wood 'n' Spoon restaurant in Port St Johns), Sausage Stew with Umngqusho, Thai Green Chicken Curry, Fish & Veggie Frikkadels with Dhal... Delicious!!

DESSERT: we have some wonderful desserts baked fresh daily including Sticky Toffee Malva Pudding, Tipsy Tart, Chocolate Cake, Apple Crumble and Peach Cake all served with either cream, hot custard or ice cream (all R14).

BAR: our bar stocks beers, ciders, cold drinks, wine and some spirits. There is also munchie food: chips/crisps, chocolates, biscuits as well as cigarettes.

For self-caterers, there is only a very basic spaza shop nearby, so it's best to bring supplies with you but please leave as much packaging behind at the shop as possible.

What to bring

The only things you need to bring other than the obvious is a towel, a torch and a smile.

Community Work

We have helped the community start a number of 100% community-owned and run businesses including horseriding, canoeing, fishing, guiding, baking, sewing, cooking, wood-carving and environmental protection projects. These have created jobs and income for 33 families over and above those employed directly at the lodge. Obviously many of these businesses are still in their infancy and are not always as professional as you would find in the big cities - no-one in our village had any experience of tourism prior to 2004. But everyone puts there heart and soul into their new venture and as a result there is a unique, fresh edge to these activities.

We have run a range of fantastic HIV awareness programs and voluntary counselling and testing days in partnership with our local Madwaleni Hospital. The community are undergoing intensive training on permaculture and organic farming in order to improve nutrition and create surpluses that can be sold to the lodge restaurant. We have built a seedling nursery that is owned and run by members of the community selling vegetable seedlings to the surrounding communities. We also now have a community-owned, irrigated, organic vegetable farm which supplies the lodge with much of its fresh veggies. We have helped some women in the village start the now legendary iLanga Fire Restaurant with the best sweet and savoury pancakes in Africa. And look out for our brand new bicycle powered blender producing the ultimate eco-smoothies! Two women from the village have been professionally trained as masseuses and offer luxurious fuly body and Indian head massages for those needing some pampering.

We are now about to embark on our most ambitious project: rehabilitating our local mud school which collapsed recently.

Many of the above projects are housed and managed under our new Non-Profit organisation: the Bulungula Incubator. You can visit the Incubator's website at www.bulungulaincubator.org

There is still much to do and, with this in mind, we offer free accommodation to anyone who has skills identified by the community as being in need. At the moment we are looking for a qualified nurse and a maths and science teacher who can stay for a minimum of 1 year.

Contact us:

Phone: within South Africa: 047 577 8900
outside South Africa: +27 47 577 8900
alternatively try: 083 391 5525
Email:
or fill in our booking enquiry form here...

Postal Address:
PO Box 52913
Mthatha
5099
South Africa