Hippo Jessica in Tzaneen

What an experience! Tom was super friendly and did an excellent job presenting Jessica and Seun!Would go again!!

8km not worth to go for so bad opening hours. Would be very kind to write it at the beginning of gravel road. We arrived at 11.00 when they close till 2.00 o‘clock p.m.16km gravel road for nothing but stolen time. Hippo may be nice, but for above reason only one star….0 is not possible.

Very disappointed. We drove all the way from Jhb to see the hippo but was turned away before the closing time without the courtesy of an explanation. We got to the gate at 11am with 2 excited kids just to be told they were closed...an explanation to the early closing may have made me understand the sudden change. It was indeed a very disappointing experience.

Oh wow, amazing experience! I fell in love with a Hippo!Tonie thank you for making this experience possible. You rock!

Always a pleasure. Now even Richie is in for it

Unbelievable expirience. Hosts are totally friendly and very informative.

Once in a lifetime experience... highly recommended

Such a great experience! Once in a lifetime opportunity to pet and feed these beautiful animals!

Lovely experience with Jessica definitely a must see

Do not go. I understand the thrill of interacting with "wild" animals, but I am more on the side of what is ETHICAL in regards to the animal. Yes, the two hippos are looked after and I understand rescuing them, yet Jessica is now more of a pet. Rescuing an animal is wonderful, but now continuing to encourage her and the younger male to stay around by several feedings (treatsand viewings with up to several groups during the day is not encouraging independence and the separation required for animals to truly integrate back into the wild. The owners are the caretakers, so what will happen to the 2 hippos when they are no longer there? Will the hippos integrate back completely into the wild or maybe show aggression from no one giving them treats any longer? We have a responsibility to what we have tamed in any way, and it has gone on MUCH longer than it should have with Jessica and now the other. It is now profit driven and selfish of the owners to do this, as it would not be supported by animal welfare and conservationists, some of whom I have spoken to about her. Please DO NOT support this just as a reason to be close to a hippo. My nature guide had not been there before either and will not be returning. We dont want others to be encouraged to exploit animals.The only reason I gave 2 stars is because there was a good safety discussion.

Great experience, but children aren’t allowed to touch or feed Jessica or Seun. So that was very disappointing for the kids.Expected more, because such a great a experience but they can really do more to make the place look better and be more professional.

We spent 2 nights in the in the tree house and meet Jessica and Richie a few times for feeding. This was something my wife has wanted to do for over 10 years and it was just a special as we wanted it to be.

A once in a lifetime and very unique experience with two magnificent creatures

It was awesome to visit Jessica Hippo 🦛

very beautiful experience for the whole family you get to feed the hippos

Once in a life time experience! Interacted with both Jessica and Seun. Very educational and respectful to these amazing creatures. Highly recommend!

Amazing. Great experience. Clean. Animals well looked after. Free to roam. Great story.

Beautiful area hippos very friendly. Staff was very concerned about our safety. And that we enjoyed our experience.

Loved every moment of this experience ❤️ Tony the owner was GREAT and full of insight. He also made sure we were aware of all the safety procedures. You will love this and be completely safe as long as you follow the rules.

Loved, loved, loved the experience!!!

Incredible experience. Jessica and Seun are wild hippos, yet tame enough to interact with humans.

Jessica and Seun are so special. I loved visiting them, and I really appreciate the fact that they are wild and yet choose to come back home. I felt safe and also that the animals are well taken care of.

Absolutely Amazing experience, Jessica the Hippo is such a lovely animal.

This is a experience of a lifetime, I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys wildlife.

Lovely experience R100 admission fee for persons over the age of 5

I cant articulate the sense of ease and peace that radiates when youre around Jessica and Seun, despite knowing that Hippos kill more humans in Africa. An unforgettable experience. Oh please remember to withdraw cash before you go, theres no reception for an EFT

A very special experience feeding semi-wild hippos sweet potatoes and tea. I never thought I would ever touch a hippo!Bring cash or you can EFT using their Wi-Fi

This is a fun activity for the whole family!Come and enjoy this rare but amazing, once in a lifetime experience, where you can feed Jessica and Seun and finish off your close encounter with these two loving beasts by giving them some tea.. completely forgetting about the fact that hippos are very dangerous animals and stats have shown that they are the animals that kills the most humans a year...Truely something to exprerience!

for a true south african experience and friendly staff it is a place to visit. make sure to take all necessary kitchen needs. there is everything you need but around covid times you can never be to sure. we did not visit jessica hippo, but we stayed over in the lodge. very nice experience. always watch out for reptiles and hippos because it is full of nature

I had to give one start to post my rating this is not even a half a star worth. Baddest experience ever! If you are a local they treat you so bad. 😢 This was one of the activities that I looked forward too the whole weekend. But was so disappointed! Werent greated when we got there, and scolded for parking in the wrong spot but other people parked on different sports as well. We werent directed to where to go so just followed the security to where the tour started. The tour guide was rude and also didnt great us . She was rude to the first two tourists there elderly people scolded them to not stand here and not do this and that.She seemed irritated . The tour operator said that if my boyfriend doesnt want to do the encounter with Jessica he has to go wait in the car in this hot weather. He can even just take a photo of me an Jessica. Because as she put it her boss doesnt like people who dont pay hanging around here. I decided that w. e will then rather be leaving. In future please treat people with respect.

What an experience. Hippos are the most deadly creatures in Africa and here we are petring one, while feeding it vegetables and rooibos tea. Truly humbling and unique adventure. Highly recommend. Jessica is the most famous hippo in the world - YouTube her

This was a beautiful and one in a kind experience! You can feed the hippos and come very close to them. Lizzy was great sharing her knowledge and experienceEasy to findThanks!

The best experience ever! ❤️ Please go!

Such an incredible experience! Will never forget it. Thank you beautiful Jessica!

A lovely interactive experience with a real live hippopotamus.You get to feed Jessica with corn and a bottle of tea after watching a documentary about her.Kids will love this!

Opportunity to feed and pet a real-life hippo! A once-in-a-lifetime experience and an absolute must on a visit to Hoedspruit! An easy drive from town, with 2 feedings a day (check website for details). Allow about an hour for the presentation, engagement and photos.

Really a once in a lifetime opportunity. The tour is short but is is packed with the most adrenaline rush ever. Unfortunately when we visited Jessica was not feeling well (luckily she was recovering wellbut we got the chance to interact with the male hippo, Richie. We fed him and gave him tea and also had the opportunity to touch him. You can see the owners really care for both hippos.There is bathroom facilities and you can also buy small hippo souvenirs.

Was a truly enriching experience, with great insight... Great for the whole family... a very worthwhile trip

We loved the experience we had with Jessica and her boyfriend. The experience is a must have. My life will never be the same again. @R100 really everybody must just go visit jessica. Elizabeth our guide was amazing and so kind. 😍

Jessica is so cute. Is so cool to see a real hippo and feed an touch it

Fantastic experience!! Friendly, informative and patient staff! They create great photo opportunities! Touching a hippo - Once in a lifetime experience!

Great experience - different from your average animal or wildlife experience.

Having to have a real personal encounter with Jessica the hippo was magical. I mean this is the worlds most dangerous animal and i got to kiss it. Shes so special that we had to visit twice. You get to feed her raw corn and tea from a bottle.

Unfortunately they were closed but made an effort to come to explain that they are closed. No information at the gates about their closing times at the gate which is an inconvenience as you will turn at the gate cos of lack of information.

I dont hate the place, l like it so much, infact I enjoyed while I was there

Amazing place!!! The land belongs to Jessica!!

Loved the tour and being able to be up close to such a dangerous and beautiful creature!!! Loved both Richie and Jessica and our guide was lovely! Would definitely recommend this experience to anyone

Amazing experience, one of a kind opportunity. You get to feed and pet a big 2 ton hippo and pet another 500kg male that is 7y old. Highly recommended and not expensive (tickets are 100 Rand per person as of May 2019, we did not pay directly as we went with out lodge). There is no need to be scared as the hippo has been domesticated for almost two decades (although it does not like kisses from men anymore for a while). They give you a quick brief on what to do not and not to do before you go down do the deck where Jessica is. There are also some souvenirs (wooden hippo, etc.to sell.

Amazing experience being able to touch Africas most dangerous animal, a once in a lifetime time opportunity

Loved it here will visit her again for sure