Combined Experience

About us - Anthony Battaliou founded Hoedspruit Online with combined expertise of 40 years in the Hospitality industry. Coming from a family of hoteliers, his journey started back in the early 1980s working in a few hotels in Hillbrow Johannesburg.
In 1985 he started working for Protea Hotels at the then Braamforntein Protea Hotel. Born in Zimbabwe, he moved back in 1987 and worked at the Cresta Churchill Arms Hotel in Bulawayo before moving back to South Africa
Anthony then spent 2 years a Mmabatho Sun International Hotel before moving back to Protea Hotels at their Regional Office in Johannesburg as the Assistant Financial Manager. An opportunity came up to move back to Zimbabwe with Protea Hotels who got a Management Contract in Masvingo to manage two hotels - the Protea Flamboyant Hotel and the Protea Chevron Hotel - near the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, a World Heritage Site by UNESCO

A few years later....

A few years later he moved to the Glenlivet Hotel, a small village next to Lake Mutirikwi (Kyle). Anthony leased an 11-bedroomed country hotel for 4 years where he got married to Louise. They bought a house in the area and built a 7-chalet self-catering Lodge called Hippo Lodge.
In Masvingo, they opened a Tourist Information Centre for the Great Zimbabwe Ruins area. Due to the economic situation in Zimbabwe, they moved back to South Africa in May 2000 and again worked for Protea Hotels at Aventura Resorts, moving from Badplaas Aventura, to Plettenberg Bay Aventura and then onto Gariep Aventura.
Two years later they moved to Millstream Farm (a Share Block trout holiday resort) in Dullstroom for 5 years, then Anthony was offered the position of Resort Manager at Magaliesburg Country Club (an RCI Holiday Resort), however, a fantastic opportunity at Umngazi River Bungalows & Spa lured them to the Eastern Cape Wild Coast after a few months, where they stayed for 11 years.

And after that...

They stayed at Umngazi River Bungalows for 11 years before moving to Cheetah Ridge Lodge on the Nambiti Big5 Private Game Reserve for 2 years. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they were retrenched and decided to make Hoedspruit their new hometown.
After a short stint working in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve at the Elephant Plains Safari Lodge, they decided to open a Hoedspruit Online and Fern Ladies Boutique at the Kamogelo Tourist Centre, promoting Hoedspruit as a tourist destination of choice and to find you the most suitable safari lodge accommodation for your stay in Hoedspruit and Greater Kruger National Park area and beyond.