The Motse - Tswalu Kalahari Luxury Private Game Reserve

“I only wish I could give it more stars”

LOVED this place. will be back. Exceptional everything. Service is outstanding, food and wine choices were amazing. I ate the Crepes with bananas & nuts every morning! The quality of the safari is so far above any of the other locations we visited.

“Safari at Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve”

We recently spent 4 nights at Tswalu Motse Lodge in the private Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve in South Africa's Northern Cape Province. The Motse Lodge, its premises and the service are excellent. The guides are very good, too (we had Chris and Fasile; and I trust that other guests were equally wel… more

We recently spent 4 nights at Tswalu Motse Lodge in the private Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve in South Africa's Northern Cape Province. The Motse Lodge, its premises and the service are excellent. The guides are very good, too (we had Chris and Fasile; and I trust that other guests were equally well served). We recommend a stay of at least two full days; three days is better, and four full days better still. The air shuttle to Joburg Tambo Airport is very convenient. Prices for the stay (all inclusive) are high but well worth the money. Tswalu offers unique animal sightings unlikely to be witnessed in any other African safari lodge. We went for a walk at dusk with a wild pangolin searching for ants, we saw an aardvark, aardwolves, and African wild cats which are rare experiences. There is a magnificent lion population, and our guides were able to track down both white and black rhino. The water hole near the lodge attracts oryx, eland, roan and sable antelope and gnus all of which one can see from one's bedroom! There are no safari car traffic jams in the presence of attractive animal sightings such as lions, as few cars tour the reserve. We had a lovely lion family "all to ourselves". There is a family of meerkat "trained" not to mind the presence of tourists, and one can observe and fotograph them on foot from close as they dig for food and interact, quite oblivious to the presence of humans. We feel, however, that Tswalu is for connoisseurs and rather not for safari beginners. They do not offer the "Big 5" as there are no elephants in the reserve (no problem for us). The fenced reserve is huge, and the animal density is rather low, given the harsh Kalahara habitat. Do not expext an animal density such as one would see in Southern Kruger or in the Serengeti. Antelopes, and bat-eared foxes are curiously shy and tend to run away from cars. The official reason given is that they encounter few safari cars (which is certainly true) but one ought to consider that apparently Tswalu was a hunting reserve until 20 years ago which is short for animals to change their behaviour completely (for comparision, Kruger was founded a 100 years ago!). Little off road driving is offered (in contrast to Mala Mala or some private game reserve in Botswana) which is somewhat a disadvantage. In summary we would warmly recommend Tswalu bearing in mind the specific features (and a few problems) outlined above Martin Fey, Switzerland

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“Exceeded all expections!”

My son and I travel to Africa every summer, and wanting to experience the Kalahari, Tswalu was highly recommended. It was exceptional beginning with our pickup at the airport hotel at JNB then a gracious welcome at Fireblade Aviation prior to boarding the flight to Tswalu finalizing in a warm welc… more

My son and I travel to Africa every summer, and wanting to experience the Kalahari, Tswalu was highly recommended. It was exceptional beginning with our pickup at the airport hotel at JNB then a gracious welcome at Fireblade Aviation prior to boarding the flight to Tswalu finalizing in a warm welcome upon arrival at Tswalu. Our guide introduced himself to us right away (Juan) as well as our own tracker David and with all of our travels, I was amazed at the incredible knowledge that Juan had! The Motse was gorgeous! From the large entry area and bar area to the spacious bedroom, dressing room/study and bath, then outdoor living and patio with a lounge area below, I could have lived there forever! The common areas were well done and spacious and the food at your demand, plentiful and delicious. The game drives were incredible and we sat by the meerkat mound waiting for them to come out, then followed them on foot for a couple miles watching them digging for food and their funny antics. I even laid in the sand looking into the eyes of one only about 10" away for over a minute! We tracked Pangolin on foot and experienced one coming just inches away as we crouched on the ground! Another extraordinary experience was seeing the outline of a cheetah way up on a dune and climbing the dune on foot then sitting in the sand about 25 feet away observing him until he and his brother got up and walked about 15' past us. We definitely plan to come back and stay longer next time. 4 nights just wasn't enough in this extraordinary place. It truly exceeded all expectations in location, service,variety of wildlife that we had not seen elsewhere, our cottage...I could go on and on but will say that until this summer we have never repeated a stay, Tswalu Motse is unique and definitely on the list to visit again!

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“Better than Motse - but beware the different safari experience.”

TSWALU LOAPI REVIEW The Loapi lodges had not been added at the time of our previous visit, and they are a great improvement on the accommodation compared to The Motse. Whilst they command a premium, which is probably excessive to what is fair value, they certainly are nicer to stay in than The Mot… more

TSWALU LOAPI REVIEW The Loapi lodges had not been added at the time of our previous visit, and they are a great improvement on the accommodation compared to The Motse. Whilst they command a premium, which is probably excessive to what is fair value, they certainly are nicer to stay in than The Motse. Each lodge is well spaced to the other lodges and most of them have very good privacy. Whilst The Motse have excellent views of the wildlife, at the watering holehole, The Loapi have good panoramic views and lovely sunrises. The isolated nature of The Loapi means that you have to have a dedicated Cook/Chef and Housekeeper. The lodges are beautiful, with floor to ceiling windows and excellent panoramic views. The outdoor facilities are ideal for the relaxing environment, in which you feel isolated from other properties and almost in the wilderness. The Chef we had was of an excellent standard and catered for every possible need, so I suspect this will be “pot luck” as none of the people concerned, who are hospitality “graduates”, wished to remain in the location for too long, but instead to add it to their CV. Even though there was a dedicated person responsible for the housekeeping and maintenance of the property, it was fair to say that it was not well maintained, and in fact dirty in some areas of the floors. Again as they are hospitality staff they probably feel cleaning is not part of the job description. That being said, the overall experience of Loapi was excellent, albeit overpriced when considering the lack of wildlife in that area. Tswalu is divided in to sections, and due to the location of Loapi it attracts a completely different set of wildlife which, relative to The Motse side, is even more spartan. This may change in time as they re-wild the area, but expectations should be even lower in terms of the sightings unless you go for a long drive initially back in to The Motse area. In short, whilst The Loapi is a lovely property, you would not choose it for a safari experience and, in that context, is very overpriced. If you are considering booking, I would suggest the less attractive and tired Motse, and just one night in Loapi for the experience. In closing, to give you an indication of the real image of Tswalu, both lodges have acrylic blankets.

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