This spring I had the chance to visit South Africa’s largest private game reserve, Tswalu. Tswalu doesn’t look and feel like other safari destinations in South Africa. Located on the southern edge of the Kalahari, it is a dry savanna ecosystem featuring sour grass, safari grass, shrubs and just a few trees, rimmed by the Korannaberg Mountains and ochre dunes.
On its more than 280,000 fenced acres, Tswalu focuses on conservation, rehabilitating farm and ranch land to its former natural state as a home to resident and migratory wildlife. It offers exclusive safari experiences and private vehicles for a maximum of 40 guests in one of three luxury safari camps – The Motse with nine traditional stone chalets; Tarkuni Homestead, a private villa with five rooms; and Loapi Tented featuring six stylish, private tented “homes,” complete with private chef, butler and guide.
Activities on offer at Tswalu include game drives, visits to habituated meerkat colonies, nature walks, horse riding, stargazing, star bed experiences, meeting scientific researchers and resident artists and special dining experiences.
We arrived at Tswalu like most guests, on Fireblade Aviation, a private luxury charter service with scheduled flights in pressurized Pilatus aircraft to and from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Tswalu. On arrival we were greeted by our guides and Tswalu’s head of hospitality, Nigel Pace, an industry veteran and welcoming figure.
From the very first drive from airstrip to camp, it became evident that water is scarce here. Hence, the game is spread out and there are sometimes long drives between sightings, but sightings are uncrowded and high quality. Tswalu offers the chance to see a wide variety of game including lions, hyena, cheetah, oryx, steenbok, kudu, eland, ostrich, wildebeest, sable and more. Some rare or hard to spot species also live here including pangolin, aardvark and striped hyena. While animals like leopard are hard to find, the reserve is home to the Big 5 except for elephant.
During my brief stay, highlights included cheetah sightings on foot and spending a late afternoon with a habituated meerkat colony. And while I wasn’t present for the event, I really enjoyed watching a video of a pack of naughty wild dogs steal the couch cushions off my patio just prior to my arrival.
Non-game drive highlights included chatting with researchers and conservationists working on the property and enjoying one of the most creative dining experiences I’ve ever had at Klein Jan. The brainchild of Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, the first South African chef to achieve a Michelin star for his namesake restaurant in Nice, France, one seating at Klein Jan is included in each three night stay at Tswalu. To describe the experience would ruin the surprise of dining here, but have no doubt you’ve probably never experienced anything just like it before unless you’ve already been there!
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Photos courtesy AAC President Kent Redding and Tswalu