The Motse - Tswalu Kalahari Luxury Private Game Reserve

“Striking Kalahari...”

Tswalu, the best Kalahari experience. A contemporary luxurious safari-style lodge, with exceptional service and remarkable food. Beautiful landscapes and unbelievable game viewing. Besides Elephant, this piece of Elephant has everything your heart desires on a safari. I was given a gift, to … Plus

Tswalu, the best Kalahari experience. A contemporary luxurious safari-style lodge, with exceptional service and remarkable food. Beautiful landscapes and unbelievable game viewing. Besides Elephant, this piece of Elephant has everything your heart desires on a safari. I was given a gift, to travel to the Kalahari and a stay at Tswalu, one of my bucket list destinations. This was a safari with a difference, as I had never experienced the Kalahari and all its glory! Upon arrival, we were given a typical thunderstorm, with dark clouds and pouring rain. Absolutely stunning! The thunderstorm lasted a maximum of ten minutes and it moved along, leaving us with a lovely cool feeling in a hot Kalahari afternoon. Assembled from organic materials and outfitted to the highest standards, they express the warmth and hospitality of the people of the Kalahari. The room is utterly jaw-dropping, in every way possible. The attention to detail is absolutely on point. The striking landscape as the sun rises above the Korannaberg mountains each morning, new opportunities to learn, play and explore come to life. From birds to insects to the smaller predators that are special to see, such as Bat Eared Foxes, Cape foxes and the Kalahari Kangaroo (Spring Hare). On safari, I learnt about so many new birds, saw the excellent birds of prey and geckos. Our ranger Kyle and tracker Oom Ben were the best I have ever experienced. Such knowledge, Kyle is a walking encyclopedia. His passion shines through and everything he talks about is exciting and fascinating. His relationship with his tracker Oom Ben is truly special. They both work hard to find special sightings. Kyle taught me such interesting facts about why, how, and when, animals, insects, and birds do things. My best laugh was when he shared his story of while he washes dishes at home, he listens to bird sounds. What was exciting to me, is he mimicks the noise of a bird, making the confused bird come back close to our vehicle so we could observe this bird through binoculars. My best bird was seen, and my first time was a Shaft Tailed Whydah. This bright reddish-orange bird, which is 17 centimeters long, against the desert makes your day! Especially if you are a twitcher like me. We saw wild dogs, a lioness with two darling cubs, a cheetah, and many antelopes. And then there was the morning with the Meerkats. I adore meerkats, this was a treat for me. I lay on my belly, with my camera and watched these darling creatures come out of their burrows to catch the early morning sun. We spent some time watching them. The most welcomed part of my time in the Kalahari was that we hardly saw any other vehicles. It felt as if I was the only person on a game drive. Every Tswalu safari is a profound journey to the heart of an inspired conservation vision, and a landscape that is dreamlike in its passion and scale. Dining at Tswalu was fine dining but in an unpretentious way. You are serviced with relaxed, happy smiles, beautifully plated meals that taste delicious. Each course was mouth-watering full of flavour and the menu suited the area. I did get to see the new Klein Jan Restaurant opening in April 2021, all I can say is that this experience will only enhance your stay at Twsalu two-fold! One cannot even imagine that this can be created in the middle of the barren Kalahari. I got goosebumps, when I walked into the restaurant, it must be one of the most creative designs I have ever seen, experienced and it’s going to win many awards with Jan Hendrik's magical touch and of course the Oppenheimer family! Tswalu has everything, Spa, Curious Shop, walking safaris, horse riding, and meeting the Mob of Meerkats. It has an incredible staff that is so well trained with Covid protocols, staff wear beautifully made masks, and are a delight. The gem in the Kalahari also has a clinic, school, and heads up very important conservation on the Pangolin. Although we did not see one, I was so happy to know that they are so cared for and looked after! I loved every single second of this journey and would highly recommend time in the Kalahari at Tswalu.

Moins

“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… Plus

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

Moins

“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… Plus

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.

Moins