The Motse - Tswalu Kalahari Luxury Private Game Reserve

We stayed at Loapi Camp which was incredible. Our house was so comfortable, spacious and very relaxing. Each house comes with your own guide and tracker and personal butler and chef. Tswalu is a beautiful park, not full with the big 5 but with enough animals to satisfy. We came here not because of wanting the big 5 experience but because we were interested in their conservation program and the research they do as well as the luxury you get when staying here. This was the perfect place to end our trip in Africa. When staying here your dinner at KleinJan is included and what an absolutely incredible experience that was which I won’t review here because I don’t want to spoil the surprise that you get when going there. Our guide Kalie and tracker Ben were phenomenal, not only were they wonderful people but they were excellent at their job and did everything they could to get us to see what we wanted which was cheetah, the meerkat experience and fortunately for us a sighting of a pangolin. Kalie has a wealth of information which he shared with is, I only hope I can remember it all, he was just amazing. I generally don’t like returning to the same place when I travel as there are so many other places to visit, however, I will definitely return to Tswalu, it really is a wonderful place to go.

The new one bedroom loapi villas are beautiful, comfortable, have amazing views and staff. The private chef and butler were fabulous, non intrusive and the food was delicious. I would recommend this camp for people that have done some more traditional safaris. What I loved about this experience is being left alone and being able to do exactly what we wanted and when, with our private guide and vehicle. Thank you to Linda, Reese, Rey and Ben! Fabulous all around, I’ll be back.

Such a unique and pleasant experience. Saving this place is critical and the owners have made this available to the greater community. Awesome sightings. Food was amazing, can't remember out cook (young and from SA), but he continuously did wonders.

What an absolutely incredible experience. The private plane takes you right to the reserve and then you are driven to your lodge. We stayed at the Motse which was brilliant. Tswalu is set in a semi-arid desert paradise. It is a breathtaking unique environment - so beautiful with vast spaces, rolling hills and red sands making for comfortable drives. Your drives are private and you can decide how long you want to stay out. This is perfect because when you see that cheetah mom with three kids you want to stay and observe forever !! There are very few other jeeps and often you are alone with such a variety of splendid wildlife like the majestic Oryx, huge rhinos with great horns, lions, cheetahs, ostrich, giraffe. We had a fantastic ranger (Dave) and tracker (Jonathan). This is a place to go when you have seen the more traditional environments and want somewhere otherworldly. You really feel like you are on another planet with exceptional service ! And then there is the star feature of the included dinner at Klein Jan onsite restaurant. You have to stay several nights to receive an invitation and WOW what a treat that is. Words cannot describe the experience. Truly unique.

We stayed at numerous beautiful lodges in South Africa, including Singita Lebombo, Castleton Camp and Abu Camp. We needed a reset to take a break from our hectic schedules, and this was definitely the place to do it! From the ultimate luxurious lodging where attention is paid to every detail, amazing staff (shout out to Brandon and Amber!), the best trackers (William is #1!!!) unique wildlife (meerkat experience!), having plenty of peaceful and relaxing time to ourselves, delicious food prepared by our private chef, and the ultimate dining experience at the Michelin star Klein Jan restaurant. As others have said about the restaurant, don’t look it up and be blown away by the surprise and experience! My advice, though, is to moderate your expectations on wildlife viewing because you can’t and won’t see all the highlighted rare animals advertised (pangolin, aardvark) due to the reserve’s vastness and many other factors, or all of the Big Five. However, been there done that, and we were looking for something else more unique, and Tswalu nailed it! Two reserves with two different wildlife experiences, and the safari drive itself was positively exhilarating! Also, there were plenty of cheetahs, lions, many rare types of antelopes, giraffes, zebras, white and black horn rhinos, hyenas, wild dogs, etc. It’s a perfect getaway for honeymooners (very private and romantic), families, and those coming back to Africa who want a more authentic experience for 3-4 days. Conservation is the main reason for bringing tourism to Tswalu, and we are very thankful and grateful to the Oppenheimer family who are at the forefront of restoring the Kalahari desert back to its original pristine state!

We stayed at Tswalu’s new Loapi tented camp, which is simply extraordinary and a unique experience from any other camp in Africa in that you have your own home —bedroom suite, living room, kitchen, study etc—but are not forced into artificial frivolity with other safari goers, as you never see anyone other than your support team of guide/tracker/butler/chef. You design your own experience, your own schedule, drives/walking, etc, and your team is happy to customize your trip. Your chef/butler are around as little or much as you’d like, always on call. (One very minor piece of advice on this—make sure to think through your preferences in advance and share them with the lodge to ensure staff are able to accommodate them. While our stay was perfect, we got a sense that the generic “intake form” doesn’t adequately capture this information for the staff to help maximize your stay.) Tswalu is a special place and perfect for those who’ve been on safari before and appreciate its different environment. It’s not Kruger so don’t expect to see animals on command. It is more challenging here to locate them but that’s the fun of discovery. And mind you we saw A LOT—many rhinos (black and white), lions, cheetahs, wild dogs, hyenas, caracal, pangolin, aardvark, meerkats and the list goes on. There are of course the other experiences that can be enjoyed but we were too happy on our search for animals to bother with them. And very importantly, our team was absolutely incredible—Matt, Jonas, Andy, De’ne. Extraordinary professionals. Tsawlu is lucky to have them.

What else can I say but WOW! Twsalu is a truly exceptional experience on every level, from beautifully appointed lengae/cabins to the amazing meals at the lodge to dinner at Klein Jan (the fine dining restaurant in the reserve). And that's not even starting on the safari experience itself! There are meerkats that are comfortable enough with humans that you can see them in action scurrying/digging for food - look for the sentinel meerkat watching out for predators. We were lucky enough to see a mother cheetah and her three cubs along with plenty of rhinos and a truly magical sighting of a pride of 12 lionesses sunning themselves on a hillside as well. Our guides were knowledgeable and fun and everyone we interacted with was welcoming and clearly passionate about what they do.

Simply a magical experience . Our family of 8 stayed in the main home . The service from the staff could not have been better . Our guides in the 2 trucks used for the game drives could not have been better . Our chef prepared great meals for our 4 night stay and the secret dinner At Jan s will remain a secret so enjoy if you get there .the sundowners every night were also special.