Madikwe Game Reserve
Expert Reviews (10)
South Africa Parks
Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.
16 people found this review helpful.
Superb malaria-free Big Five viewing
The 750-sq-km Madikwe Game Reserve is quite simply one South Africa’s most alluring destinations for those who want to see a good range of iconic wildlife in a short space of time. It is one of the closest reserves to Johannesburg and O.R. Tambo International Airport, making it a convenient add-on to any South African itinerary, whether you fly to the reserve or travel by road. Other big assets of Madikwe are that it is free of malaria, and – for those seeking an exclusive safari experience – game drives can only be conducted by guides working at one of its 20-odd lodges, which minimizes crowding.
A remarkable attribute of Madikwe is that it was forged entirely from formerly degraded farmland in the 1990s. Despite this, the wildlife viewing is absolutely superb. On our most recent visit, we saw countless elephant, white rhino, zebra and giraffe, along with half a dozen antelope species. Over the course of four days, we also enjoyed around half a dozen lion sightings, saw cheetah and African wild dog on three occasions each, and were lucky enough to catch a mother and young leopard sunning on the rocks. Other carnivores we stumbled upon included spotted hyena, brown hyena, black-backed jackal, serval and African wild cat. I also noted around 120 bird species; highlights included blue-cheeked bee-eater, southern carmine bee-eater, white-throated robin-chat, southern pied babbler, shaft-tailed whydah, violet-eared waxbill and crimson-breasted shrike.
Madikwe very much caters to an exclusive market. Most lodges are very luxurious and priced accordingly, though generally better value than equivalent accommodation in Sabi Sand and other private reserves bordering Kruger National Park. I have stayed at several top-end lodges here over the years, including Madikwe Safari Lodge and Madikwe River Lodge, and they were all wonderful. For those on a tighter budget, however, the one notable standout is no-frills Mosetlha Bush Camp. This low-key family-run eco-lodge started life as a wilderness school in 1995 and it retains a real old-school bush feel that allows it to be the most affordable option in Madikwe – but wildlife viewing is just as good as it is from other lodges.
Mark is a travel writer who grew up in Africa and has written over 700 titles for Condé Nast Traveller, Travel Africa, BBC Wildlife and others.
15 people found this review helpful.
Fantastic rhino and leopard sightings at marvellous Madikwe
I only stopped over briefly at Madikwe en-route from Jo’burg to Botswana and did not really have immensely high expectations for sightings on what would be our first day in the bush. However, we set off on the game drive the next morning and almost immediately I spotted rhino spoor. Seems that this is almost a guarantee at Madikwe and we spent some time watching the rhinos grazing around a waterhole. On the way back we had several other good sightings but the unforgettable highlight (especially for my father who had never seen wild leopard before) was surely our sighting of a female leopard and her adolescent cub high on a rock kopje above us. Not bad for day 1 before breakfast!
Emma is an award-winning travel writer for Rough Guides, National Geographic Traveller, Travel Africa magazine and The Independent.
14 people found this review helpful.
Big Five safaris with wide-reaching benefits
Much is made of the fact that there’s practically no risk of catching malaria in Madikwe, a Big Five reserve just south of Gaborone. While this gives Madikwe a useful advantage over Kruger National Park and the northeastern reserves, for me it’s just one of many good reasons to visit.
There’s inspiration all around: the scenery includes some dramatic escarpments, the wooded savannahs are great for watching elephants, lions and, with luck, wild dogs (the reserve was painstakingly stocked in the 1990s) and there are some excellent, ethically designed and managed lodges. It’s not possible to drop in for the day – you have to stay overnight – but this is no hardship, since the lodges provide a fantastic safari experience for a good deal less money than the places in the luxury safari belt. My favourites are Jaci’s and Madikwe Safari Lodge, comfortable, organically-designed lodges where you feel close to the wilderness.
I rather like the fact that Madikwe is relatively little visited, despite being so accessible. It has an appealing, frontier feel. But what I like most about the reserve is the fact that the local community benefits directly from tourism and plays a very active role in conservation.
Brian is an award winning travel writer, author of safari books and regular contributor to magazines such as BBC Wildlife and Travel Africa.
13 people found this review helpful.
The Born Again wilderness
Back in the 1980s Madikwe was nothing but a vast stretch of clapped-out cattle country lying up against the Botswana border. Then it was found that wildlife-based tourism would generate 20 times more revenue than ranching, and so in 1991 it became a game park the size of the Isle of Wight. The first step was to ring-fence it. The second was to stock it with wildlife, and Operation Phoenix, as it was called, brought in 8,000 animals of 28 species, including elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, wild dog, giraffe, zebra and numerous antelopes – the world’s biggest-ever game translocation exercise. Other animals, including leopard, were already there, so that Madikwe is a genuine big-five destination, and it is one of only two places in Africa where I have seen a caracal.
Today there is nothing to remind you of Madikwe’s ranching past. Instead what you see are red earth trails winding into the distance between thorny thickets of acacia and combretum, and its waist-high expanses of bleached blond grassland and rolling blue hills give the reserve a sense of enormous sense of space and freedom. And of course what has also boosted Madikwe’s popularity is the fact that it is malaria-free.
Christopher is a British travel writer and has contributed to various Fodor's guidebooks and a range of travel magazines.
10 people found this review helpful.
Elephants, wild dogs and lions at luxurious Madikwe
This popular private reserve on the edge of the Kalahari is home to large concentrations of animals, including all of the Big 5. In particular, Madikwe has developed a reputation as one of the best places in South Africa to see wild dogs.
On my last visit, I was lucky enough to see a new litter of wild dog pups playing around their den, while a rather tired looking adult, who had obviously drawn the short straw and been assigned babysitting duty, looked on disinterestedly.
Madikwe is also gaining a reputation as a lion hotspot, with sightings near guaranteed these days, and it has an increasingly staggering number of elephants too. Leopards and cheetah are also seen with some regularity.
There is an excellent range of top-notch luxury lodges here, and they won’t set you back as much as some of Sabi Sands’ finest. My personal favourite is the colourful Jaci’s Tree Lodge. It is a particular treat for wildlife photographers, with a unique semi-submerged photographic hide that pops up in the middle of a waterhole, and state of the art dual camera mounts and gimbals on the lodge’s safari vehicles.
Ariadne is a renowned African wildlife photographer whose work is featured in many well-known guidebooks and magazines.
7 people found this review helpful.
South Africa’s top Big 5 Wilderness on the Botswana Border
Madikwe Game Reserve is an incredible place. Although provincially managed, Madikwe operates like the prestigious Sabi Sand Game Reserve and wildlife viewing is as good, if not better. Visitors are taken on twice-daily game drives in open safari vehicles in search of the Big 5 and much more. The reserve is located at the Botswana border and it tends to be hot and dusty. The sparce vegetation makes for great unobstructed wildlife viewing and off-road driving brings you up and close to all the usual iconic animals. On our last visit, we managed to have good sightings of all of the Big 5 as well as cheetah and wild dog within 24 hours of arrival. It really doesn’t get much better than that. The professional guides follow strict protocol to limit the number of vehicles on sightings so as not to disturb the wildlife. The only way to visit this 75 000 sq km wilderness is to stay in one of the 31 all-inclusive luxury lodges which are dotted around the reserve. One of my favorites is the sumptuous Madikwe Safari Lodge which offers a real bush experience without compromising on luxury mod cons such as air conditioning and plunge pools. The large swimming pool next to the busy waterhole is the place to be in the middle of the day. Another favorite of mine is the well-priced Mosetlha Bush Camp. With the authentic donkey boiler and paraffin lamps this pioneering eco camp offers a true back-to-basics wilderness experience.
James is a travel writer and author of many Lonely Planet guides, including senior author of the guide to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
5 people found this review helpful.
Luxury in the Bush
To meet the Big Five and experience the wilderness in luxury, there's nowhere quite like Madikwe. Conveniently located between Sun City and the Botswana border, exclusive lodges scatter the reserve's 750 sq km of bushveld. Safaris here are conducted by rangers with radios; if one spots a predator at the waterhole, they notify the other groups. A commendable queuing system, in which a few vehicles view an animal while the rest wait their turn, avoids the logjams seen at popular parks.
The five-star lodges are expensive, but well worth it if this is your only opportunity to experience an African safari. Most operate on an all-inclusive basis, offering a day or two of dawn and dusk wildlife drives and dinner under the stars. I spent a wonderful night at the eco-lodge Mosetlha Bush Camp, which is more basic and earthy than the other lodges, but highly atmospheric. Paraffin lamps light the unfenced camp's open-fronted cabins, and the bush is so enthralling that you barely notice the lack of electricity and running water.
Anthony is a photographer and writer for travel magazines and Lonely Planet, including the guides to Kenya and Botswana & Namibia.
4 people found this review helpful.
Madikwe: An Exclusive Big-Five Safari
Hard up against the Botswana border, Madikwe Game Reserve is one of South Africa’s most rewarding safari experiences. In wildlife terms, the Big Five are relatively easy to see – I saw rhino, buffalo and elephant all drinking from the same waterhole at the same time on one wonderful late afternoon. Lions are plentiful, there’s a reliable pack of African wild dogs, and there’s also a small but growing population of cheetah, as well as springbok, klipspringer, giraffe, zebra and other iconic southern African savannah species. More than 350 bird species, too, add to the appeal, while the scenery is also rather special, with a fine mix of habitats – bushveld, distant red-walled mountains, parched desert plains – that turn magical at sunset. But above all, Madikwe is an exclusive park; to visit here, you must have a confirmed reservation at one of the reserve’s fabulous lodges.
Heather is a British travel / conservation journalist, and has written for publications and broadcasters such as the BBC, Departures, the Telegraph and the Sunday Times.
1 person found this review helpful.
Malaria-free, Big Five safari
Madikwe is a malaria-free reserve about five hours’ drive from Johannesburg. I’ve had incredible rhino viewing here – both white and black varieties. The rest of the Big Five is present, too. Leopards are hit and miss – I’ve seen one, but apparently that was lucky. Wild dogs are frequently seen. Madikwe has a lot of good lodge options of mid- to high-range. There are telegraph wires running through the park and at night you can see Gaborone lit up across the Botswanan border, so it’s not exactly remote – but it’s not unattractive, with green hills and orange dusty roads making for photogenic backdrops.
Sue is an award-winning writer who specializes in African travel and conservation. She writes for national newspapers, magazines, Rough Guides and Lonely Planet.
All thanks to Operation Phoenix…
It’s strange to think Madikwe Game Reserve was once an expanse of degraded cattle ranches. In the early 1990s, Madikwe became one of the world’s greatest conservation successes when it was transformed into a wildlife reserve. Thanks to Operation Phoenix, over 8,000 wild animals were introduced, converting the reserve into a thriving Big Five destination.
It’s malaria-free so great for families with young children. You have to stay overnight here – there are no day visitors allowed – and I stayed at the Royal Madikwe Lodge with a waterhole easily visible from my room. I couldn’t quite believe rhino and elephant were drinking there together. There’s plenty of wildlife elsewhere too – we saw giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, hyena, cheetah and impala among other species. Of the Big Five, lion, buffalo and elephant were easy to see. A great spot for elephant is Tlou Dam where we watched over a hundred taking it in turns to roll in the mud. But I hadn’t expected to see quite so many rhino. They seemed to be everywhere, and completely unbothered by our presence, which in a way was a downside for me – it didn’t feel a particularly wild place.
Safari Tours to Madikwe GR
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11-Day South Africa & Mauritius Family Safari & Beach
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4-Day Madikwe Incredible Malaria-Free Big 5 Safari
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You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Madikwe GR, Johannesburg (End)
Viatu
4.9/5 – 94 Reviews
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3-Day Madikwe Ultra Luxury Tau Game Lodge Safari
$1,135 to $1,394 pp (USD)
South Africa: Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)LuxuryLodge
You Visit: Johannesburg (Start), Madikwe GR, Johannesburg (End)
MoAfrika Tours
4.9/5 – 2,401 Reviews
