Southern Kalahari (Tswalu)

Tswalu Kalahari is South Africa's largest private game reserve, about 118,000 hectares of red dunes, grassland and mountains in the Northern Cape, with very few guests for the space.

It suits people who have done Kruger and families wanting a malaria-free reserve. Every booking gets its own vehicle and guide.

What It Is and Where

Tswalu lies in the Northern Cape. The reserve covers about 1,200 square kilometers and supports research through the Tswalu Foundation, including long-running work on pangolins. It is malaria free, which makes it easy for families with young children.

What You Do There

Sit with a group of habituated meerkats as they come out of their burrows in the morning
Track rare nocturnal animals such as pangolin, aardvark and brown hyena
Game drives for black-maned Kalahari lion, cheetah, wild dog and desert black rhino
Rock art walks, horse riding and a night sleeping out under the stars

Best Time to Go

Tswalu says there is no single best time, and we agree. Winter, June to August, is dry with freezing nights and warm days, and it is the best time for aardvark and pangolin, which come out in daylight when it is cold. Spring, September and October, brings meerkat pups. Summer, November to March, is hot with afternoon storms and green grass if the rains come. April and May are mild and green.

Getting There and How Long to Stay

Tswalu runs scheduled flights to its own airstrip, about 90 minutes from Johannesburg and two hours from Cape Town. Luggage is limited to 20 kilograms each in soft bags. Stay at least three nights, ideally four: the game is spread over big country and the rare species reward patience.

Where We Like to Stay

Tswalu Kalahari, Motse is the reserve's founding camp, with nine legae (suites) for two or four guests, a spa, two pools and a waterhole in front of camp. Children of all ages are welcome, and two-bedroom legae work well for families. Tswalu also has Loapi, six private homes with their own chef, and Tarkuni, an exclusive-use homestead for up to ten guests.

Species in the Area

Mammals

Temminck's ground pangolin
Aardvark
Meerkat
Brown hyena
Lion
Cheetah
African wild dog
Black rhinoceros
Gemsbok
Springbok
Red hartebeest
Eland
Giraffe

Birdlife

Sociable weaver
Pale chanting goshawk
Kori bustard
Secretarybird
Pygmy falcon

Temminck's Ground Pangolin

Temminck's ground pangolin is the only pangolin found in South Africa, a scaled, ant-eating mammal that walks on its hind legs. All four African pangolin species are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, and pangolins are threatened worldwide by illegal trade for traditional medicine and bushmeat. Tswalu is one of the few places where you have a realistic chance of seeing one, especially in winter when they forage in daylight. Through the Tswalu Foundation, researchers here study how ground pangolins disperse, what they eat and how they cope with heat, work that matters as the Kalahari gets hotter and drier.

Southern Kalahari (Tswalu)

Red dunes, rare animals, no malaria