The malaria-free Tswalu Kalahari Private Game Reserve in the wider Kalahari is the largest privately owned game reserve in South Africa where a maximum of six safari vehicles explore the 100,000 hectares, giving a sense of unparalleled privacy in the wilderness of dunes and savannah with the backdrop of the Korannaberg mountains.
A third of South Africa’s endangered desert black rhino thrive here, together with the huge Kalahari black-maned lion, wild dog, cheetah, sable and roan antelope, tsessebe, wildebeest, giraffe, eland, both Burchell’s and Hartmann’s mountain zebra and buffalo.
A chance to enjoy the endearing antics of meerkats is a big draw and over 230 species of bird have been recorded. At night there is a chance to glimpse more elusive creatures such as aardwolf, aardvark, brown hyena and bat-eared fox.
Activities are tailored to individual interests and include game drives, bush walks, night walks and horseback safaris as well as simply enjoying the stillness, sky and stars of the Kalahari. Guests leave Tswalu with a rounded appreciation of the whole ecosystem – from the geology, plants, insects and reptiles to the smaller mammals and larger game as well as the human history of the area and how the San people learned to survive in this arid land.