The Motse - Tswalu Kalahari Luxury Private Game Reserve

This is our third stop on my 28th African Safari. This is my 4th stay at Tswalu and 1st stay at the amazing Loapi camp We love Loapi. Stunning in every aspect. Our butler T was a gracious hostess. We really felt welcome when we returned to our “home”. The layout is amazing. Private residence area. The main area has a living room with stunning views of the Kalahari Our private Chef OB is a rising star. Excellent palette and skill to match. We had 3 memorable braai s near our fire pit. What an experience to cook a meal in the middle of this majestic area. Sticks did a great job managing the food and drinks for the vehicle. I did a couple of all day adventures - amazing to experience the sun rise and set and not spend any time inside. Super Star Freddy came from Motse and conducted an excellent blind tasting of South African wines. Thank you. The game drives were epic. Veteran guide Kalahari and Tracker MC led the journey. 5 complete hunts in 5 days. Including a hunt where a Kudu jumped into the Motse pool for safety. The painted dogs surrounded the pool and an epic stand off ensued. I lost track of the failed chases we watched. Lions setting up on hartebeest getting foiled by a shift in the wind. We tend to see a lot of action because we ask our guides for this experience. Most guest likely saw 1 complete hunt at the most. We were the only truck on 3 of the hunts. The guest have complete say in the direction of their experiences. Then what happens - happens. I will continue to visit Tswalu for as long as I can. Tswalu is a magical place. We

My husband and I recently spent four nights at the Tswalu Loapi tented residences. It was one of the best experiences of our lives and we cannot wait to come back. The reserve itself is spectacular - more on that soon. But what really took the experience to the next level for us was the people. Our butler Mo was an absolute delight, incredibly friendly and warm and made us feel immediately at home, and our private chef Quentin was SO talented and lovely and just a wonderful guy. (Yes, every Loapi residence gets a butler and private chef!) We had the best time hanging out with them at the end of the day after our game drives, and they were incredibly good at their jobs. Also incredibly good at their jobs: our safari guide Kallie (“Kalamari”) and his tracker David. Oh my gosh, what a team. Kallie knows EVERYTHING. Every animal, every bush, every bird - he knows the English name, Afrikaans name, Setswana name and scientific name. He answered my one hundred million questions with not only patience but humour and enthusiasm. His nicknames for the animals are legendary: my husband and I still point at steenbok and shout “BUSH BISCUIT!” as Kallie calls them (because they are small and good snacks for the predators). When you’re in a safari vehicle with a guide for 8 hours a day, you want it to be someone you can connect with - and Kallie is one of the most brilliant, most fun, most interesting people I have ever encountered in my life. David, the tracker, we didn’t get to know quite as well, but he was really lovely and EXCELLENT at his job. We saw so many rare and interesting animals, including lion cubs, cheetah cubs, a zorilla, and the elusive pangolin! Tswalu itself is utterly stunning. The tented villas are luxe and perfect (though do bring very warm clothes if you go in winter). The park is a gorgeous landscape of red soil and silvery-blonde grasses and shepherd’s trees and thorn bushes, with more than a dozen types of antelopes and giraffes and rhinos and lions and wild dogs and just so very many animals. It gets into your soul, it really does. We also got to visit KleinJan (I’ll review it separately but it was super cool) and I went horseback riding with Warren, the chief instructor who is also a stunt person in films (!!). Horseback riding here is only for intermediate riders and up, and I highly recommend you follow this caution as their horses are NOT for beginners - but if you’re an experienced rider, there is nothing like it. Warren is awesome and the ride was incredible. If you’re considering a trip here, don’t hesitate any more. Just book it. And request Mo, Quentin, Kallie and David as your dream team. You can thank me later, once you’ve shaken the red dust from your shoes and vowed to return.

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.

Tswalu - the name still sends shivers of excitement down my spine. Arriving at Fireblade and being cared for by Grace and Mpho was a real treat - they are both wonderful, and the food and wine were exquisite. We spent seven magical, incredible days at The Motse where the food and drink were outstanding, both in the lodge and atop the sand dunes! The guidance from Vuyani and tracking by Jackson were phenomenal, and the quality of the sightings was exceptional. We observed the meerkats from the Rockstars' first appearance of the day, before they warmed up and set off to forage, and we returned another evening as they went back to their burrow for the night. We followed cheetahs on a successful hunt, wild dogs returning to their playful pups, experienced the roar of lions, saw rhinos, and encountered an abundance of plains game, porcupines, bat-eared foxes, cape foxes, Damara mole-rats, and so much more. We learned a great deal about the incredible landscape and also abut the animal behaviour. Klein Jan was mind-blowing, but it's something you have to experience for yourself! You will certainly not be disappointed. We would love to return one day.

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.

We have just spent 5 nights in this vast area of the green Kalahari. Great accommodation, food and service - all 5 star. Klein Jan was amazing. Don’t google it before you go as the surprise venue is amazing. Food is a work of art. All the team are fab with Freddy and Keo stand out as friendly and super efficient looking after us at meal times. All the food is delicious - lots of choices. Our safari experience with guide Juan and tracker Jackson was great. They’re really enthusiastic with a real desire to find things. We saw pangolin and aardvark as well as lion, cheetah with 4 cubs, wild dog/painted wolf pups and lion cubs. Plus a great experience up close and personal with meerkats. Nigel the guest manager is welcoming and engaging. Spa is worth a trip too.