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A blonde, star-studded land
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, Northern Cape
Riding in the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve.
© Chris Marais
Did you know?
Tswalu Kalahari has established a clinic that provides free primary health care to people from the surrounding area.
What is it about the Kalahari that is so addictive?
Its elemental grace lifts the heart. At night the stars are close and bright. The Milky Way shines clear as a diamond-studded cirrus cloud drifting in space. You close your eyes to the plaintive, wild cry of the hunting jackal.
In the morning you are woken by the twittering of thousands of sociable weavers, each in search of yet another seed or blade of grass to carry back to their enormous thatched nests.
Set in the red dunes and sandy grassland of the great Kalahari, the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is a place of never-ending fascination. At 100 000 hectares, it is the largest private conservation area in South Africa.
The property is owned by the Oppenheimers, South Africa’s foremost mining family, who have rested the land and rehabilitated it. Tswalu is made up of 43 former livestock and hunting farms. With the natural balance restored, they introduced desert-adapted black rhinos, rare Hartmann’s zebras, black-maned Kalahari lions and cheetah.
But there is more, far more. The aardvark digs homes for half the creatures of the Kalahari with its incessant burrowing. This underground life – cool and dark in the heat of summer, warm and protected at night – ensures survival for foxes, genets, springhares, meerkats, ground squirrels and mongooses.
At Tswalu Kalahari, you are invited to explore the land in many ways. One of the best is on horseback, where you can become part of the wild antelope and giraffe herds wandering the grassy valleys between dunes.
You can walk, you can go on game drives, or you can simply sit quietly in your own ‘sala’ to contemplate the animals as they come to drink at the waterhole.
An additional feel-good factor is that Tswalu has done so much good for the environment and local community it is certified as a Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa destination.
Travel tips & Planning info
Who to contact
Tswalu reservations
Tel: +27 (0)11 274 2299
Email: res@tswalu.com
How to get here
You can book a private chartered aircraft from Cape Town or Johannesburg and fly direct to the airstrip at Tswalu. From Johannesburg, it's a 650km drive (set aside 8 hours). Take the N12 and follow the signs towards Kimberley. Go through Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp and Wolmaransstad, where you'll turn on the R504 to Schweizer-Reneke, then the R34 to Vryburg. Here you'll take the N14 to Kuruman (your last fuel stop). From here it's another 130km, some of it on good gravel road. Follow the signposts detailed on the website.
Alternatively, fly or drive 1st to Kimberley. From there it's a 4-hour drive, going via Barkly West on the R31, then Danielskuil and on to Kuruman. The Tswalu website has very detailed directions from there.
Get around
Once you're in the reserve, you'll be transported in the reserve's 4x4 vehicles.
What will it cost
This is a destination with uncompromising luxury, and is priced accordingly. Inquire directly with Tswalu Kalahari for the most up-to-date rates.
Length of stay
Ideally, stay 3 days or longer. There is so much to do and see.
Where to stay
Choose between the Motse camp, which is nothing short of splendid, or Tarkuni (which is ideal if you're coming as a group).
What to eat
You'll be fed the finest meals night and day.
Best buys
Profits from whatever you buy in the gift shop go directly towards badly needed research into the Kalahari ecosystem.