More Hotels take over Marataba Safari Lodge

The owners of Lion Sands and Madikwe Safari Lodge announced they are adding Marataba Safari Lodge to their fold. The Lodge comprises 15 luxury tents and operates in the Marakele National Park. Just a three hour drive from Johannesburg, this malaria-free, Big Five (Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Buffalo and Rhino) reserve, is a 23000 hectare private concession at the foothills of the Waterberg Mountains. The property will pair well with Madikwe Safari Lodge (1.5 hour’s drive away) in creating the ultimate family safari circuit. Early in 2014, they will be looking to create an upmarket 2 and 3 night walking trail product, as well as introducing a water-based safari activity allowing guests to view game from a boat, so watch this space…

Spotlight in Madikwe Private Game Reserve

Our operations team paid a recent visit to Madikwe Private Game Reserve to get a good understanding of the area.  Madikwe is situated in the North Western Province, along the Botswana border. It is 750 km square (75,000 hectare) of reclaimed farmland, established in 1991. It is the country’s 5th largest game reserve and specialises in wild dog, but has all the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo). Madikwe encroaches on the Kalahari Desert, and is very dry. Access is by road; it is a four hour drive from Johannesburg and 2 hours from Sun City, or air, with Federal Air offering scheduled charters. Our team flew up with Federal Air departing from Johannesburg at 12h00 to Madikwe, with the return flight being at 13h30 every day. It is a mere one hour flight from Johannesburg. There are two airstrips. The Western Airstrip is basic and can accommodate maximum a 12-seater Caravan, the other being the Eastern Airstrip, which is tarred and has a building for arrivals, with toilet facilities. It can also take a maximum 12-seater Caravan. There are over 20 lodges in the area, some are privately owned by corporates or for personal use only. 

Most of the group-friendly lodges are located in the East, with the furthest lodge being 35 minutes transfer from the airstrip. In fact combining Madikwe Safari Lodge (20 suites), Makanyane Safari Lodge (8 suites), Madikwe Hills Safari Lodge (10 suites), Mateya Safari Lodge (5 suites), Jamala Royal Safari Lodge (8 bedrooms), and Molori Safari Lodge (5 suites) one could get a total of 56 rooms in close proximity to each other.  Etali Game Lodge (8 rooms) and Jaci’s Camp (16 rooms) could be used for overflow.

This is a non-malaria area, a definite plus! The team were very impressed with the quality of the lodges, most of which are luxury 5* properties. More importantly the quality of the game viewing has improved considerably. Madikwe Game Reserve is without doubt establishing itself as a renowned safari region, to rival the Sabi Sands and other Kruger National Park lodges.

It is possible to do joint dinners if the group is spread over more than one lodge, but this is dependent on final numbers, lodges chosen and weather conditions

Mahali Mzuri opens in August in the Masai Mara

Sir Richard Branson’s Kenyan Safari Camp is open for bookings from 1 August 2013. This 12 tented luxury camp is located within Kenya’s Masai Mara ecosystem. 

Mahali Mzuri is located in the Motorogi Conservancy, just north of the Masai Mara National Reserve, and is right in the path of the annual migration. There is also an abundance of resident game all year round both near the camp and also a short distance away by vehicle. The best way to access the camp is by plane from the city's Wilson Airport which serves domestic destinations within Kenya. A number of domestic airlines are based at Wilson Airport and most provide scheduled flights to the region which take about 1 hour. From the public airstrip the journey by vehicle to the camp is roughly one hour's drive. Special charter flights can also be arranged on request if the scheduled times don't suit you and these flights can land at the private airstrip in the conservancy, roughly 20 minutes' drive from camp.