Tswalu Tarkuni

• Largest private game reserve in South Africa
• Game-viewing in the Kalahari Desert
• Visits to the meerkats
• Malaria-free game reserve
• Very child-friendly with children's activities & special treats

Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve in the Kalahari grasslands of the Northern Cape is the largest private game reserve in South Africa and the historical home of the Bushmen (San) people. This spectacular malaria-free reserve offers a wealth of experiences - explore Tswalu Game Reserve by 4x4, on horseback or on foot. There's a sense of contentment that comes from being surrounded by so much space, the colours and textures, the myriad sounds and vast silences of the wilderness. You're sharing the environment just with springbok, buffalo, lion, kudu, bat-eared fox, hyena, meerkat and aardwolf. Wildebeest, cheetah, the majestic Roan and Sable Antelope can also be seen.

Accommodation

Tarkuni is Tswalu’s exclusive-use homestead with five bedrooms under one roof. With accommodation for up to 10 guests, all the pleasurable daily rituals of safari living have been thoughtfully and sustainably considered for maximum comfort and enjoyment.

Designed with multi-generational families in mind, Tswalu Tarkuni is equally suited to groups of friends seeking the exclusivity and flexibility of a fully staffed private safari villa. Guests are taken care of by a dedicated house manager and a private chef. As with Tswalu's other camps, every booking includes a complimentary private safari vehicle, guide and tracker.

This thatched homestead includes an open-plan lounge, dining room and bar with a central fireplace, a mezzanine-level media room, and a spa treatment suite. Generous spaces for outdoor dining and relaxation include a deep verandah, plunge pool, fire pit, and an intimate boma with low, stone-packed walls for starlit fireside dinners. Wildlife, including kudu, giraffe and buffalo, frequent the small waterhole in front of the camp.

Activities

Activities at Tswalu Tarkuni are many and various include game drives and walks. Tswalu is unique in offering each group of guests their own vehicle, guide and tracker. Given that the reserve is over 100 000 hectares in size, this means that you will not see another vehicle on your game drive and that your game drives can be completely tailored to your interests. The ever popular bush walks focus on the kalahari vegetation, bush medicines, and hunting skills of the San people, as well as visiting the meerkat colonies to watch these engaging mammals start their day. Sundowners on the lantern-lit dunes or bush dining at Lekgaba Lookout completes the experience at Tswalu.

Other activities include horse-riding safaris, star-gazing, visiting rock paintings, enjoying a night out at the Tswalu Molori sleep-out or relaxing in the Tswalu Spa.

Families at Tswalu Tarkuni

Tswalu Game Reserve welcomes families at both Motse Lodge and Tarkuni. The staff at Tswalu do everything possible to make sure not only mum and dad have a wonderful stay but that the children remember it as their best holiday ever! Special touches include a kid’s menu, earlier mealtimes for younger children, a children's game drive (if there are more than four children at the lodge), visiting the stables and going horse-riding, even rolling down a sand dune!

There is a Junior Ranger Programme where children can try their hand at archery, learn how to identify spoor and track game on foot. In between activities the pool is always an attraction or they can decorate cup cakes or even cook their own bush dinner in the special children’s boma. The Kalahari is free of malaria so that’s an added bonus at Tswalu Tarkuni.