110,000 hectares of spectacular grasslands and mountains, South Africa’s largest private game reserve

Tswalu falls within the arid savanna biome of southern Africa and has three main habitats – dunes, plains and Korannaberg mountains. The presence of these mountains form a huge basin which acts as a natural rainfall catchment. This provides a healthy water table and encourages a large, successful diversity of life – with about 80 species of mammals and 240 species of birds. The main focus of the Tswalu Kalahari tourism experience is to expose guests to the wonders of the Kalahari ecosystem. Our guides are encouraged to explore all aspects of this ecosystem including plant life, insects, birds, reptiles and the smaller mammals and to help our guests to understand the importance of conservation with particular reference to Tswalu’s vast and unique wilderness. Rare and endangered species. While Tswalu is home to most of the “charismatic” African big game species such as lion, cheetah, wild dog, desert black rhino and buffalo, Tswalu has developed into a vast area of unique biodiversity and natural beauty which offers safe haven to a number of rare and endangered species, including pangolin, aardvark, aardwolf, African wild dog, rare antelope such as roan, sable and tsessebe and endangered raptors.

The Motse, lies at the foot of the Korannaberg mountains facing westwards across the grasslands of the Kalahari. Motse means “village” in Tswana, and our village consists of just nine spacious and secluded “legae” (Tswana for “little house”).

Settled between two mountain ranges, Tarkuni is the Oppenheimer family’s own personal home here at Tswalu and offers a complete oasis of serenity.

No more than 30 guests at a time can discover the beauty of this arid savannah, its diverse wildlife and the serenity of what may well be South Africa’s last great wilderness.