Motswari Private Game Reserve

Motswari Private Game Reserve has been welcoming safari guests to the Timbavati since 1981, earning a loyal following through four decades of warm, family-style hospitality and outstanding wildlife encounters. The name means “to conserve and protect” in the local Shangaan language, and this ethos runs through everything the lodge does.

Set deep in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve with unfenced borders to Kruger National Park, Motswari offers Big Five game drives across a vast wilderness. The lodge’s experienced rangers and trackers have an intimate knowledge of the resident wildlife — including the Timbavati’s famous white lions, which are occasionally sighted on drives.

Accommodation comprises 16 air-conditioned bungalows with thatched roofs, en-suite bathrooms, and private verandas overlooking the bush. The main lodge features a swimming pool, open-air boma for evening dinners, a well-stocked bar, and communal lounges where guests share stories from the day’s drives.

Motswari is known for its exceptional food — hearty bush breakfasts, poolside lunches, and atmospheric boma dinners under the stars. All meals, local drinks, and twice-daily game drives are included in the rate. The lodge also offers Geiger’s Camp, a more exclusive satellite camp with just three suites for a more intimate experience.

Fly into Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport (daily from Johannesburg). Lodge transfer approximately 1.5 hours. By road, enter via Timbavati’s Timbavati Gate off the R40.