Motswari Private Game Reserve by Newmark

A trip of a lifetime. Just exceeded our expectations every day. So well managed and organised. A special thank you to our driver Paul for sharing his passion of Kruger national park with us. We did the 3 nights in early July and it was a perfect length of time although we could have easily stayed on another day or two. As others have noted, take a decent hat, gloves and two fleeces and some warm trousers for the morning drives. I would recommend you do a little research on gratuities for drivers/trackers and house keeping before you go and take sufficient cash for this purpose (although it’s completely optional). I would recommend Motswari without hesitation.

We could not fault our stay at Motswari, the whole place is beautifully thought out in every way. We felt so at home and genuinely felt we left with friends in the staff, I even shed a tear in our taxi to the airport. We spent 5 amazing days with 10 game drives and saw more animals than we could of imagined including all of the big 5 in one day. Hayden, our guide, was exceptional, his knowledge and passion for what he does is infectious and he made every game drive so interesting not to mention sharing a lot of laughs and fun together too. Also shout out to our tracker Patrick for his amazing eye for finding the animals! The lodges are spotlessly clean and made up twice a day which we thought was so impressive given the environment. The food was fantastic, surpassed our expectations for a safari lodge and we never ever went hungry with so much to choose from. Truly a holiday we will never forget, we hope we can return again some day.

This was our honeymoon dream and it certainly was everything we wanted and more (despite having a lot of rain!) The rooms were gorgeous and the food was delicious throughout our stay. Owain and George were our guide and tracker and were fab and did everything they could to find us a leopard...which they did!! We loved the different settings for dinner at night, we just wish it had stopped raining so we could have enjoyed the outside more! We felt so safe and created memories forever. Thank you Motswari team!

We stayed at Motswari for 4 nights and it was the most incredible experience of our lives. Going to start of with the facilities themselves, Our room was perfect, exactly as described with a bath and shower, a patio overlooking the riverbed, it was absolutely spotless and I was worried about bugs being in the bush but there was none that got into our room. The common area was nice and relaxed and same with the pool with animals coming in and out it was incredible. The onsite shop was full of cute souvenirs and clothes and local art. The chefs and kitchen staff did an impeccable job for every single meal! There was so many options and possibilities of trying new things. The rusks served every morning before drives were so good I had to pick some up before we left SA The main call out of the people of motswari, the staff working in all areas from bar to restaurant, to facilities and reception, you feel like you are joining a family and they also treat their guests as family. Special call out to Prince and Jan who make the atmosphere so fun! Tamara at the reception is so lovely and caring. We were due to stay in the giraffes nest but storms made this impossible and absolutely everyone who knew we were due to stay here made an effort to ensure we made it back safely- big shout of to Gideon who drove us back! Lastly and the most important is a big big big thank you to our tracker Difference and our guide Joshua. They made our experience unforgettable. We got to see the magic of the big 5 in 24hr, and as the guys said the magnificent 7 as we were lucky to see cheetahs and wild dogs. This was amazing but the experience itself from Joshua and Difference, the knowledge they shared was incredible and we learned so much but also had so much fun and laughter and we will never forget this so a big big thank you to both of them, we will miss our sunset drinks and chats l! Hopefully we get to return one day but for anyone reading this do not hesitate and book it!

You might think it odd that we focus on the people at Motswari and not the wildlife, but it was the staff who made our recent trip so memorable. All the lodges in Timbavati will show you the Big 5 and many more creatures besides. But the people of Motswari show a degree of warmth, helpfulness and efficiency that makes it very special. Meals on the verandah or in the breakfast room or in the magical Boma were excellent. The service was always attentive and friendly. Our wildlife guide, Joshua, and trackers Difference and David were great in showing us lions, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino…but our encounters with a pack of wild dogs were wonderful. Can’t wait to return!

We’ve just returned from Motswari and had the absolute best time! Our guide/trackers - Eden and Magic were amazing! Knowledgeable and funny, and nothing too much trouble. The safari drives were brilliant - we saw the big five, including the elusive leopard which we found on our last (super eventful) drive. All of the staff were fantastic and looked after us so well! The accommodation was beautiful, each lodge completely unique. Food was delicious and plentiful. Would highly recommend and looking forward already to returning.