Madikwe Game Reserve — Attraction in Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality

Madikwe Game Reserve is a super destination for wildlife safaris. There are about 21 commercial lodges in the reserve and we have stayed at 11 of them. They are all exceptional in terms of accommodation, food and service. If you are a photographer, however, you need to try and request a field guide who understands your unique needs.

Over a 12 month period we experienced 18 field guides at these 11 different Madikwe lodges, of which five (28%) were Excellent, six (33%) were Average and seven (39%) Terrible in terms of working as a team with their guests, finding animals, complying with their clients requests, going the extra mile and the overall safari experience.

If you're not a serious wildlife photographer then it doesn't matter - just enjoy the game drives but if you're a photographer wanting to capture good bird, predator and landscape images you need to do a bit of homework before choosing the lodge. The staff turnover for field guides is high (in most reserves) so it's impossible to say ask for "xxx" when going to this lodge as they may have moved on - rather read recent trip reports to find out which guides performed and then ask for that specific guide.

If the guide is not good ask to be moved to another vehicle or, for the lodges built next to the river or with bird hides and waterholes - spend some time in the camp. We have photographed lions, leopards, wild dogs, rhinos, buffaloes and elephants from the lodges by day and night.

This advice about field guides is not directed at only Madikwe - it applies to all the national parks...

This is a very big reserve offering some amazing game viewing experiences. It is well worth visiting, even to stay for two or three nights. I saw a pack of wild dogs, cheetahs, a Leopard, and a pair of aardwolf during my short stay there, amongst many other fascinating creatures. There are many elephant there, and it was really enjoyable to watch them bathing and playing in the water, especially the young ones. We also saw plenty of lion, really up close. The Game Rangers are very knowledgeable and work together in tracking animals so they are able to make sure their visitors have an interesting experience. We stayed in Mosetlha bush camp, which was an open camp - the electric fencing only restricted elephant and giraffe. We enjoyed beautiful food cooked on an open camp fire, prepared by the camp staff. All we had to do was ready in time for the game drives, early morning and early evening, and forget about all our troubles. All the staff were very friendly and helpful. Really...

Although you are allowed to self-drive from the gate to the lodge where you will be staying, you aren't allowed to go out on game drives on your own. However this is a big positive as less vehicles mean the game sightings are less crowded. This is a Big 5 reserve and we were lucky enough to see 2 cheetahs, but unfortunately we didn't spot a leopard. The park is vast with different landscapes ensuring you will never be bored, and the lodges we stayed at (Motswiri and Royal Madikwe) were awesome. If you are driving to the lodge on your own, rest assured that the gravel roads are of good condition - the small hatchback we used was good enough to get us there and back safely. Be sure to respect the animals when driving though, as you are in their territory. While driving between the 2 lodges we came across a big elephant in the road. We kept our distance, turned off our car en enjoyed the moment - not much more you can do...