Eco Lodge Accommodation in Madikwe Game Reserve

This is how Africa is meant to be ... the smell of coffee and wood smoke when you are woken up by the call of the crested francolin in the morning ... the silence of the bushveld in the heat of the day when you sit under the shade of a wild fig tree ...watching the sunset over a waterhole with a breeding herd of elephant coming down to drink ... the wonderful blackness of the night sky with stars more numerous and brighter than you've ever seen before ... the absolute stillness of the night with maybe the distant roar of lion or the whoop of a hyena or the crack of a breaking branch where the elephant are feeding ...

About Madikwe

"I have seen the moon in other places besides the Marico. But it is not the same there. It does strange things to you, the Marico moon, and in your heart are wild and fragrant fancies, and your thoughts go very far away."

Herman Charles Bosman

Madikwe is South Africa's fourth largest game reserve at 75 000 hectares. This magnificent malaria free area offers you the opportunity to experience the magic of the Big Five and a true safari adventure. Situated in the North West Province bordering Botswana, Madikwe is just a 3½ hour drive from Johannesburg or Pretoria, 1½ hours from Sun City and an easy hour from Gaborone.

Managed by the North West Parks and Tourism Board and together with the private sector (lodge owners) and the local people, Madikwe is operated as a joint venture to stimulate ecologically sustainable economic activity based on wildlife, for the benefit of the people of the region.

This community involvement thinking was something of breakthrough in the early 1990's when Madikwe was formed, and has served as a template for other game reserves to work from. It has also ensured a healthily inflated local employment rate and zero poaching activity in Madikwe.

The Madikwe area is steeped in history and tradition. Historically, this is Herman Charles Bosman's land – you can easily visualize his Oom Schalk Lourens sitting under a Karee boom, contemplating the finer points of life or recovering from the alcoholic delights of its berries.

The famous Mafikeng Road runs straight through the Reserve – explorers, traders, hunters, missionaries and, of course, Mzilikazi passed this way during the making of South African history.

Today Madikwe is regarded as one of the finest conservation areas in Africa and has taken its place as South Africa's top wildlife and game viewing destination.

The above are just some of the stunning photos taken by our guest, John Mostert who, with his wife Pat, stayed with us from the 10 to the 13 of September 2007.

The Landscape

Madikwe is a haven of amazing diversities. The landscape has mountainous areas, plateaus, rocky hills, a perennial river, seasonal wetlands, a variety of sandy and clay areas, bushveld, Kalahari veld and savanna areas.

This broad spectrum of habitats supports an animal life which is consequently richly varied. The species diversity of trees, grasses and wild flowers is also very wide and interesting.

The Wildlife

Guests to Madikwe are promised the chance of seeing the Big Five (the largest elephant population outside of the Kruger National Park, both white and the endangered black rhino, the biggest disease free herd of buffalo in the country, lion and leopard), as well as the rare and endangered wild dog, cheetah, brown and spotted hyena and all other South African predators.

A multitude of plains game includes giraffe, zebra, kudu, gemsbok, springbok and sable (the first scientific discovery of which was in 1836 in this very area).

For birders, Madikwe is an unmissable destination with the latest official list boasting an incredible 340 resident and migrant bird species. (Have a look at our Gallery for more photos of incredible sightings taken by our Guests.)

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Authentic Bush Camp and Eco Lodge Accommodation

Mosetlha is family owned and run, a rustic and intimate, unfenced bush camp nestling at the very heart of the magnificent Madikwe Game Reserve. We are this Reserve’s only authentic bush camp – the unpolished gem in Madikwe’s crown!

It is our mission to provide you with an exclusive and unique wilderness experience. In order to ensure guests our best possible attention, we accommodate a maximum of 16 people in nine double cabins.

The camp is unfenced and our guests are accommodated in true safari style in raised wooden cabins set amongst the natural vegetation around a central camp fire and lapa area.

Cabins have partly open sides and are arranged in adjoining or detached double rooms with twin beds and simple amenities. Duvets, pillows, blankets and towels are provided by us.

Whilst bathrooms are not en suite, they are essentially private – fenced toilet/shower complexes are discreetly situated amongst the cabins. We pride ourselves in our bushveld simplicity and do not have mod cons such as electrical power or running water - our showers are safari showers and water is heated through a donkey boiler … so you only have a cold shower if you want one!.

We believe our catering is of a high standard – we prepare all meals in the traditional bush style on the open fire. Included, too, are tea, coffee, fruit juice, rusks, fruit and snacks throughout the day and on your daily walks and drives. Drinks are sold at a nominal mark up and not at usual "hotel" prices.

It has always been our mission to provide an exclusive and unique wilderness experience for our guests, with minimal ecological impact on our surroundings. We were very excited to discover the following, written by Hitesh Mehta (who has, incidentally, been a guest of ours at Mosetlha) and are so proud to see that we successfully fulfil not only the required five, but ALL TEN of his suggested criteria for an “eco lodge”.

In International Eco Lodge Guide Lines, Hitesh Mehta writes that an eco lodge is an "accommodation facility that satisfies at least five of the criteria listed below, three of which must embody the main principles of ecotourism."

The main principles of ecotourism are:

conservation of neighbouring lands
benefits to local communities
interpretation to both local populations and guests.

THE TEN ECO LODGE CRITERIA:

Helps conserve the surrounding flora and fauna.
Tries to work with the local community.
Offers educational interpretive programs to both its employees and tourists about the surrounding natural and cultural environments.
Uses alternative, sustainable means of water acquisition and reduces water consumption.
Provides for careful handling and disposal of solid waste and sewage.
Meets its energy needs through passive design and renewable energy resources.
Uses traditional building technology and materials wherever possible and combines these
with their modern counterparts.
During construction has minimal impact on the natural environment.
Blends with local physical and cultural environment through careful attention to form, landscaping and colour, as well as the use of local traditional architecture.
Contributes to sustainable local community development through education programs
and research.

Your Mosetlha Experience

Check in time at the Gate is 12.30 and you will be directed from there to the NWPTB Administration Offices where you will park your car and one of our guides will meet you and bring you back to the Camp to start your Mosetlha Experience!

On arrival at the Camp you will find lunch ready for you and you can unpack and settle in. That afternoon you'll be taken on your first game drive. (Leaving time varies depending on the time of year – from about between 3.00 in mid winter to 4.30 in the heat of summer.)

Our professional, qualified field guides will take you out into the Reserve in our open 4x4 vehicles where you will have the chance to see the Big Five, the endangered wild dog, cheetah, a multitude of plains game and over 340 species of birds.

You’ll be out for about 4 hours and half way through you'll stop at a picturesque spot for drinks and snacks at sunset. After dark, spot lights are used to ensure that you are able to witness our more secretive, nocturnal animal and bird life.

Upon your return, a wholesome and traditionally cooked dinner will be waiting for you. After this, you can take your drinks or coffee to the camp fire and share your experiences of the day before collapsing into bed, to sleep as you can only do in the silence of the bush, under the stars.

The next morning we'll wake you up for a quick cup of coffee and an early morning start. (Here again, times vary between a 5am wake up call on the hot summer mornings and as late as 7.30 when it’s colder.)

There is always a game drive available in the mornings to find the big and hairies and sometimes (depending upon various factors such as weather, veld conditions etc) it is possible to offer a guided bush walk - which is not strenuous but rather interpretive - this is the time to experience the wonders of the flora and fauna, insects and birds that Madikwe has to offer. (See our Gallery for some amazing photographs of wild flowers and insects taken by our guests.) PLEASE NOTE, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO OFFER WALKING TRAILS AT THE MOMENT (OCTOBER 2008, WE WILL ADVISE AS SOON AS WE CAN AGAIN

In the summer when you get back you'll have a quick breakfast (toast, cereals and muesli, yoghurt, fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs and cheese) and time for a shower and a rest before lunch, then some more chill out time – read your book, do some bird spotting at the little water holes we have around the camp, or have an afternoon nap.

Then it's time for the afternoon drive. During the winter months, we do a big cooked brunch and

lighter afternoon tea just before your game drive.

On your day of departure, after your morning game activity, you come home to the camp for breakfast. We then take you back to your car at around midday for your return trip home (where it's back to real life after a few days of fabulous game viewing and serious relaxation, taking with you lots of photographs and some wonderful memories!).

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If you want to exchange links with us, please mail us at info@thebushcamp.com

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