Safari to Madikwe

open and arid landscapes

Madikwe Game Reserve is located in the north of South Africa.

This relatively large 765 square kilometre wildlife reserve lies up against the border with Botswana and is just 20km from the capital Gaborone.

It was established in 1991, largely from reclaimed farmland, which was rehabilitated and restocked with wildlife.

The landscape is dominated by undulating hills and broad valleys, covered in light scrub savanna and light woodland, with a few smaller patches of open grassland. There are also significant escarpments and free-standing inselbergs.

The area contains a network of waterholes and is drained by the Marico River to the eastern side.

In all honesty, Madikwe is not the most scenic of safari locations, but it is reasonably pretty in parts, with the east being notably more scenic than the west.

Madikwe is one of the best non-malarial safari areas in Africa (along with the upmarket Tswalu Reserve and the nearby Waterberg Mountains), which makes it particularly attractive to families with very small children, older travellers and anyone else keen to avoid taking the pills.

Although it is much lesser known than Kruger National Park, Madikwe can be much more comfortable during the Nov-Mar green season, experiencing much less rain and generally with lower humidities during this otherwise potentially uncomfortable time.

The area is also more intimate than Kruger, being a lot less commercial and generally more keenly priced. In fact some of the lodges here represent some of the lowest cost safari in Africa.

However you may have to work a little harder to find the wildlife here compared with Kruger, although you will ultimately find plenty of animals over the course of a few days.

The Madikwe area tends to feature in trips relatively rarely. There is little doubt that this area is scenically less appealing than other safari areas. However, the fact that it is non-malarial can be really important to some travellers. There are also some unusually good value lodges here.

The usual stay duration is 3-4 nights.

Seasonality

Madikwe has a similar climate to other safari areas in this region but, importantly, it gets a great deal less rain than Kruger, so can be much more attractive during the key rainy season months of November to March …

Apr-Oct is the long dry season in the reserve, the best time for wildlife viewing.

Although it can get very cold at night in May-Jul and very hot and humid in October.
Nov-Mar is the green season in Madikwe, when relatively light and sporadic rains freshen the landscapes, but can occasionally become prolonged. As the season progresses, the increase in grass and foliage cover can make wildlife viewing more of a challenge.

Getting there

The Madikwe area is almost always accessed from Johannesburg, usually by light aircraft, which is a simple and easy hop.

It is also possible to travel up from Johannesburg by road, a journey of around four hours, which is not particularly interesting (since it passes mainly along main sealed roads through farmlands and towns), but is not unpleasant.

Once in the reserve you get around with a guide and vehicle from the camp at which you are staying.

Self-drive vehicles are permitted to enter the reserve and travel as far as your camp, but are not allowed to undertake safari.

Where to stay

The Madikwe area contains around thirty lodges, the vast majority of which offer very high levels of conventional comforts. They range from small and intimate high end options with very elevated levels of service, to more mainstream options where the focus is as much on delivering value for money.

a non-malarial alternative to Kruger