Motswari Private Game Reserve

Tam Tam

We are Hongkongers who stayed 3 nights at Motswari, and we loved every moment of it. We had an excellent experience here. The Motswari staff were very welcoming and enthusiastic. The environment is great, and the food was delicious – especially the omelette at breakfast. This trip was perfect, even though we saw only 4 of the Big 5 (buffalo eluded us). A huge thank you to our guide Owen and tracker Henry – they were professional, nice, and very knowledgeable. During our bush drives, we saw: Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Elephant, Giraffe, Zebra, Mongoose, Waterbuck, Impala, Kudu, Warthog, Wildebeest, and many birds. We also saw monkeys right in Motswari! We truly love the bush break, especially bush coffee with Amarula. On our last night, we were so surprised and delighted by a campfire party with BBQ food and drinks. We saw the whole night sky filled with stars and the galaxy. Just a remarkable journey. We truly love Motswari. Thank you for everything.

Drexel Harris III

My wife and I stayed at Motswari for 3 nights during our honeymoon in South Africa. Everything about the lodge exceeded my expectations. The rooms were spacious and comfortable. The booking came with 2 game drives per day. The game drives were mind blowing. You get so close to all the wildlife and we were able to see the Big Five along with a host of other animals. The food onsite is incredible. They serve 3 large meals a day plus happy hour before dinner. The staff was amazing. Very friendly, attentive staff that made the stay that much more amazing. They even celebrated my wife on her birthday making the whole experience that much more special.

Robyn

We recently stayed at Motswari Game Reserve as a family for three nights, and we truly could not have had a better experience. Our rooms were absolutely beautiful, spacious, and spotless. The entire property was stunning, and the food far exceeded our expectations. You can really feel the “family” atmosphere throughout the lodge — from the staff singing before lunch to the incredible send-offs performed after dinner for guests on their last night. Every single staff member was so friendly, welcoming, and attentive. Housekeeping was also excellent. A special highlight of our stay was our guide, Josh, and tracker, David. Josh’s passion for wildlife — especially birds — was contagious and added so much excitement to every drive. He even inspired us to start bird watching ourselves (we’ve already bought bird books back home!). Both Josh and David worked so hard to make each drive memorable and helped us see an amazing variety of wildlife. It was such a nice touch having Josh join us for dinner on our last night as well. If I ever return for another safari, Motswari will absolutely be my first choice and we will recommend it to friends and family.

Riley Petty-Brunet

My husband (28 yo, French) and I (28 yo, American) stayed 3 nights at Motswari and had a phenomenal experience. We flew into Hoedspruit from Johannesburg, rented a car to the lodge, and then flew Hoedspruit to Cape Town. The Motswari staff was very welcoming, kind, and knowledgeable (thank you Hendry, Owen, Nando, Desmond, Phaswane). We really enjoyed the small group sizes for the game drives (4-6 guests). The facilities exceeded our expectations with the main lodge area being beautiful and our room feeling luxe and private. Also, the food was phenomenal (shoutout John and Pretty!). Each time we returned to the lodge, we were given a hand towel or a drink, and the staff members learned our names and popped by for quick chats. These little details made us feel so special. Shortly before our stay, there was some flooding on the game reserve from rain, and the staff reached out to me directly and was quick to get the roads back in shape. I really appreciated this communication. In general if you're renting a car, get an SUV, as the last stretch of road is unpaved. There was free parking, and it was a straight, easy drive between the airport and lodge. Definitely recommend!

Liana Reynolds

My husband and I chose Motswari for our safari honeymoon. It exceeded our expectations and was a magical experience (as if we were living in a dream). Upon arrival, we were greeted by the lovely Phaswane, and given some lovely homemade lemonade. Our Jeep was just about to leave as we arrived for the afternoon drive. We had planned to miss this drive due to just arriving from a long haul flight, but the team encouraged and supported us to quickly turn around and join. We were so glad that we did! We had Sipps and Hudson as our guide and tracker. They were fantastic throughout, working hard to provide us with beautiful game viewing, chatting to us throughout about the animals and the bush.Their knowledge of the animals behaviours to optimise our viewing, but to also keep us safe was exceptional! Sipps is a very experienced, passionate guide and we both trusted him and felt very safe. We had incredibly close viewing opportunities! Sipps and Hudson worked hard to meet our request to see a male Lion. We saw the big 5 soon into our 4 night stay, and even saw two leopards on two different drives. I have never felt so excited to wake up before 5am. The magic and excitement of each drive never dwindled and this experience is something we will never forget. Our breakfast drive snacks and sundowners was also a lovely experience, we got out of the jeep and had a beer with a rhino! We also met some lovely people with whom we shared these memories. Our lodge was Lion, with a beautiful view of the watering hole, quiet with the sound only of wildlife. The beds were incredibly comfy with a fantastic mosquito net. In-between drives, Motswari is such a relaxing place to be, with a lovely pool (from where we saw Zebras!), a lovely veranda with great South African wine, and great views. The staff are so friendly, hard working and accommodating. The staff often sing and dance around meal times which was so joyful to watch. The food was delicious, some standouts include chilli beef sausage snack, kudu, warthog, and milk cake pudding. I bought the book about the women of Motswari from the shop that I highly recommend! We had one night in the giraffes nest which was an experience! The food and drink provided was ample and delicious. We heard a Lion, Hyena’s and saw a hippo from the nest. This was a once in a lifetime special experience. We definitely felt we left Motswari as a friend and can’t wait to return one day. Thank you SO much! Liana and Joe x