A hand-picked selection of lodges and camps. Click through their name to visit their own website directly.
Mashatu Lodge
Mashatu Lodge is the main camp in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana’s largest private reserve, on the eastern fringe of the Kalahari where the Limpopo and Shashe rivers meet South Africa and Zimbabwe. Fourteen suites run along the edge of camp, each facing out into the bush, with a pool at the centre. What sets Mashatu apart from a drive-only reserve is the range of ways to see it — walking, cycling and horseback safaris alongside day and night drives — and its underground photographic hides, dug in at eye level with the waterholes. Limpopo Valley Airfield is the nearest strip, with road transfers from there or the Pont Drift border post.
Mashatu Tent Camp
Mashatu’s smaller camp, sharing the same reserve as the main lodge. Eight tents stand on raised platforms under big trees, linked by footpaths, each with its own outdoor en-suite bathroom. It runs the same activities as the lodge — day and night drives, guided walks, cycling and horseback safaris — but with fewer guests around, and it suits people who want the bush a little closer to the canvas. Children from twelve are welcome. Transfers come in from Limpopo Valley Airfield, Pont Drift or Mathathane.
Euphorbia Mashatu
Euphorbia stands on a cliff edge above the Majale River ravine, on the sandstone ridges in the north of the reserve — the most dramatic setting of Mashatu’s camps, and the newest. Eight villas, each with a private plunge pool, are built from local materials and run on solar. Guests use the same underground photographic hide the reserve is known for, and the same spread of activities: drives, walking, mountain biking, horse riding and birding, with well over three hundred species recorded here.
Tuli Safari Lodge
Tuli Safari Lodge sits on the bank of the Limpopo in a forest of nyala berry, rock fig, giant fever berry and baobab. The tented suites have a classic feel — freestanding baths with a view out, room for families — and the lodge keeps guest numbers low. All the reserve’s activities run from here: drives by day and night, walking trails, cycling and horse riding, the photographic hide, fly camping, and a spa. Solomon’s Wall, a thirty-metre basalt dyke across the Motloutse, is within reach, and the birding runs past 350 species. All ages welcome.
Kolokolo Safari Home
Kolokolo is a private safari home in the Pitsani area of the reserve, in a garden running down to the Limpopo. Four en-suite bedrooms sleep up to eight, and the house goes to one group at a time, with its own guide and game viewing vehicle, a private chef and a full staff. There is a reservoir pool, a veranda round the house, a lounge with a fireplace and a boma outside for fires and braais. Morning and evening drives are included; night drives, walks, horseback safaris and the photographic hides are arranged on request. Limpopo Valley Airfield is about forty-five minutes away.
Shalimpo Safari Home
Shalimpo stands on a rocky hilltop at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo, looking out over Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa at once. It is the self-catering option among Mashatu’s houses: four bedrooms sleeping eight, two of them en-suite and two sharing, with a farm kitchen to cook in, open-plan living areas, covered patios, a plunge pool and a boma for fires. The house is off-grid, running on solar with lanterns after dark. Two guided activities a day are included, and there is a team on site for laundry, Wi-Fi and babysitting. Limpopo Valley Airfield is about an hour away.
