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Tswalu Motse
Location: Kalahari
No of rooms: 9 suites including two bedroom family suites
One Stop Reason To Go: The most extraordinary, luxurious mind blowing Kalahari experience on offer in Africa
– Every room at Tswalu gets a private guide.
– Special Offers: Stay 5 pay 4, children under 18 stay for free, Stay 4 pay 3 for Tarkuni on exclusive use.
– Tswalu Kalahari has numerous pioneering conservation initiatives which are seriously contributing to the repopulation of highly endangered species such as black maned Kalahari lions, cheetah, wild dog, brown hyena, pangolin, desert black rhino, and white rhino – you are always welcome to spend time with the individual researchers learning about their projects.
– Tswalu boasts one of the most luxurious star beds in Africa.
– Helicopter flips over this stunning reserve are a must.
Tswalu offers unrivalled privacy in a vast, pristine wilderness, where a maximum of six vehicles in over 100,000 hectares shows guests the incredible landscape and the promise of a sight of the Big 5 in nigh on complete seclusion. As owner, Nicky Oppenheimer says, “If you see another Land Rover, complain!”
Tswalu’s expert Field Guides have been specially trained in Kalahari wildlife and each contributes personally to the constant programme of research and conservation on the reserve. Game drives at Tswalu Kalahari will be completely tailored to guests’ own interests with a personal consultation under taken on arrival.
The game drives at Tswalu are never standard; if, at a moment’s notice, guests want to spend an entire day in the bush, then a delicious picnic will be packed and guests will be taken off. Bush walks offer the chance to get closer to the land and the guides at Tswalu encourage these opportunities to touch the vegetation and inspect a meerkat colony. Night walks are also possible, offering the chance of exceptional sightings such as aardvark, aardwolf, porcupine or brown hyena at even closer range.
Guests can explore the Kalahari from every possible angle. Tswalu’s two donkeys, Pedro and Don Juan, pull a traditional Kalahari cart – still a main form of transport for many in the area today or top quality horses are available to accommodate all levels of riding abilities. Few moments can rival gently walking through a herd of sable antelope on horseback, sharing the magical stillness that defines the Kalahari. Hot-air balloon trips over this vast wilderness can be booked in advance. Or guests can simply sleep out under the thousands of stars in the Kalahari’s “diamond skies”.
For anyone with a particular passion, special talks can be arranged with the reserve’s ecologists whilst photographers will find unending possibilities at Tswalu, combining shots of unique wildlife with dazzling panoramas. Walks to ancient archaeological sites will reveal rock carvings created by the Bushmen up to 380,000 years ago, some of the oldest art on Earth. At other times, the pools or shaded salas beckon.
The exclusive Tswalu Kalahari Spa completes the relaxation on offer at Tswalu; its range of soothing and revitalising treatments celebrates the natural heritage of Africa. Designed to enhance the natural beauty of the Kalahari and take advantage of the superb climate, the outdoor treatment area is within an indigenous spa garden where guests may find the occasional antelope grazing alongside them and be lulled into a deep state of relaxation by the sound of birdsong. Guests may also choose to have their treatments at an outdoor sala, where a rustic structure protects one from the elements and is positioned to give a bird’s eye view of the open grasslands of the reserve against the backdrop of the Korannaberg Mountain range.
Motse, nestles at the foot of the Korannaberg mountains, facing westwards across the grasslands of the Kalahari. Motse means ‘village’ in Tswana and it consists of just eight spacious and secluded legae (another Tswana word, for “little house”) or suites. These legaes are built of local stone, rich red clay and traditional Kalahari thatch. Recently redesigned by world-renowned Boyd Ferguson, the suites define an elegant, barefoot luxury.
Each suite comprises a spacious bedroom with an open fire, a sumptuous en-suite bathroom with both indoor and outdoor shower, and a large dressing and study area. The private sun deck overlooks a waterhole and the changing Kalahari animals it attracts.
Three legae have been designed especially for families and each offer two separate bedroom suites with their own en-suite bathrooms, separated by an expansive living room again leading on to a shady, private terrace. These legae are each over 170 square metres in size and create the perfect environment for any family group.
The main house is a spectacular space in which to meet, with its elevated decks and elegant lounges. An infinity pool offers an endless view over the savannahs and a secluded spa is designed to complete guests’ total relaxation. The mezzanine library is equipped with satellite TV and full broadband Wi-Fi access throughout, and its museum cases display rare artefacts from the area.
The Motse accommodates no more than 24 guests at any one time to make for a truly intimate Kalahari safari experience.
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