Both easy half-day drives from Johannesburg, the Madikwe and Marakele reserves offer some of southern Africa’s most exciting malaria-free game viewing. These wild and beautiful parks give way to the gnarled peaks of the Waterberg mountains, creating a spectacular backdrop to safari adventures.
Madikwe Game Reserve
Madikwe was created in the early 90s. It covers a vast 75,000-hectare slice of veld in a remote area of the ‘Tswana homelands, close to the Botswana border. The area was already home to a number of wild animals, including some exceptional birdlife, but next came Operation Phoenix - one of the largest game translocation programmes the world has seen. Over a 6-year period, some 8000 animals of 27 different species were to find a new home in Madikwe. New lodges were built, old farm buildings torn down and local ‘Tswana people trained as game rangers; in less than a decade, the reserve became a top wildlife destination.
The animals took easily to the reserve thanks to its exceptionally varied natural habitats. Open woodlands and thickets are dotted with a series of spectacular rocky outcrops or inselbergs - perfect big-cat terrain - and water is abundant in its pans, rivers and dams. And in the bush, where there’s water, there’s wildlife.
Marakele National Park
North-east of Madikwe, Marakele lies in the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve, a staggering landscape of rouge mountains, grassy slopes and valleys carved by streams. In Marakele, South Africa’s Big Five roam, hippos loll in rivers and Cape Vultures thrive. Wildlife viewing here is spectacular thanks to the stunning mountainous backdrop, with the peaks changing colour as the sun traverses the sky. One section of the park, Marataba, is completely private, with just two safari lodges nestled within its borders. For game viewing without crowds, you can’t get much better.