When I was growing up, my sister and I had a childhood dream to go on an African Safari together. We couldn’t be more excited than when we finally planned a 4 day safari in South Africa! We stayed in a vintage style bungalow in the middle of the African bush. Wild animals came up to our hut each day, it was truly a dream come true.
Motswari Private Game Reserve
An African Safari is a once in a lifetime experience and we wanted to stay somewhere unforgettable. Motswari definitely lived up to that. It’s a classic safari looking 4 star lodge, with rustic chic stone bungalows. There are no fences so animals are wandering through the area at all times. We stayed 4 nights and had 3 days of safari (6 game drives) and were happy with all we got to see.
All of our meals, drinks and alcohol were included in our stay. They had freshly hunted game meat, grilled vegetables and a South African charcuterie board paired with wine. This game lodge was so incredible that I wrote a separate post about it here.
Johannesburg to Kruger 
We flew into Johannesburg Airport and made our way to Kruger National Park. Since this was a last minute trip, it would have been useful to book our transportation earlier. The options are to book a small plane, a transfer van, or rent a car and drive yourself (they drive on the left side of the road in South Africa). At the last minute, renting a car was our only option. It took 6 hours to get to the entrance of the Park plus an additional hour to get to our lodge.
Arriving at Kruger
There is both the Kruger National Park public game reserve as well as several private game reserves, all part of the Greater Kruger National Park area. The animals can roam wherever they want between the public and private reserves, without any fences. We decided to stay at a private game reserve and had access to all of that area.
We arrived at the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve entrance, on the western edge of Kruger. There was a one time conservation/entrance fee of $10 USD. To compare prices, the entrance fee for Kruger public reserve is $27/day per adult.
When you enter the park, you’re in wild animal territory and you’re not allowed to leave your vehicle. If you get a flat tire, theres an emergency call center that can help you (013-735-4325).
We had never been to South Africa before and arrived at the park after the sun went down. There are no street lights and we drove through the African bush in pitch black darkness during prime hunting time. It was a bit scary because we didn’t know what to expect but we drove slowly, saw lots of animals in our headlights and arrived safely.
What To Expect
In the West we call it a safari but they call it a game drive.
Each morning we had coffee, tea and snacks before heading out for the sunrise game drive.
We returned between 9/10am and there was a big breakfast waiting.
After breakfast there was an option to go on a bush walk or just take the afternoon to relax, go for a swim, and nap.
Lunch was served with a tribal presentation of the food, complete with singing and dancing.
The afternoon game drive ended with a sunset happy hour.
We returned with time to shower before heading to a tiki torch lit dinner.
Game Drives/ Safari
Our jeep sat 9 people in the back and was tiered so everyone could see. We had a guide plus a tracker looking for trails, tracks and educated us on flora and medicinal plant uses. Our seemingly indestructible jeep drove through very bumpy terrain and rivers on our quest to find wildlife. We were lucky enough to see the Big 5 all on the first day! The Big 5 includes lions, rhinos, elephants, buffalo and my ultimate favorite, leopards! We watched a leopard in a tree, ripping apart an impala. Other wildlife we encountered were giraffes, hippos, zebras, hyenas, buffalo, wildebeest and much more.
At one point our guide pulled up to a field and turned off the jeep. We didn’t see anything and asked why we were stopped. He pointed at 5 lions, camouflaged in the grass right in front of us!
This was such an unforgettable, once in a life time adventure that I got to enjoy with my sister. Wild lions, leopards and rhinos oh my (what more could you want?)! I enjoyed it so much that I’m looking to go back soon and discover other countries in Africa.
