Motswari Private Game Reserve by Newmark

A trip of a lifetime. Just exceeded our expectations every day. So well managed and organised. A special thank you to our driver Paul for sharing his passion of Kruger national park with us. We did the 3 nights in early July and it was a perfect length of time although we could have easily stayed on another day or two. As others have noted, take a decent hat, gloves and two fleeces and some warm trousers for the morning drives. I would recommend you do a little research on gratuities for drivers/trackers and house keeping before you go and take sufficient cash for this purpose (although it’s completely optional). I would recommend Motswari without hesitation.

First visit to Motswari. Lodge and room was excellent. Breakfast buffet was very good as were all the meals.Lunch was accompanied by the local singers(staff) !! Evening meal was in the boma. Game drives were great with lots of lion sightings and a male leopard. We had lion tracks by reception one morning.We saw the big 5 over our 2 days but much more due to our excellent guiding team of Owen and George who gave us lots of information about the area and animals which makes all the difference. All the staff get 5 stars from us. We can recommend the book "the women of motswari " which is available to buy in reception. About an hours drive to the lodge from Timbavati gate but also animal sightings to keep your drive interesting.

You might think it odd that we focus on the people at Motswari and not the wildlife, but it was the staff who made our recent trip so memorable. All the lodges in Timbavati will show you the Big 5 and many more creatures besides. But the people of Motswari show a degree of warmth, helpfulness and efficiency that makes it very special. Meals on the verandah or in the breakfast room or in the magical Boma were excellent. The service was always attentive and friendly. Our wildlife guide, Joshua, and trackers Difference and David were great in showing us lions, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino…but our encounters with a pack of wild dogs were wonderful. Can’t wait to return!

I had read all of the reviews and had very high expectations. This was planned to be at the end of our Sth African adventure and for it to end on a high. I was not disappointed. We arrived mid-afternoon and they invited us to go on our first game drive. We were staying 3 nights so i was only expecting 2 on each of the full days, not when we arrived. They even offered a 6th game drive on the morning that we were leaving. We decline this last one as we wanted a sleep in before a journey home. Within a couple of hours into our first drive and we had ticked off 4 of the Big 5. The next morning, we completed the Big 5 plus seeing a Honey Badger in daylight. We had a great team on the jeep, and we all got on very well. The Driver, Josh and Tracker, David, were the A-team. We called our team the Honey Badgers. Josh threw us a challenge as we had ticked off our list of animals to see and we seemed to have a positive energy and a lot of luck. Josh said he wanted to track down a White Lion. At first i thought this was a myth. We headed out the next morning to an area where hardly anyone goes. We found the white lion and his brother. We stopped for 20 minutes or so just watching them watch us. I never thought that we would see such a thing. The staff at Motswari are amazing and nothing is too much trouble. Food is incredible and i never thought that i would like to eat Warthog but it is amazing. Take advantage of the midday walks with your guide, they are very informative and something different or you could simply sit in the meeting area with a cold beer watching elephants around the waterhole or warthogs coming in eating the grass with impala or springboks Motswari is not cheap when compared to other lodges, but you do get what you pay for. It is a long way to Sth Africa so you may as well make the most of it and do it right.

Wow - what an experience. This place and this trip exceeded all expectations. The food was so fabulous. The drives were so good and informative. The lodge is the perfect size. The rooms are charming. But above all else, the staff is just unbelievably amazing. We truly arrived as guests and left as friends. Everyone was amazing but in particular I have to call out a few. Dinpho, Pretty, Timothy and Jan you made our meals and cocktail hours so so delicious and so so fun (honestly, the rest of the staff did too but we just so happened to get to know each of you a little better). I just adore each of you. Lot and Lola - I don’t even know how to thank you both for making this the trip of a lifetime. Your knowledge, humor and beautiful personalities surpassed all expectation. I don’t know how they hire and train their people but kudos to anyone responsible for finding the staff - every last one of them! Every detail here is so thoroughly thought out. Every need is met. I truly cannot say enough good things about our experience. I felt so safe and well taken care of. If I could give more than five starts I absolutely would.