Dream safari season starts in Mashatu in Botswana | News
Botswana is best known for its famous Okavango Delta. But the northern Tuli in the far eastern corner, also known as the ‘Land of the Giants’, offers a completely unique experience that you really have to experience… and now is the perfect time to visit!
In the words of our owner, Stephen Lansdown CBE:
“You haven’t been to Botswana unless you’ve been to Mashatu.”
From now until October, Mashatu Game Reserve will enter its shoulder and high season. Hidden in a patch of untouched wilderness where the borders of Botswana meet South Africa to the south and Zimbabwe to the east, Mashatu is a place that will truly touch your soul.
At this time of year the bush vegetation thins, water becomes scarce and wildlife reveals itself with remarkable ease. Sightings are clearer and more intimate when elephants gather in large numbers at waterholes, predators move purposefully and the landscape opens up in ways that draw you deeper into it.
Mornings start fresh, with a cup of coffee in hand (perhaps a bush coffee with a warming touch of Amarula) as the first light breaks through the reserve. By midday, game drives unfold against golden, dust-soft horizons. And as night falls, the experience diminishes: fires are lit, stories are shared and the glow of the boma becomes the center of it all.
Slow safaris – Stay longer, experience more
Covering 42,000 hectares, Mashatu’s varied landscapes offer a very different experience depending on where you stay, from towering baobabs and vast riverbeds to rugged sandstone outcrops. This flexibility allows for a seamless, multi-layered safari without having to venture outside the reserve.
To fully appreciate the scale and diversity of Mashatu, a slower, deliberate sojourn is encouraged – and rewarded.
Stay 5 nights and save 10%
Stay 7 nights and save 15%
Available in all lodges and safari houses for exclusive use. Guests are invited to combine stays within the reserve:
Euphorbia Mashatu, Kolokolo Safari Home, Mashatu Lodge, Tuli Safari Lodge Mashatu, Mashatu Tented Camp, Shalimpo Safari Camp.
It is a way of traveling that prioritizes depth over distance, allowing the experience to unfold naturally and undisturbed.
The Matebole skin: an unparalleled perspective
A defining highlight during the shoulder and peak season is the newly improved Matebole Hide, now with a newly designed entrance.
Located on the ground floor and overlooking a well-visited waterhole, the hide offers a rare eye-level encounter where wildlife comes right up to you. Elephants pass within meters, birds gather in striking numbers and the line between observer and game quietly disappears.
It takes place exclusively at this time of year and remains one of Mashatu’s most compelling complementary experiences: immersive, unobtrusive and unforgettable.
Effortless Travel Access to the Wilderness
Despite its remote location, Mashatu is easy to reach.
Guests can fly directly from Lanseria International Airport, Johannesburg to Limpopo Valley Airfield, Mashatu’s private international airport, in approximately 30 minutes. 1.5 hours.
Alternatively, a scenic drive or road transfer from Johannesburg (about six hours) leads to Pont Drift Border, where a crossing of the Limpopo River takes you straight into the reserve.
Limpopo Valley Air Access (formerly Mashatu Connect) uses Pambele Aviation as its airline service provider of choice, providing seamless connectivity to and between locations within the Kaelo Destinations collection, as well as the wider South African region. The fleet consists of a portfolio of three aircraft – the King Air 360, the King Air B200 and the Cessna Caravan – owned by Steve and Maggie Lansdown, reflecting a long-term commitment to safety and excellence in private aviation.
