A one-of-a-kind luxury Madikwe safari

For every age, every moment, every season

AN ASTONISHING WILDERNESS THAT IS UNIQUELY YOURS

Set within a malaria-free Big Five reserve where the Kalahari meets the lush bushveld, Madikwe Safari Lodge gives you front-row access to one of South Africa’s most varied safari landscapes. From our three camps and private villa on an elevated ridge, you’ll look out over waterholes and open plains that offer awe-inspiring views and sightings.

Families feel completely at home here, while couples still find the privacy and quiet they want – it’s this adaptability that makes a stay at Madikwe Safari Lodge work so well for every kind of traveller. With the reserve’s best safari spa, good honest food, and warm, intuitive hosting, your safari feels personal, comfortable, and effortless from the moment you arrive.

Out In The Wild

MADIKWE GAME RESERVE

A malaria-free Big Five reserve where the Kalahari meets the bushveld, offering changing landscapes, clear sightlines, and a wildlife mix you won’t find in other regions. Expect consistent Big Five viewing alongside arid-zone species like wild dog, brown hyena, and cheetah – all in an uncrowded, calm safari environment.

Explore The Reserve

YOUR MADIKWE SAFARI LODGE SAFARI

Our guides work with Madikwe’s natural openness to create calm, respectful sightings where you can follow behaviour naturally and take good time.

With intuitive guiding, comfortable vehicles, and a collaborative viewing culture, your safari feels safe and immersive.

Explore Your Safari

Back In Camp

Our three camps and private villa each offer their own style of safari living – from family-friendly spaces to quiet retreats and fully private exclusivity. Wherever you choose to stay, the same warm hosting, comfort, and sense of place tie everything together.

LElapa Camp

Space for families, comfort for all

Lelapa offers room to relax, waterhole views, and a lively, welcoming atmosphere that works beautifully for couples, young families and multi-generational groups.

Explore Lelapa Camp

Kopano Camp

Quiet, cosy, and made for connection

With only four suites, Kopano is ideal for couples or small groups wanting an intimate, low-key retreat with easy access to shared lodge amenities.

Explore Kopano Camp

Dithaba Camp

Elevated views and peaceful seclusion

Set higher on the ridge, Dithaba is an adults-only escape (unless booked exclusively) with wide panoramas and a natural sense of stillness.

Explore Dithaba Camp

Elela Villa

Your private home on safari

A fully serviced villa with its own dedicated team and private vehicle – perfect for families or groups wanting complete privacy and personalised safari time.

Explore Elela Villa

Find Your Best Fit

Not sure which space suits you?

Our “Find Your Fit” guide helps you compare the camps and choose the one that matches your travel style – whether you want energy, intimacy, elevation, or total privacy.

Find Your Best Fit

Your Experiences

Every guest arrives with a different idea of the perfect safari day.

At Madikwe Safari Lodge, our experiences are designed to meet you where you are – whether that’s family time, quiet retreat, celebration, wellness, or simply enjoying good food and warm hosting between drives.

WELLNESS The Art of Eco-Therapy

Time for Your Best Self

Stay active in the Gym or join a guided walk. Unwind in the Safari Spa – the finest in Madikwe Game Reserve.

Enjoy nourishing meals, restorative sleep, real human connection and the steady rhythm of nature all around you. OUR WORLD OF WELLNESS

DINING Nourishing, scrumptious & beautiful

Good food in great places

Beautifully presented, nourishing meals served in imaginative indoor and outdoor settings.

Expect flavour, freshness, mindful portions and effortless adaptation to dietary preferences, alongside a curated selection of fine South African wines. COME DINE WITH US

FAMILY A safari made for every generation

For the moments that matter

Families of all ages feel at home here – from babies and young children to teens and multi-gen groups gathering for time together.

Children quickly find their sense of freedom, and shared meals and family drives create the kind of memories that stay with you long after the safari ends.

When privacy calls, trusted babysitters step in, allowing parents to rest, reconnect and savour their own moments too. START MAKING MEMORIES

Private Romance, connection or solitude

SPACE TO BE ENTIRELY YOURSELF

Whether you’re celebrating an engagement, elopement, honeymooning, travelling solo or simply enjoying life after years together, this is a place made for personal moments.

Enjoy private dining, outdoor spaces just for two, or peaceful settings shared.

Come together when it feels right – or savour the ease of time apart. Be entirely yourself

CELEBRATIONS Share the moment

A Beautiful Place to Come Together

From milestone birthdays and intimate weddings to reunions, friend groups and corporate getaways, Madikwe Safari Lodge is made for sharing. Enjoy generous spaces, flexible dining, private drives, and a team who understands how to shape occasions big and small. However you gather, it’s a place where everyone feels looked after. Plan your celebration

FAQs

Madikwe sits in a rare transition zone where the Kalahari meets the lush bushveld, creating a landscape unlike any other reserve in South Africa. This mix of open savannah, rocky hills, and woodland supports an extraordinary diversity of wildlife – including Big Five, cheetah, African wild dog, and the elusive brown hyena, which you won’t reliably see in Kruger National Park or the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve.

The reserve is quieter and less commercialised.

It is also malaria-free, a significant advantage for families and travellers who prefer to avoid prophylactics or have health considerations.

Together, this makes Madikwe a very different kind of safari – spacious, diverse, and wonderfully calm.

Each of our camps offers the same high standard of guiding, food, and hospitality – the difference is in the atmosphere you prefer, who you’re travelling with, and the kind of safari you have in mind.

Lelapa is warm and sociable, perfect for families with younger children, multi-generational groups, and travellers who enjoy connection.

Kopano is intimate and peaceful, ideal for couples, honeymooners, and solo guests who prefer a quieter space without children around.

Dithaba is elevated and secluded, suited to friends, older families, or guests wanting more privacy, space, and big horizon views.

Elela Villa is our fully private retreat for families or small groups who want their own guide, chef, and dedicated team – and complete exclusivity.

A few practical considerations can also help guide your choice:

How old are your children? Lelapa Camp and Elela Villa welcomes all ages; Kopano and Dithaba Camps are better for older families.
Do you prefer a social atmosphere or something quieter?
What is your budget? Rates vary between camps and seasons.

Visit our ‘Find Your Fit’ page for a breakdown of our camps and villa. If you’re unsure, our team is always happy to help match you to the camp that fits your travel style, group, and budget.

Madikwe lies in South Africa’s North West Province, right on the Botswana border. It feels wonderfully remote, yet it’s easy to reach from Johannesburg.

You can get here in two simple ways:

By air:

A daily FedAir flight from Johannesburg (Fedair Hangar near OR Tambo International Airport) lands directly in the reserve in about an hour. It’s the quickest and most seamless option, with a short transfer to the lodge in an open safari vehicle.

By road:

Madikwe is a 4.5–5 hour drive from Johannesburg, including a 40 minute drive within the reserve. Private road transfers can be arranged if you prefer not to drive.

Both options are straightforward — it just depends on how you like to travel.

Visit our Travel Options page for more information.

Madikwe Safari Lodge offers something rare: a safari experience that genuinely adapts to every age, stage, and type of traveller. With three distinct camps and a private villa — all sharing the same high standard of guiding, hospitality, and food — we’re able to match each guest to the space and atmosphere that feels right for them.

Our approach is warm, intuitive, and flexible without losing the structure that keeps a safari safe and seamless. Families find one of the best child-friendly safaris in the region, couples discover quiet spaces designed for privacy, and groups enjoy the freedom of exclusive-use living.

Our elevated location on a koppie gives the lodge sweeping views and easy access to thriving waterholes, with wildlife often visible from your suite. Guiding is unhurried and deeply respectful, rooted in years of experience in this reserve.

Whether you stay at Lelapa, Kopano, Dithaba, or Elela Villa, the feeling is the same: a generous, unpretentious atmosphere where you are welcomed like family, and where your safari is shaped around how you want to experience this place.

Madikwe is a true year-round safari destination. The “best time” really depends on the kind of experience you prefer.

May to September (dry season / winter)
Clear skies, mild temperatures, and excellent game viewing. The vegetation thins out and animals gather around waterholes, making sightings especially reliable. This season is ideal if you enjoy crisp mornings, open views, and classic safari conditions.

October to April (green season / summer)
The reserve becomes lush and vibrant, with dramatic skies, summer storms, newborn animals, and superb birding. Sightings can be fast-moving and full of energy, with predators taking advantage of young prey and thick vegetation.

April and October (shoulder months)
Often considered some of the best weeks of the year — warm days, beautiful light, and a balance of greenery and visibility.

There is no bad time to visit Madikwe; each season offers a different kind of magic. It simply comes down to what you enjoy most.

A few key factors can make all the difference to your safari experience:

Guiding quality:
Your guide shapes your entire journey. Look for lodges with experienced guides, a respectful approach to wildlife, and an unhurried style in the field.

People per vehicle:
Fewer guests on a vehicle means better visibility, more personal hosting, and more time spent at sightings.

Vehicle numbers at sightings:
Some reserves allow many vehicles; others strictly limit them. Madikwe keeps sightings calm and controlled, which greatly improves the experience.

Size and atmosphere of the lodge:
Do you prefer something intimate and quiet, or more social and family-friendly? The number of rooms and the camp layout will influence that feeling.

Inclusions and exclusions:
Understand what the rate covers – game drives, meals, drinks, levies, private vehicles, spa treatments, transfers – so there are no surprises when you arrive.

Who you’re travelling with:
Families, couples, solo guests, and groups all have different needs. Choosing the right camp for your travel style can transform your stay.

A safari is deeply personal. If you’re unsure, our team can help you match the right camp, season, and experience to the kind of journey you want.

Madikwe Game Reserve is one of the few Big Five reserves in South Africa that is officially malaria-free. This matters more than many guests realise – especially if you’re travelling with young children, if you prefer not to take malaria medication, or if anyone in your group has a sensitive or compromised immune system.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne illness transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. Even in low-risk areas, travellers often need to consider prophylactic medication and the small but real precautions that come with it.

In Madikwe, none of that is necessary. You can simply arrive, relax, and enjoy your safari without having to think about malaria at all.

For many families and first-time safari travellers, that peace of mind is a significant part of choosing Madikwe.

Great sightings in an awesome vehicle with an excellent guide – thank you Ryan! Every game drive was an adventure with some of the best sightings I have seen in over three decades of visiting the bush!

Tripadvisor

We stayed as a group of 10 and had an amazing time. All the staff were fantastic and catered to all our needs. The food, facilities, pool area – everything was 5 star.

We’re going to gush at length about the impeccable appointment of Madiwke Safari Lodge’s hospitality to give our structure a proper stretching.

Tripadvisor

The lodge itself is beautiful and the rooms with the private plunge pool were just spectacular. We can’t wait to return one day!

Tripadvisor

We were a group of 10 – 4 kids and 6 adults. Our guide, Mike, and all the other amazing staff made all the adults and kids in our group feel so welcome. The service there is beyond anything we had imagined.

Tripadvisor

The folks at Madikwe Safari Lodge blew us away and made our honeymoon completely unforgettable. They notice little things and create special moments tailored to you.

Tripadvisor

Our fourth time in Madikwe was beautiful again! The lodge is great, the staff very friendly, the waterhole like a cinema, and the game drives with Dan informative.

Tripadvisor

From the moment we arrived we were welcomed into the lodge like old friends. Nothing was too much hassle, the staff thought of things before we asked.

Tripadvisor