A JOURNEY OF RESTORATION

While private game drives, interpretative walks, horse riding, dining outdoors and stargazing are some of the activities that draw travellers to Tswalu, the often unexpected rewards of getting to grips with the southern Kalahari’s profound sense of place is a reawakening of the senses and a longing to reconnect with nature and benefit from its healing power.

Without the distractions and demands of everyday life crowding in, there is time to relish the solitude and the sheer luxury of space. Our guests often speak of feeling changed by spending time here. Tswalu is a place to recalibrate and reconnect, to rest, think, and dare to dream.

Tswalu’s vision of conservation is to leave the world better than how it was found by restoring a vast swathe of the southern Kalahari. The privately owned reserve safeguards a significant chunk of the Kalahari ecosystem, ensuring that vital habitat is preserved and biodiversity can once again flourish for the benefit of both planet and people. Continuing the conservation work that is at the heart of this ambitious restoration project has never been more important. By choosing Tswalu our guests become part of this noble endeavour, contributing to preserving the southern Kalahari for future generations.

In becoming part of this restorative story there is a realisation of how deeply dependent we are on nature, and how the health of the planet is essential to our very survival.

Tswalu’s custodianship of this land resonates deeply with our guests, making them feel part of something far bigger than themselves or, as someone described it, “less observer, more participant”.

In the words of Roar Africa’s Deborah Calmeyer, a friend of Tswalu: “There’s a humility that comes with being in Africa, the place where we all come from. The incredible landscapes, wildlife, and communities strip away our built-in defences and allow us to be vulnerable in a way that is incredibly personal, powerful and healing. There is an awareness that our isolation as a species is linked to a gnawing disconnect from our natural rhythms.  To me, nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction. In the end we protect what we care about, if we care about ourselves we have to care about nature.’’