Tswalu Blog

Marcus Westberg, a renowned photojournalist with a passion for storytelling, recently spent several weeks at Tswalu documenting his day-to-day experiences.

I started making chocolates in 2015, but developed a new love for it when I started working at Tswalu.

At Tswalu, food is part of almost every experience – whether out on a game drive, having a picnic, enjoying lunch on your private veranda or dune dining under the stars.

South Africa’s melting pot of cultures finds perfect expression in these bobotie-filled spring rolls, a delicious twist on a traditional recipe that is always a popular choice when it appears on the Motse’s lunch menu.

Arriving in the Kalahari for the first time, it’s not uncommon to expect scarcity, but where life finds a challenge, it finds a way, and the Kalahari is anything but a barren wasteland. Quite the opposite. It is a place of cultural and culinary abundance!

Until recently there had been little systematic archaeological research within the expansive, protected area of Tswalu. However, there is clear evidence of human activity extending back in time to at least 500,000 years ago.

The southern Kalahari has been both home and refuge for many groups of people over an extended period of time: hunter-gatherers from at least the Middle Stone Age; Later Stone Age ancestors of N|uu speakers as well as seasonal visitors, and pastoralists from about 500AD.

To help Tswalu measure and assess its sustainability goals, Tswalu retains the services of an independent sustainability officer, Julie Cheetham. This is the first of what we hope will become regular, thought-provoking contributions by Julie, tracking...

Tswalu’s health care centre provides free primary health care services not only to all staff and their families on the reserve but to anyone in need in the remote, rural communities surrounding the property.

Conservator Prince Ngomane’s dream to protect the natural environment and to work at the cutting edge of conservation is coming true at Tswalu Kalahari. ‘It doesn’t matter where you start in life. Never give up on your dreams,’ believes Prince.

Guests spend more time in the company of their guide than in camp, and one of Deirdre Opie’s roles as Tswalu’s new safari manager is to mentor and motivate her team to turn exceptional experiences into life-changing ones

As part of its commitment towards greater sustainability, Tswalu Kalahari has applied and successfully been accepted as a fellow member of the internationally recognised conservation organisation, The Long Run

Landscape artist Bruce Backhouse described his experience of being an artist in residence at Tswalu Kalahari as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity. It was a chance to paint for days on end without interruption. ‘For an artist, the...

The wide, open spaces of Tswalu Kalahari, South Africa’s largest, privately owned reserve, have long drawn travellers seeking a deeply layered, immersive safari.

They say an experienced tracker can read the earth like a book. Successful tracking demands experience, knowledge, patience, physical endurance, and mental focus, often under challenging environmental conditions over extended periods. Tracking involves the interpretation of...

The Tswalu Gallery, which opened on the private game reserve this week, is a beautiful space in the main building of the newly renovated Motse camp.

As the face of Tswalu, our logo is an important part of our brand, and impacts much of the perception our audience has of us. It’s also the first thing our guests see when they arrive at the Tswalu airstrip to begin their safari.

Says Marnus: “I am looking forward to working with Chef Jan Hendrik in defining the Tswalu culinary vision. We are focussing on a specific area of produce, working closely with local farmers, and we understand the unique challenges of the Kalahari region.