Tswalu Blog

Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is regarded as one of Africa’s great conservation stories, not only through the preservation of the southern Kalahari’s diverse habitats but also the protection of many rare and critically endangered species. One such species is the Desert black rhino.

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.

Three of South Africa’s nine vulture species, including the once-prolific White-backed vulture, have declined to such an extent that they are regarded as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

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

Aardvarks are strange animals. They look like a bizarre hybrid between a kangaroo, pig and vacuum cleaner. They are mostly active at night, smell odd, and live most of their lives in solitude.

I came to Tswalu almost two years ago to research the thermal ecology of Cape cobras using radio telemetry. The study falls under the Kalahari Endangered Ecosystem Project (KEEP), which looks at the responses of Kalahari organisms to climate change.

The wide, open spaces of Tswalu Kalahari, South Africa’s largest, privately owned reserve, have long drawn travellers seeking a deeply layered, immersive safari. Exclusive access to this wilderness is a privilege that far outweighs more conventional notions of luxury.

On World Pangolin Day we are reminded that all species of pangolin are threatened by illegal trade, which persists and is escalating.

Recently at Tswalu Kalahari, a cheetah gave birth to five cubs. Unfortunately, only a few of these little cubs have a chance of reaching adulthood and independence.

Broadly speaking, Tswalu includes five major habitats that have arisen primarily around the Korannaberg Mountains as a result of the windblown sands that comprise the Kalahari as we know it today.

On 7 September 2019, International Vulture Awareness Day, BirdLife South Africa declared Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve as South Africa’s first Vulture Safe Zone.

The KEEP (Kalahari Endangered Ecosystem Project) project has been formed to try to answer some of the pressing issues related specifically to climate change effects in the Southern Kalahari region.

A great read by guest blogger James Bainbridge  from SafariBookings.com. A major draw of Tswalu Kalahari is that it is a malaria-free reserve; five other top reasons to visit are listed here.

The ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) is a charismatic but threatened mammal found on Tswalu. It also happens to be the subject of some fascinating research.