Mashatu Game Reserve

A fantastic, once in a life time experience in a beautiful location packed with Wildlife

The reserve was accessed by a river crossing at the botswana/south africa border, which also marked the end of any tarmac roads. The 4x4 trip into the reserve was barely underway when the ubandant wildlife started to make an appearance, even without the animals and birds there the stunning scenory, of large expansive scrub and plains encompassed by large ridges. Over the two week stay my group spotted 100+ species of birds and over 30 mammal species and a variety of reptiles. Some of the most memorable sighting included close encouters with lions, giraffe and elephants and a slighlty more distant view of leopards. As I was located in a small camp outside of the main part of the reserve I cannot comment on the main accommodation and can only say that if the cooks were any near as good and as accommodating as ours then you will be pleasantly surprised whatever your dietary requirement

A Must Visit

I spent 3 days at Mashatu and it was wonderful. Luxurious, Wild and relaxing, The rangers were very knowledgeable, the scenery stunning and the food delicious. One of y favorite ever bush experiences. Saw 4 leopards in 3 days, 2 of which had just killed and were eating while we watched them.

Amazing experience, wonderful hospitality and truly committed staff. Can't explain how welcomed guests are. While some may pass at the idea of waking up at 5:00 AM to do a game drive, I implore you, you will never experience the wonder of something like that again, especially at Mashatu Game Reserve. All of the guides are experts in their craft and incredibly friendly people. Their combination of love for the wildlife and knowledge of the land is truly genuine.

Excellent wildlife spotting, incredible guides and very few camps meaning few vehicles. Great variety of scenery.

Mashatu is a sure place to see leopards. No where did I see so many leopards in a short period of time.

Mashatu blew me away with its massive herds of elephants, its incredible Matebole hide and big cats

Loved everything about our stay at Mashatu. I took my Dad for his 70th birthday and there was no better way to celebrate our shared love of wildlife than a few hours in the Matebole Elephant Hide. Was just amazing - even though I only had a small camera and trusty iphone in the award winning photo hide! I managed to get a great time lapse of the ellies drinking under the guidance of C4's expert photographer (Kirsten Frost) despite my shoddy excuse for photographic equipment.

The herds of elephant against the dramatic landscape were just amazing. We saw so many big cats it felt like the leopards were "growing on trees" there. It was truly epic and we loved exploring the dusty dry riverbeds and endless plains. One of my favourite reserves of all time.

Mashatu Lodge was incredible. The suites were probably the most comfortable and well thought out of all the luxury lodges I have stayed in. My only complaint was that there was no outside deck but these have since been added which is brilliant. The staff, especially Peter Bale and our guide Eric and tracker kaizer absolutely made it for us though! A truly memorable stay in one of Africa's true gems!