Mashatu Game Reserve | Botswana Game
Reserves: Mashatu Game Reserve, which is the largest private reserve in Southern
Africa, has the largest elephant population (almost 900) on private land in the world. It
occupies the area between the Shashe and Limpopo rivers south of the Tuli Circle. Mashatu
covers 46,000ha of savannah plains, riverine forests, open marshland and rugged outcrops
of sandstone.
The name comes from the Mashatu or Nyala trees - round-topped leafy giants which cover the
huge open spaces of this wilderness. This beautiful sanctuary is home to seven of Africa's
giant phenomena - the Limpopo River, the African Elephant, the baobab tree, the eland, the
ostrich, the kori bustard and the endless African sky.
The elephants of Mashatu are known as the relic herds of Shashe, which once roamed the
Limpopo Valley in vast numbers. The elephants became extinct locally for about 60 years,
but after 1947 they started slowly returning to the Tuli Block.
Today, visitors may drive into the midst of these mighty herds and marvel at how their
numbers have been restored. Elephants are not all you'll see on the game drives. A ranger
and tracker at the helm in open four-wheel-drive Land Cruisers, linked by two-way radios,
will follow the spoor of lion, leopard, elephant, giraffe, spotted hyaenas, bat eared
foxes, cheetahs, kudu, Burchell's zebras, bushbuck and baboons. Spotlight-assisted night
drives may reveal porcupines, aardvarks, spotted genets and civets, in addition to the
larger carnivores.
Over 350 bird species have been identified in the area. One of the reserve's attractions
is the game viewing walks and night drives on offer. The latter are not permitted in
Botswana's national parks, so many visitors miss seeing nocturnal predators such as
leopard, lynx and wild cat, which are reasonably common sightings in Mashatu.
Game drives and walking trails (with armed guides) are offered. Night drives are permitted
to enable the visitor to witness rare and elusive nocturnal creatures such as the
aardwolf, caracul, porcupine and leopard.
Mountain biking within the reserve has become a popular adventure sport to combine game
viewing with the excitement of approaching wild animals in the natural habitat. Armed game
rangers oversee such excursions and add to the experience through their extensive
knowledge of the bush. . |
