About Madikwe

Overview

Madikwe Game Reserve can be found within the northern most part of the North West Province of South Africa and is situated by the Botswana border. It is 40km south-east of Gaborone, the capital of Botswana and 90 km north of Zeerust, just three hours' drive from both Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Madikwe is one of the largest game reserves in South Africa, covering some 80,000 hectares (197 000 acres). It is one of South Africa's prime safari destinations as the rich diversity of vegetation ensures a wide range of game viewing opportunities for visitors. The reserve is ideal for game viewing opportunities, for wilderness safaris and for Big 5 viewing.

Day and night wilderness safaris or bush walks are conducted by expert rangers for guests to enjoy. Excellent accommodation is available at various private lodges in Madikwe. There are no day visitor facilities; only residents at a lodge may enter the reserve.

Wildlife

Madikwe is a Big Five reserve and also home to 66 mammal species - including the rare Cheetah, Brown Hyena and even rarer Aardwolf. Its bird population amounts to approximately 300 resident and migrant birds species.

Madikwe has the distinction of being one of the few game reserves in the world to be proclaimed purely on the grounds of it being the most appropriate and sustainable land use for an area. The fact that it has proved to be such a popular reserve is an indication of its success as a wilderness safari project.

The Reserve is run as a joint venture between the State, the private sector and local communities. The success of this approach has made Madikwe the role model for similar ventures being started up elsewhere in South Africa, offering more opportunities for more South African safaris.

History

The Reserve was announced to the public in August 1991 and officially became part of the North West Parks and Tourism Board's estate on 31 October the same year. The reserve was proclaimed after a detailed feasibility study of the area was conducted by independent consultants. The study showed that wildlife-based tourism was the most beneficial option for this remote and economically depressed area.

Operation Phoenix

The reintroduction of game began early in 1991, shortly before the perimeter fence had been completed. Operation Phoenix, as the reintroduction programme is called, is one of the largest game translocation exercises in the world.

More than 8,000 animals of 28 species have been released into Madikwe Game Reserve, including elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyaena, giraffe, zebra and many species of antelope and herbivores. Leopard were already present in the area.

Operation Phoenix began early in 1991 and was completed in 1997.

A Joint Venture

With a philosophy of “working together”, Madikwe Game Reserve forms a beautiful example of what can be achieved when all parties, the State, the private sector and local communities, come together. The success of this approach has directly translated into massive economic gains for the local community, which has grown tremendously with barely a decade having passed.

The reserve provides many opportunities to the surrounding communities. These include training and employment opportunities, but it also extends to infrastructure upgrades such as the tarring of the main road to Molatedi village.

Management

Madikwe functions through a system designed to benefit the three main stakeholders involved in the reserve. These are the North West Parks and Tourism Board, the private sector and the local communities. All three work together in a mutually beneficial "partnership in conservation."

The Parks Board is responsible for setting up the necessary infrastructure and management to run Madikwe as a major protected conservation area in the North West Province. It also identifies suitable sites within the reserve which are leased to the private sector for tourism-based developments and activities.

The private sector provides the necessary capital to build game lodges and to market and manage the lodges and the tourism activities in the reserve. In this way, private sector money, rather than state funds, is used to develop the tourism potential of the reserve.