South Africa Guide
North West Province
Madikwe Game Reserve
Tucked up in the very north of the Province near the Botswana border lies the 765-square-kilometre MADIKWE GAME RESERVE ( 
018 350 9931, 
www.madikwe-game-reserve.co.za ), one of South Africa's largest wildlife areas. The reserve was established in 1991 from reclaimed farmland, and thanks to Operation Phoenix, which saw the reintroduction of over eight thousand animals, Madikwe's largely low-lying plains of woodland and grassland are now amply stocked with the Big Five (including black and white rhino and a stable population of 250 elephants) and dozens of other mammals, including cheetah, wild dogs, spotted hyena, and most of southern Africa's flavours of plains antelopes. Twitchers won't be disappointed, with some 350 species recorded so far; the Marico River, on the eastern border, and the koppies scattered all around, are particularly rewarding birding areas.
Long promoted as South Africa's "bijoux reserve", the low tourist density so liberally vaunted in the brochures no longer quite rings true given that around 20 lodges now vie for your trade, although Madikwe does remain one of the least known of South Africa's large wildlife areas. Access is reserved to guests of its lodges and day visitors who must book a package through one of the lodges that includes a game drive and lunch; independent day visits are not allowed.