Mosetlha Bush Camp in the Madikwe Game Reserve
Mosetlha Bush Camp is family owned and run, a rustic and intimate, unfenced bush camp nestling at the very heart of the magnificent Madikwe Game Reserve.We are this Reserve’s only authentic bush camp – the unpolished gem in Madikwe’s crown!
Mosetlha Bush Camp is unfenced and our guests are accommodated in true safari style in raised wooden cabins set amongst the natural vegetation around a central camp fire and lapa area.
Cabins have partly open sides and are arranged in adjoining or detached double rooms with twin beds and simple amenities. Duvets, pillows, blankets and towels are provided by us.
Whilst bathrooms are not en suite, they are essentially private – fenced toilet/shower complexes are discreetly situated amongst the cabins. We pride ourselves in our bushveld simplicity and do not have mod cons such as electrical power or running water – our showers are safari showers and water is heated through a donkey boiler … so you only have a cold shower if you want one!
We believe our catering is of a high standard – we prepare all meals in the traditional bush style on the open fire. Included, too, are tea, coffee, fruit juice, rusks, fruit and snacks throughout the day and on your daily walks and drives. Drinks are sold at a nominal mark up and not at usual “hotel” prices.
It has always been our mission to provide an exclusive and unique wilderness experience for our guests, with minimal ecological impact on our surroundings. We were very excited to discover the following, written by Hitesh Mehta (who has, incidentally, been a guest of ours at Mosetlha) and are so proud to see that we successfully fulfil not only the required five, but ALL TEN of his suggested criteria for an “eco lodge”.
In International Eco Lodge Guide Lines, Hitesh Mehta writes that an eco lodge is an “accommodation facility that satisfies at least five of the criteria listed below, three of which must embody the main principles of ecotourism.” Mosetlha Bush Camp does just that.
Safari
Check in time at the Gate is 12.30 and you will be directed from there to the NWPTB Administration Offices where you will park your car and one of our guides will meet you and bring you back to the Mosetlha Bush Camp to start your Mosetlha Experience!
On arrival at the Camp you will find lunch ready for you and you can unpack and settle in. That afternoon you’ll be taken on your first game drive. (Leaving time varies depending on the time of year – from about between 3.00 in mid winter to 4.30 in the heat of summer.)
Our professional, qualified field guides will take you out into the Reserve in our open 4×4 vehicles where you will have the chance to see the Big Five, the endangered wild dog, cheetah, a multitude of plains game and over 340 species of birds.
You’ll be out for about 4 hours and half way through you’ll stop at a picturesque spot for drinks and snacks at sunset. After dark, spot lights are used to ensure that you are able to witness our more secretive, nocturnal animal and bird life.
Upon your return, a wholesome and traditionally cooked dinner will be waiting for you. After this, you can take your drinks or coffee to the camp fire and share your experiences of the day before collapsing into bed, to sleep as you can only do in the silence of the bush, under the stars.
The next morning we’ll wake you up for a quick cup of coffee and an early morning start. (Here again, times vary between a 5am wake up call on the hot summer mornings and as late as 7.30 when it’s colder.)
There is always a game drive available in the mornings to find the big and hairies and sometimes (depending upon various factors such as weather, veld conditions etc) it is possible to offer a guided bush walk, which is not strenuous but rather interpretive. This is the time to experience the wonders of the flora and fauna, insects and birds that Mosetlha Bush Camp has to offer. (See our Gallery for some amazing photographs of wild flowers and insects taken by our guests.)
In the summer when you get back you’ll have a quick breakfast (toast, cereals and muesli, yoghurt, fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs and cheese) and time for a shower and a rest before lunch, then some more chill out time – read your book, do some bird spotting at the little water holes we have around the camp, or have an afternoon nap. Then it’s time for the afternoon drive. During the winter months, we do a big cooked brunch and lighter afternoon high tea of soup, sandwiches and muffins just before your game drive.
On your day of departure, after your morning game activity, you come home to Mosetlha Bush Camp for breakfast. We then take you back to your car at around midday for your return trip home (where it’s back to real life after a few days of fabulous game viewing and serious relaxation, taking with you lots of photographs and some wonderful memories.
