Madikwe Hills Game Lodge

Lodge And Activity Highlights

• Malaria-free Big Five safari — no tablets, no jabs, no worry with children
• Ten glass-fronted suites, each with a private plunge pool and viewing deck
• Hilltop position on a rocky inselberg in the centre of the reserve
• One of South Africa's most reliable reserves for African wild dog
• Twice-daily game drives in exceptionally comfortable, camera-friendly vehicles
• Junior Rangers programme for families with children of all ages
• Spa, air-conditioned gym and a wine cellar of South African labels
• Fifty minutes by light aircraft from Johannesburg

General Lodge Information

• Lodge type: Luxury safari lodge
• Location: Madikwe Game Reserve, North West Province, South Africa
• Lodge size: 10 luxury suites
• Recommended stay: 2–5 nights
• Malaria risk: None — Madikwe Game Reserve is malaria-free
• Getting there: ±330 km from Johannesburg and OR Tambo International, roughly 4.5 hours by road or a 60-minute light-aircraft flight

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge — Luxury Big Five Safari in the Hills of Madikwe

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge stands on top of a rocky inselberg in the centre of the Madikwe Game Reserve, and that single decision about where to build it shapes everything that follows. From the deck you look out across open woodland and grassland in three directions, over a waterhole that draws elephant through the middle of the day. Madikwe Game Reserve covers roughly 75,000 hectares along the Botswana border and is the fifth-largest reserve in South Africa — big enough that the game moves properly, small enough that a good guide knows where it went.

Madikwe Game Reserve is Big Five country, and the sightings list from Madikwe Hills runs well past the headline five. Lion, leopard, elephant, both black and white rhino and Cape buffalo are all resident, alongside spotted and brown hyena and one of the healthiest African wild dog populations anywhere in South Africa. The reserve was stocked in the early 1990s under Operation Phoenix, when more than 8,000 animals were moved in — at the time the largest game translocation ever attempted — and the ecosystem that grew out of it now supports some of the most consistent game viewing in the country.

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge sits inside a malaria-free reserve, which changes the trip entirely. No prophylactics, no debate about whether the children are old enough, no packing a course of tablets for a five-night stay. You arrive, you go on safari, and the only thing you take daily is a gin and tonic at sunset.

Rooms and Suites

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge has ten suites, which is the whole point of it. Each one is glass-fronted, so the bush is in the room whether you are awake or not, and each has its own veranda, sun loungers and private plunge pool. Inside you get a lounge area with a fireplace, an extra-length king-size bed under mosquito netting, under-floor heating for the July mornings and air-conditioning for the January afternoons.

The en-suite bathrooms have both indoor and outdoor showers, and the suites are linked to the main lodge by raised timber walkways through the tamboti trees. Mini bar, tea and coffee, room safe and complimentary unlimited Wi-Fi are standard throughout.

Cuisine and Wine

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge feeds you properly, and often. Breakfast after the morning drive, lunch, high tea before you head out again, and dinner — with the kitchen working to a genuinely high standard rather than a bush-lodge-adequate one.

Where you eat changes with the evening: out under the stars in the boma, indoors in the dining room, or on the terraced viewing deck above the waterhole. The wine cellar is stocked with South African labels, and the sommelier-guided detour into a Swartland syrah you have never heard of is one of the better ways to end a day.

Facilities

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge is built as a series of connected spaces rather than one big room, and the effect is that you can always find somewhere to be alone. The main lodge holds a lounge with a small library, a dining room, and a cosy TV room with satellite television for the guests who want the rugby or an hour of air-conditioned nothing between drives. Complimentary, unlimited Wi-Fi runs throughout, so you can send the photographs the same evening you take them — or ignore it entirely, which is the better choice.

The heart of the place is the terraced viewing deck: umbrella-shaded, looking straight down over a waterhole, and the reason most guests never quite make it to their afternoon nap. Elephant come through in the heat of the day, and you watch them from a chair with a cold drink in reach. The swimming pool sits alongside it, set against the hills of the reserve, and the ten luxury suites run off the main lodge on raised walkways through the trees.

Then there is the bar, and behind it a wine cellar stocked with South African labels — which, on a property where dinner is taken seriously, is not decoration. Ask the team to open something you have not tried; the Cape produces a great deal more than the two or three estates that make it onto export lists, and this is a good place to find out what.

Safari Activities

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge runs two game drives a day, out in the early morning and again in the late afternoon into the first hour of dark. Guided bush walks are also available, giving you the tracks, the dung and the small detail you never see from a vehicle — children under 16 are not permitted on walks.

The safari vehicles are among the most comfortable on the continent: bucket seats, fold-up armrests and a serious amount of room for camera kit, which matters more than anyone admits when you are three hours into a wild dog follow. Coffee and tea come with the sunrise stop on the morning drive; sundowners and refreshments come out on the afternoon drive, at the spot your guide has been quietly steering towards all evening.

Family Friendly

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge welcomes families with children of all ages, which — combined with the malaria-free reserve — makes it one of the easiest luxury safari lodges in South Africa to travel to with children.

The Junior Rangers programme includes:

• Lucky packet on arrival
• Entertainment centre
• Face painting
• Bug finding
• Create My Tree artwork
• Treasure hunt
• Movie night
• Animal dung investigation
• Face mask painting
• Clay modelling class
• Cupcake baking

Spa and Wellness

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge has a spa, and treatments can be taken either at the spa itself or in the privacy of your own suite. There is also a fully equipped, air-conditioned gym alongside it, for guests who cannot quite let the routine go.

Treatments include:

• Aromatherapy and Serenity massage
• Deep tissue massage
• Traveller's Tension massage
• African head massage
• Relaxing foot massage
• Hot stone massage
• Exfoliating body wraps
• Africology facial treatments
• Manicures and pedicures
• Eyelash and eyebrow tinting

FAQ

Is Madikwe Hills Game Lodge malaria-free?

Yes. Madikwe Hills Game Lodge sits inside the Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa's North West Province, which is a malaria-free area. No anti-malarial tablets are required and no precautions are needed for children, which is the main reason families choose Madikwe over the lowveld reserves. It is one of very few places in Africa offering Big Five game viewing with no malaria risk at all.

How do you get to Madikwe Hills Game Lodge from Johannesburg?

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge is roughly 330 km from Johannesburg and OR Tambo International Airport, about a 4.5-hour drive with the final hour spent inside the reserve itself. The faster option is a 50-minute scheduled light-aircraft flight from OR Tambo to Madikwe airstrip, followed by a complimentary 20-minute road transfer to the lodge. Guests driving from Gaborone in Botswana need 1 to 1.5 hours.

How many suites does Madikwe Hills Game Lodge have?

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge has ten luxury suites, making it one of the smaller and more private lodges in the Madikwe Game Reserve. Every suite is glass-fronted with uninterrupted bush views, and each has a private veranda, sun loungers and its own plunge pool. Interiors include a lounge area with fireplace, extra-length king-size bed, under-floor heating, air-conditioning and an en-suite bathroom with indoor and outdoor showers.

Can you see the Big Five at Madikwe Hills Game Lodge?

Yes. Madikwe Game Reserve holds all Big Five species — lion, leopard, elephant, black and white rhino, and Cape buffalo — and Madikwe Hills Game Lodge sits centrally within the reserve's 75,000 hectares. Beyond the Big Five, the reserve is one of South Africa's most reliable destinations for African wild dog, and both spotted and brown hyena are seen regularly on night drives.

Is Madikwe Hills Game Lodge suitable for families with children?

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge welcomes children of all ages and runs a Junior Rangers programme covering everything from tracking and bug-finding to cupcake baking and movie nights. Combined with the malaria-free setting and a manageable road transfer from Johannesburg, it is one of the easiest luxury safari lodges in South Africa to visit with children. Guided bush walks are restricted to guests aged 16 and over.

When is the best time to visit Madikwe Hills Game Lodge?

The dry winter months from May to October offer the strongest game viewing at Madikwe Hills Game Lodge, when thinning bush and permanent water concentrate animals and sightings become predictable. Mornings are cold, so pack properly. The green season from November to April brings newborn game, migrant birds and dramatic afternoon thunderstorms, with hot days and thicker vegetation. Both work — the choice depends on whether you prioritise sightings or scenery.

Why Madikwe Hills Game Lodge, and when to go

Madikwe Hills Game Lodge earns its place on a shortlist for three reasons that have nothing to do with brochure adjectives: the hilltop position in the centre of the reserve, ten suites rather than thirty, and a malaria-free Big Five reserve you can reach from Johannesburg before lunch. Go in the dry season, May to October, if the game list matters most to you — the bush thins, the animals commit to permanent water, and the wild dog denning season falls neatly inside it. Go November to April if you would rather have green hills, newborn impala, the summer migrant birds and the theatre of a bushveld thunderstorm rolling across the plains. Give it four nights if you can. Two nights buys you three game drives and a rushed departure; four gets you the leopard.

We have been building African safaris from Cape Town since 1999 — twenty-seven years of putting people into the right lodge in the right reserve at the right time of year, which is a rather different skill from listing every lodge in the country. Tell us who is travelling, when, and what you most want to see, and we will build the itinerary around Madikwe Hills — pairing it with Cape Town, the Winelands, the Kruger or even Victoria Falls if you want more than the bushveld, and arranging the flights or road transfers so you arrive without a fight. No booking fees, no card surcharges, and a straight answer if we think another Madikwe lodge suits you better.