Marataba Game Reserve

Experience the magnificence of Marataba’s breathtaking mountains, vast plains, rich animal diversity, and winding rivers.

Marataba Game Reserve, a 21,000-hectare privately managed section of the Marakele National Park, is uniquely situated where lush bushveld gives way to the Kalahari sands, in South Africa’s Limpopo Province. As a contractual National Park, Marataba is one of South Africa’s most innovative conservation models. From the vision of an iconic president to the unique public-private partnership that exists today, we protect the area’s diverse flora and fauna through modern and hands-on conservation practices.

With more than 1,000 acres of wilderness for every guest bed, Marataba offers intimate game viewing experiences from one of four lodges and camps, each with their own character and charm.

Game drives, in open safari vehicles, head out at sunrise and again in the late afternoon. The reserve’s natural animal populations include all of the Big Five, and it is renowned for the quality of its leopard sightings – the most elusive of predators.  Photo opportunities are spectacular!

Take an unhurried cruise along the Matlabas River on Miss Mara. Nothing tops watching the sun shimmy into a liquid horizon in vivid colour, as you sip on a G ‘n T to the splash of a grunting hippo. The perspective of the bush is quite different when experienced from the water. An excursion on Miss Mara is highly recommended as a unique and highly enjoyable way to immerse yourself in the magnificence of the reserve.