I am looking for a malaria free safari zone in South Africa. Has anybody been to both Kwandwe and Madikwe? Which would you recommend and why? Is the safari experience likely to be similar, or is one definitely superior? Thanks for your suggestions and comments.

I just returned from South Africa and had a fantastic time on Safari in Madikwe Game Reserve. Why not spend a few days in both parks?

CC Africa has a lodge in each park and can easily arrange transfers between the two - plus their lodges are gorgeous and their service is top notch. Check them out at: www.ccafrica.com

We had great game viewings in Madikwe and our guide and the operations manager at Madikwe Safari Lodge suggested that we go to Kwandwe if we had time as that was a fantastic park also. Unfortunately, we didn't, but have it on the top of our list for our next visit.
Cheers!
Viv
www.wavejourney.com
ps. I've put some photos of Madikwe Game Reserve and Madikwe Safari Lodge at this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wavejourney

Can only speak about Madikwe and it was an excellent experience. Many good lodges. We were married at Mateya Safari Lodge and spent 5 days with them. I would call our stay there a 6 star experience. It was that good. Hands down the nicest place I have ever stayed at in terms of quality, service & food. We loved Madikwe Reserve. Saw plenty of every kind of animal except the elusive leopard. We had a great ranger & tracker + Mateya has a maximum of 4 people to a vehicle which makes it a very personal experience. We were lucky in that we had the land cruiser to ourselves the entire 5 days. Madikwe is fenced, but in reality you hardly see the fence since it is a large 190,000 acre (75,000 hectares) reserve. It's a big place. Very scenic with lots of hills. Other big plus is that Madikwe has wild dogs which is a highlight to watch in action. Lots of elephants here also.

Stay tuned as I think Rocco, who is a long time poster is close to reporting on his Madikwe & Mateya experience from a couple of months ago. It's a series on his trip and he is just about to do the Madikwe portion of his trip.

One more thumbs up for Madikwe. I ended my last safari at Mateya Safari Lodge in Madikwe and will end my next safari with 3 nights at Mateya Safari Lodge...incredible lodge and I found Madikwe to be a very pleasant surprise with plenty of wildlife and more importantly, very diverse wildlife.

Thanks very much for your feedback. I will look through the reports and photos later on today. I very much like the sound of Madikwe, but was curious if it it is worth flying there from Cape Town, or if Kwandwe would suffice as far as game-viewing is concerned. Unfortunately, I won't be able to do both parks, so I really do need to choose! Has anyone got any personal info' concerning Kwandwe?

Thanks a lot Wave Journey for the link to your photos. It looks like you had a fantastic trip!!