Hello, my wife and I are doing a safari in the Madikwe area. We will be landing Johansburg (JNB) early in the morning. I was thinking of renting a car and driving to Madikwe. This will take place in September. I know it's a 4 to 5 hour drive. Can anyone advise the weather as well as the problems I might endure. They say the drive is very beautiful.

The weather ought to be dry and sunny; Madikwe is a pretty arid area (more or less approaching the Kalahari.)

I wouldn't say the drive is especially scenic; it's not bad and the last hour or two is pretty interesting, especially once you've turned north after Zeerust. But SA is a country with so many stunning drives that the competition is high.

What lodge are you looking at in Madikwe?

We are staying at the Madikwe River Lodge.

Has anyone stayed at the Madikwe River Lodge.

You can drive or get the Federal Air Shuttle. Any lodge can book it for you.

If you drive, get directions from the lodge. You'll need to enter the Madikwe access gate for your lodge - you can't just enter any of them and drive through the reserve.

There are lots of great options in Madikwe in all budgets. See the website for options. I haven't been but I have family and friends who have. Makanyane, Rhulani are high end favorites. I'd stay at the community owned lodge - Buffalo Ridge.

I think Cape Town is easier combined with Kruger. There are direct flights to all of the Kruger airports - just use the one nearest your lodge. Your lodge can arrange a transfer or rent a car and drive.

I've stayed twice at Buffalo Ridge and would be very happy to visit a third time. The community ownership factor played a major role in our decision.

JaimeNY –

I was in Madikwe this past May and I loved the area. September weather should be great. Dry and still brown (after their winter), so great opportunities to see lots of animals. I did not stay at Madikwe River Lodge, but I did stay in the same area. In fact, I was right “next-door” at Makanyane Safari Lodge. If you have done a lot of research on Madikwe, you have probably read about the “Magnificent 7” – the Big 5, plus wild dog and cheetah. I was very fortunate and saw 6 out of the 7 my first night there! And the next day I saw the cheetah – so all 7. I cannot talk from experience about the lodge you are looking at itself, but Makanyane is unique as it is one of the only lodges that is on private land, that is connected to Madikwe. This does allow for the Makanyane vehicles to traverse on their land after the reserve hours and/or if animals are on Makanyane’s land, the only vehicles with the animals would be guests of the lodge. I did also stay at Mataya and Madikwe Safari Lodge, all within the reserve, and again, great game-viewing. Madikwe does have a rule that there are only 3 vehicles allowed around a sighting and I feel that the guides from all of the camps do respect this rule.

Driving is fairly easy and many people do it. As someone mentioned, you will need to make sure you enter the right gate. I flew FedAir from Johannesburg into Madikwe and that was easy and only about 1 hour. Not sure how many days you plan on staying in Madikwe, but if you drive your car in, you most likely will have it just sit as you will want to go out with the experienced guides. So you would be paying for a car each day that you are not using. Perhaps FedAir might be slightly higher in cost, but might be worth it if you and your wife are not nervous on 15-20 passenger planes. Also, not sure where you will be arriving from, but if a long-haul flight, having someone fly you there might be worth it!

You will love Madikwe. Are you heading to other places within the country?

Jenny Mikkelson

Thank you for the information. I will look into flights into Madikwe.