Buffalos, lions, giraffes, wildebeest, impalas, baboons, cheetahs, leopards, and the rare white lion – the list of wildlife in the Timbavati Game Reserve is mind-blowing and goes on and on. 

This private game reserve, adjacent to Kruger, has over 40 mammals roaming freely. Covering 75.000 hectares of bush, you will experience a more intimate and personal affair with wildlife than anywhere else. Being in a private game reserve, jeeps are allowed to go off-road – in contrast to Kruger Park where vehicles are restricted to paved roads – and get much closer to animals.

The bright white icing on the cake in Timbavati Game Reserve is the presence of the rare white lion. A crème-coloured coat, ice blue eyes; their beauty is captivating. Although born with a snow-white coat, white lions are not albinos; it is the result of a rare colour mutation. White lions are indigenous to the Timbavati Game Reserve and the earliest records of sighting them in this region date from 1938.

Due to an agreement of all parties in 1999, the fence was taken down. Now, no fences separate Timbavati’s 75.000 hectares from the Kruger Park, so herds are free to track along the ancient paths they roamed for ages. In the Timbavati Game Reserve, wildlife can be viewed up close, since vehicles are allowed to approach animals within six meters.

Beside the Big Five and dozens of other mammals, here is one exclusively for the birdwatchers among us.Get your cameras ready for the ‘Big Six’: Lappet faced Vulture, Martial Eagle; Saddle billed Stork, Kori Bustard, Ground Hornbill and Pel’s Fishing Owl. Africa’s most intriguing feather friends!