Madikwe Fly In Safaris

For the ultimate in convenience, step off the plane and into 'Big Five' country on our fly-in safari. South Africa 365 offers fly-in safaris to all private game lodges in the Madikwe Game Reserve.

Our Madikwe Private Game reserve fly-In safaris are the ultimate in luxury safari offerings. A true indulgence in almost every sense, these are often the highlight of any South African vacation and we highly recommend these safaris for our clients.

This is a sample itinerary based on 4 days of travel departing from Johannesburg on a scheduled charter aircraft directly to the lodge airstrip.

Please speak to your dedicated travel consultant to tailor-make this itinerary to your exact budget and requirements.

Day 1 - 4: Private Game Reserve

From Johannesburg International Airport, board a short flight on to the world famous Madikwe Game reserve, your home for the next four days. Step out of the aircraft directly into Big 5 territory, where your safari ranger will be waiting to transfer you a short distance to your luxury game lodge. At the lodge, you are welcomed with warm smiles and refreshments, where you can get into your khakis and slow down to African bush speed.

Opened in 1991, over 8000 head of game were brought into Madikwe Game Reserve in the largest game translocation project ever undertaken - Operation Phoenix. Predators were introduced in 1996 making Madikwe a Big Five South African safari holiday destination. The reserve consists of vast plains, open woodlands and thickets. The area is also dotted with huge rocky hills or inselbergs and the dwarsberg mountain range forms the southern boundary. There is only one river in the reserve, the Groot Marico, but a number of dams and pans provide water year round for the game species present.

Your typical day on safari:

 An early morning wake-up call and a steaming cup of coffee will welcome you to another day in the bush, before heading out in open-top safari vehicles to experience the wonders of Africa. Once on safari, your ranger imparts pearls of incredible knowledge as you get to understand nature, all the while your local tracker (bravely sitting on the bonnet of the safari vehicle) guides you off-road in pursuit of Africa’s wildest creatures.

After the morning game drive it’s back to the lodge, where a sumptuous breakfast awaits you and then the day is yours to relax around the pool, catch up on some rest time or reading, or simply have drinks on the deck while staring out into the bush. Late afternoon brings with it another game drive and the chance of seeing a whole different set of animals. Typically these drives carry on into the early stages of the night so there is always the chance of spotting some of the rarer nocturnal animals. Sundowners in the open bush will be remembered for years to come and back at the lodge for dinner exciting tales of the days adventures are swapped over a glass of fine South African wine and excellent meals.