Southern Kalahari luxury safari lodge, South Africa

The reserve is located in the south western Kalahari. This remote area was settled a century ago by stock (cattle, sheep and goat) farmers. During this process, wildlife was decimated and the habitat damaged through poor farming practices. Over the past decade, a total of 38 cattle farms have been purchased and amalgamated into one large conservation area spanning 1000km2. Wildlife has been allowed to recover and where necessary, reintroduced. We aim to restore the ecological processes that define the Kalahari ecosystems and offer a safe haven to endangered species while also providing habitat for the protection of the regions unique bio-diversity.

The project is an Oppenheimer family conservation effort. In order to assist in achieving self sustainability for the project, we developed two small ecotourism facilities 6 years ago. In order to develop an understanding of the many facets of the region, we have established a research facility which encourages research into conservation biology and anthropology.

The Northern Cape is a region of South Africa which has largely been overlooked in terms of socio –economic development. The people in the region have not benefited from formal schooling and social welfare programmes. Today we employ 138 full time staff while numerous other people in the region also benefit from the economic impact of this development.

The staff on the reserve have begun training with ABET (Adult Based Education Training). As literacy rates increase, staff begin to benefit from a variety of training and development opportunities that are associated with a tourism development of this kind.

We have chosen a business model which seeks to accommodate very low numbers of tourists in a large area. Thus simply the limited numbers of people reduces environmental impact. The tourist product is also based on guided activities only. The guides are trained in minimal impact principles and they restrict their vehicular activities to areas of low impact. Many of the experiences are not vehicle based and guests are encouraged to try horse riding and walking. In order to reduce the impact of the tourists (and staff) accommodation, we are continuously seeking new ways to save energy and reduce waste. Energy saving strategies include the use of timers in fridges, turning down thermostats in water boilers, using low energy light bulbs and turning off electrical equipment when not in use. Tswalu also employs a number of water saving strategies and guests are given the choice of reducing their laundry requirements for example by re-using their towels. Despite being in a remote region, we are able to recycle much of the waste generated on the property. We have a hydraulic crusher which is used to bale both tin and paper which is sent for recycling when the weekly trip to town is made. Firewood is used to heat the rooms in winter. The firewood is sourced locally from a project which is reclaiming denuded habitats and harvesting invasive plants.

The reserve uses two water sources. The first is a series of boreholes which collect groundwater from the Korannaberg catchment area. This water supply is not fossil water but rather underground drainage and is thus a sustainable and renewable supply. Its use is however carefully measured and monitored. Secondly, water is extracted from a pipeline which has been developed for agricultural purposes. This pipeline moves water from the Orange river into the southern Kalahari and was established in the days that this was still a stock farm. Most of our water disposal is in the form of Septic tanks and French drain soak-aways. We have brought “bio-box” technology into the remote areas requiring waste water disposal but most importantly is that we are building an oxidation pond system which will centralize and seal waste water off from environmental contamination and allow natural oxidation to occur.

The family supports a range of organizations independently which have peripheral associations with the reserve. We have established relationships with Birdlife Africa for guide training and the recent development of the Diamond Birding Route. We also engage a number of conservation bodies in order to achieve the conservation goals. We have engaged in joint projects with the South African National Parks Board, the National Wild Dog Advisory Group, The National Cheetah Conservation Trust & the Rhino Management Group.

Against the backdrop of sound ecological management, we focus attention on certain rare or endangered animal species. In this regard we have embarked on a program to reintroduce and breed rare species for distribution to other game ranches and reserves and to establish viable wild populations of others as a contribution to ensuring their survival. Some of the animals of which we are particularly proud and which enjoy the protection that we offer are:

Desert black rhino (Diceros bicornis bicornis): Today we have 25 desert black rhino, making it one of the fastest growing and best protected populations in Africa. We recently initiated a programme to exchange animals with the South African National Parks Board in order to ensure adequate gene flow through this fragmented population.

Hartman’s mountain zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae): Our rugged Korannaberg Mountains are the home to the largest population of this Endangered zebra in South Africa. We have large areas of available habitat and the continued growth of this population is secure.

Roan antelope (Hippotragus enquinus) & Sable antelope (Hippotragus niger): We have one of the largest populations of roan antelope in South Africa. The roan antelope is extremely rare in South Africa and is classed as “Vulnerable” in the Red data book. The animal is to be found in both free range situations (where they are subject to all the natural influences such as drought, predation and disease), as well as in a semi-intensive breeding project where they receive supplementary feeding and are vaccinated against disease. Both populations are growing well and contributing to the national herd. The closely related Sable Antelope is another “Vulnerable” antelope species which, together with the roan, is flourishing under our protective wing.

Tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus): This antelope species has recently been upgraded to an “Endangered” species in South Africa (IUCN S.A. Red Data book) because of a decline in the various populations. On the reserve this species enjoys protection and in the past three years the population has grown by 50%.

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) Cheetah still do occur as rare nomads in the Kalahari but are relentlessly persecuted by stock farmers. We have reintroduced a number of cheetahs onto the reserve which are now well established. The cheetah, the Kalahari lion, two species of hyaena and the African wild dog are all major predators which enjoy protection on the reserve. African Wild dog (Lycaon pictus): We have recently reintroduced a pack of African wild dogs in an effort to contribute to the conservation of this endangered species. The reintroduction of this species is proving a challenge but the reserve is part of a national meta-population strategy which aims to have a series of small isolated populations that can be managed as a single unit (meta-population).

Raptors: Raptors are still persecuted across much of the Kalahari. The reserve has 35 raptor species, 13 of which nest on the property. Last year the reserve was awarded the prestigious Gariep Raptor Conservationist Award for our active raptor conservation monitoring programs and raptor protection.