Tanda Tula
A leopard lies stretched out on a large tree branch in dense green woodland. The animal is resting with its tail hanging down over the limb.

YOUR TIMBAVATI SAFARI

Timbavati Nature Reserve

55000+ hectares of raw African wilderness, and you…

143 hectares per guest

143 hectares
per guest

Exceptional guides & trackers

Exceptional guides
& trackers

All the keystone species

All
the keystone species

Life in the bush slows down to Africa’s rhythm. Here, vast sun-licked savannahs, lush woodlands, and ancient riverbeds set the stage for the adventure of your life!

The Timbavati Nature Reserve spans over 55,000 hectares and shares a border with the Kruger National Park, allowing wild animals to roam freely across a vast wilderness. Known for its diverse ecosystems, the reserve is home to an abundance of wildlife, including the Big Five and over 40 mammal species.

What sets the Timbavati apart is the way safaris are experienced. With few lodges and vehicles and no fence lines with neighbouring reserves, you’re assured an exclusive, tranquil and immersive journey. Led by some of the Greater Kruger’s most skilled guides and trackers, this positions us well to deliver on our purpose of (re)connecting people to nature.

Why Timbavati?

  • Low density of vehicles

  • No light or noise pollution

  • Diversity of species

  • Formidable lion prides

  • Beautiful undulating terrain

  • Fewer lodges & camps

  • Big dry-river systems

  • The safari starts the moment you land in Hoedspruit

Tanda Tula’s Guides & Trackers

A skilled guide and tracker are at the heart of an exceptional safari. Through the alchemical combination of knowledge, intuition, personality, and passion, they animate the wilderness.

Our extraordinary team will tailor your experience to meet any need, quirk, or obsession – for families, photographers, big-cat seekers, avid birders, enthusiastic trackers, or other special-interest travelers.

A smiling guide named Chad sits in an open safari vehicle wearing a Tanda Tula shirt and cap. The background shows dry bushveld and open sky.
Chad
A smiling guide drives an open safari vehicle with guests seated behind him. The group is riding through the bush under a cloudy sky.
Scotch
A smiling safari guide wearing a Tanda Tula cap stands in front of a blurred waterhole landscape at sunset. The background shows soft reflections on the water and out-of-focus trees and sky.
Ginger
A smiling staff member sits indoors at the lodge in a green uniform shirt and khaki trousers. The background shows a shaded open-air common area with soft, out-of-focus seating and architecture.
Victor
Two smiling staff members stand together on a sandy path in the bush. Both wear white Tandatula shirts and khaki trousers with open grassland behind them.
Formen
A smiling guide sits on a stone wall in a leafy outdoor area at the lodge, surrounded by tall grass and trees. He wears a cap and casual field clothing.
Given
Two lodge staff in green uniforms serve drinks outdoors on safari. One pours a clear beverage into a glass while the other smiles and holds a bottle beside a small table set with snacks.
Eric
A smiling safari guide leans on the side of an open vehicle in a wooded bush setting. The vehicle roof reflects the surrounding trees and sunlight.
Jack
A lodge staff member in a cap sits at a dark bar counter and smiles in profile. The warm interior has wood slats, stone walls, and soft natural light.
Steven
A smiling lodge staff member stands behind the bar holding a mug. Shelves of bottles and bar equipment are visible in the background.
Tristan
A smiling staff member in a hat sits indoors holding an open book or guide. The lodge lounge has large windows, cushioned seating, and a warm fireplace area in the background.
Kurisani

It’s not just about the big game…

Here you’ll discover so much more than the Big 5. Brown-hooded kingfishers nesting in river banks. The universe in a string of stars. Your own courage, staring into a lion’s eye.

A young elephant stands on a sandy safari track, raising its trunk toward an open game drive vehicle. A guide is seated in the foreground with bushveld vegetation behind the elephant.
Two cheetahs rest on a fallen tree trunk in open bushveld. One lies along the log while the other sits upright and looks off to the side.
A lion walks across a sandy clearing while a safari guide sits blurred in the foreground of an open vehicle. Sparse grass and trees frame the scene in the bushveld.
Two blue-gray kingfishers with red bills perch on a tree branch, with one bird holding an insect while the other calls nearby. The background is softly blurred in green tones.
A lioness stands protectively beside several cubs as they drink at the edge of a waterhole. The warm light reflects off the still water, and the lions are gathered closely along the muddy bank.
Guests ride in an open safari vehicle through the bush at sunset, with one person looking through binoculars. Warm golden light fills the scene as the vehicle travels along a dirt track.
A safari vehicle with guests and guides pauses beside three lions resting near a waterhole. The lions lie in the grass and shallow water, with their reflections visible in the foreground.
A small herd of elephants stands and walks across a grassy clearing with dense trees in the background. Heavy clouds fill the wide sky above the landscape.
A small group of guests and guides walk through tall sunlit grass on a guided safari walk. One guide carries a walking stick and the group moves together in an open bush setting.

The rhythm of safari

An elephant family stands near the water’s edge while guests watch from an open safari vehicle. The vehicle is branded Tanda Tula and is parked beside the bush.

Drives

Each day begins and ends with an adventure into the wild. Morning and late afternoon drives last around 3-4 hours, immersing you in the two contrasting faces of the bush; daylight’s vibrant activity and the mysterious world after dark. The circadian rhythm of the wilderness is both consistent and full of surprises, revealing something new with every outing.

Map of the Greater Kruger National Park showing Tanda Tula in the Timbavati

The Greater Kruger

120 years of conservation history. Three countries. Millions of animals.

The Timbavati Private Nature Reserve makes up part of several million hectares of African wilderness known as the Greater Kruger National Park. There are no fences. Wild animals roam freely.

Each connected reserve in the Greater Kruger has its unique history, geology, and habitats. The Timbavati is keystone in this vast system. Proclaimed in 1956, the reserve dropped its fences to become part of one pristine tract of protected wilderness. The Timbavati’s ecological contribution to this large, thriving, unfenced, protected space is immense. It is also socially and economically important for the whole of the Greater Kruger area, having developed a successful and sustainable wildlife-driven business model based on collaboration, co-management, conservation, and a deep, abiding commitment to community.

The Timbavati Nature Reserve's immediate neighbors include the Kruger National Park to the east, Umbabat to the north, and the Klaserie and Thornybush reserves to the west. While the reserve has been open to the Kruger for more than 30 years, more recently, fences between the Timbavati and its neighbor to the west were also dropped, which opened an additional 14,500 hectares for natural species migration.

Its thriving tourism economy promotes employment and industry within neighboring communities. The reserve also finances an outreach body, the Timbavati Foundation, that runs a series of programmes that help neighboring communities in areas such as boreholes, sustainable shaded vegetable farming as well as environmental awareness programmes for schoolchildren.

Just the absolute best

Repeated sightings of all of the Big 5 - and much more. Our guide (Tristan) and tracker (Glenn, who tracked down a pride of lions on foot and then guided our vehicle to a kill) are the best that there could possibly be. Their knowledge, insight, and easy manner are second to none.

Tripadvisor

Two zebras stand in a sunlit grassy clearing with soft golden haze and tall trees in the background. One zebra faces the camera while the other grazes beside it.
Two elephants walk through tall grass with dense bushland in the background under a dramatic blue sky. The larger elephant is in the foreground, with the smaller one just behind it.

QUICK FACTS

  • Two game drives per day
  • Morning guided bush walk
  • Night drives aided by spotlight
  • No more than 6 people per vehicle
  • Stargazing
  • Vehicles equipped with binoculars, water bottles, blankets, ponchos, and insect repellent
  • Book an exclusive photographer to capture your experience

MORE TO EXPLORE

Take A Visual JourneyA Day At Tanda TulaMeet Your Tanda Tula Family