When I travel to South Africa, I tend to stay away from high end destinations and instead stick to the self-drive national parks that I have grown up visiting over the years. For my most recent trip, I went all in and booked a visit to the Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana.
Situated in the Tuli Conservation area in the south east corner of Botswana, Mashatu and the surrounding conservation areas share a border with South Africa and Zimbabwe. Covering some 50,000 hectares and branding itself as the 'Land of the Giants' Mashatu didn't disappoint for the five days that I was there.
I visited in late November, towards the tail end of the tourist season and in the midst of a heatwave. I arranged three sessions in Mashatu's photographic hide and the rest of the time was taken up on game drives in their open top photographic vehicle. Accustomed to working from within normal rental vehicles, the open top vehicle was great, giving full freedom to move about with my large lenses.
The highlight of the visit was Mashatu's wonderful photographic hide. Having previously visited Zimanga and used their beautifully outfitted glass front hides, Mashatu's waterhole hide was more intimate. With an open front, there was no barrier between myself and the animals. It was an authentic African waterhole experience and I sweltered in the heat, got splashed with mud and even had some baboons stop by for a casual visit as you can see in one of the photographs above. It was one of my most memorable wildlife viewing experiences.
My only regret is that I left myself a bit short in terms of lens choices. Having come straight from the Kruger National Park, I hadn't properly contemplated the more intimate setting of the hide. My fixed 400mm lens was too long and my 500mm prime mostly stayed in my kit bag. I really could have done with something in the 70-200mm range to supplement my 16-35mm wide angle. Keep that in mind if you plan on visiting.
If your budget allows for it, I can certainly recommend a visit to the Mashatu Game Reserve. My guides Aubrey, Judas and Abel were fantastic and knew every inch and feature of the reserve. They went out of their way to ensure that I had a memorable wildlife photography experience. The accommodation itself was also five-star (even though I was told I was staying in the least luxurious camp...).
Let me know if you have ever had a chance to visit Mashatu (or are contemplating a visit). I'd love to hear from you.
Cheers,
Russell