---
title: "A Borderless Big Five Safari — Wanderlust Magazine"
url: "https://wanderlust-magazine.com/a-borderless-big-five-safari/"
date: 2026-10-30
---

# A Borderless Big Five Safari

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Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa — Where a Restored Wilderness Meets the Botswana Frontier
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[/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]The story begins, as so many safaris in South Africa do, in Johannesburg. A city that is often treated as a stepping stone to the wild. But instead of venturing east to Kruger as so many do, this story starts somewhere near the border of Botswana. Here, where the city skyline gives way to open roads, traffic thins, and within just a few hours of touchdown at OR Tambo, the noise of Johannesburg is replaced with the quieter sounds of the bushveld. The destination?

[*Tau Game Lodge*](https://www.taugamelodge.co.za/) in Madikwe Game Reserve. Madikwe sits just close enough to Johannesburg to be convenient (4 -5 hours by car), but far enough away to feel like a proper escape.\[/vc\_column\_text\]





[![](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1320%2C1900&ssl=1)](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1320%2C1900&ssl=1)





[/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][![](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/6-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1320%2C1900&ssl=1)](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/6-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1320%2C1900&ssl=1)









[vc_column_text css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]Tucked up against the Botswana border, it’s one of South Africa’s largest reserves, yet it rarely feels busy. Numerous lodges operate here, but with no self-drive game viewing and strict limits on sightings, you don’t get the congestion that can creep into other Big Five destinations. Many lodges also offer packages that include meals and game drives, so visitors can experience a safari without having to organise every meal and activity separately. Madikwe is generally considered a low-malaria-risk safari destination, which is a huge drawcard for families travelling with young children. **Read More**: [Seychelles: The Uncharted Cerf Island](https://wanderlust-magazine.com/seychelles-the-uncharted-cerf-island/)\[/vc\_column\_text\]\[/vc\_column\]\[/vc\_row\]\[vc\_row\]\[vc\_column width=”1/2″\]





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[vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1793011969578{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 14px !important;}” css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]Madikwe lies approximately four hours from Johannesburg, where visitors exchange self-drive game viewing for guided safaris across a 75,000-hectare reserve.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1561633406173{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 1px !important;border-left-color: #000000 !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-color: #000000 !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-color: #000000 !important;border-top-style: solid !important;}”][vc_column_inner css=”.vc_custom_1542116862280{padding-top: 0px !important;}”]



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[vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1793011995912{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 14px !important;}” css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]Between 1991 and 1997, Operation Phoenix relocated more than 8,000 animals to Madikwe, transforming former farmland into a managed wildlife reserve.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1561633412733{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 1px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 1px !important;border-left-color: #000000 !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-color: #000000 !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-color: #000000 !important;border-top-style: solid !important;border-bottom-color: #000000 !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][vc_column_inner css=”.vc_custom_1542116862280{padding-top: 0px !important;}”]



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[vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1793012023263{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 14px !important;}” css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]Madikwe lies against South Africa’s border with Botswana, where the bushveld appears to continue beyond the international boundary towards Gaborone.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner]



[![](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/4-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1320%2C1900&ssl=1)](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/4-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1320%2C1900&ssl=1)





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[![](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/3-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1320%2C1900&ssl=1)](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/3-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1320%2C1900&ssl=1)









[vc_column_text css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]And Tau itself offers a place where everyone can unwind in their own way. The little ones gravitate to the jungle gym and the kids’ club, while adults can find respite at the bar overlooking one of two swimming pools or at the spa. But perhaps Tau’s biggest drawcard is that it’s set on the edge of a large natural waterhole. Everything seems to face this water, from the main area to the rooms which fan out on either side, meaning everyone has a view of the daily parade of wildlife. Visit here, and you’ll likely find yourself spending numerous hours out on the deck of your room overlooking the water, where at any given time there is something happening. Elephants spraying mud on themselves, kudu moving in and out of the edges, warthogs trotting in with their usual urgency. At one point, you may even be lucky enough to spot three of the Big Five having a drink while you enjoy your own tipple. **Coming Soon**: How to Choose the Right Luxury Hotel in the Seychelles\[/vc\_column\_text\]\[/vc\_column\]\[/vc\_row\]\[vc\_row\]\[vc\_column width=”1/2″\]





[vc_column_text css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]In fact, there’s so much life here you almost don’t need to go on a game drive. That said, the drives themselves deliver too. Lions are regular sightings, perhaps even with cubs. Wild dogs are frequently ticked off the provided sightings list, as are cheetah, buffalo, rhino, and a sheer abundance of elephants. And between sightings, the reserve reveals its variety. Open plains gave way to rocky outcrops, then to thicker bush and riverine areas. It’s not a one-note landscape, which keeps even the quieter drives interesting. But Tau itself is actually part of a much bigger story.

Madikwe was once farmland, and the wildlife here has been reintroduced through one of South Africa’s more ambitious conservation projects.

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[![](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/5-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1248%2C1797&ssl=1)](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/5-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1248%2C1797&ssl=1)





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[![](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/7-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1320%2C1900&ssl=1)](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/7-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1320%2C1900&ssl=1)









[vc_column_text css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]Between 1991 and 1997, Operation Phoenix brought more than 8,000 animals into the reserve, helping transform former farmland into the wildlife landscape visitors encounter today. But that restoration still requires management: in 2024, provincial authorities reported more than 1,600 elephants and raised concerns about the population’s impact on biodiversity. It’s a reminder that these landscapes haven’t always looked the way they do now, and that what feels wild today has been carefully restored over time. It also reflects the surrounding area, which is now home to various smaller private reserves and lodges, similar to what you find in the greater Kruger ecosystem.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″]



[vc_column_text css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]In fact, being so close to the Botswana border adds another layer to the safari experience here. From certain viewpoints, it doesn’t feel like you’re near another country at all, just that the bush continues uninterrupted. And visually, it does, although the international border does not necessarily mean wildlife can move freely between the two countries. From high vantage points you can see the buildings of Gaborone in the distance. From Madikwe, Botswana, is geographically close, although crossing the border requires travelling through an authorised border post. Gaborone offers onward connections to other parts of Botswana, including safari destinations such as the Okavango Delta and Chobe, subject to available routes and transfers. It’s possible to extend the journey from city to bush to border and beyond, with some additional planning.[/vc_column_text]



[![](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/8-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1319%2C1900&ssl=1)](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/8-A-Borderless-Big-Five-Safari-Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa.jpg?fit=1319%2C1900&ssl=1)





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[![](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/20260111_111403-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&ssl=1)](https://i0.wp.com/wanderlust-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/20260111_111403-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&ssl=1)









[vc_column_text css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]It’s for this reason that somewhere like [*Madikwe and Tau Game Lodge*](https://www.madikwegamereserve.co.za/accommodation/child-friendly/) works equally well for first-time safari-goers and those who have done it before. If it’s your first time, the Big Five are all here, although which animals you encounter will depend on the drives themselves. If you’ve been on safari before, the changing terrain and the proximity to Botswana offer a different perspective, with the possibility of turning your safari into one stop on a much larger, cross-country expedition. The only question is: where will you go next? **Read More:** [Into the Heart of Wild Luxury: A Journey to Return Africa’s Pafuri Camp](https://wanderlust-magazine.com/into-the-heart-of-wild-luxury-a-journey-to-return-africas-pafuri-camp/)

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