African Reservations

The Timbavati Private Nature Reserve came into existence on July 1956 when a group of conservation-minded people who owned game farms on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park came together to form the Timbavati Association.

The idea of forming such a reserve was first mooted as early as 1948, and for several years ways and means were discussed to create a nature reserve of a meaningful size in the area. These leading spirits of conservation and sustainable land use eventually succeeded in forming the Timbavati Association, governed by a constitution for the benefit of all.

The size of the reserve covers about 60 000 hectares of pristine African bush, part of the world famous greater Kruger National Park. The Kruger National Park itself is a further 2 million hectares in size, which is about the same size as Israel or Wales. In the early 1990’s the boundary fence between the Kruger National Park and adjacent private game reserves, namely Timbavati, Sabi Sands, Klaserie, Umbabat and Manyaleti was removed to create the greater Kruger National Park, covering an area of 2.2 million hectares. The reason being conservationists wanted to re-create ancient migration movements of wildlife from the foothills of the Lebombo Mountains in the east, to the Drakensburg Mountains in the west. The climate is temperate with hot summers and cool winters with frost as an exception in the low-lying areas. Rainfall varies between 450-550 mm per year.

Supporting the Big Five are several other species of wildlife, including cheetah and wild dogs and naturally occurring herbivores from the antelope and gazelle family. There are a variety of nocturnal animals which make sunset drives completely different from the daytime equivalent which include, but are not limited to, hyena, honey-badger, civet, the bush-baby and owls. The avian population is unrivalled for the avid birdwatcher, with well over 350 different species to be spotted year-round. Taken all together this is an unmatched chance to view the splendour of all manner of creatures unique to the continent.