“There’s a particular reason I want to find this cheetah,” says guide Herman Chong as we drive across a rust-red desert landscape dotted with thorny bushes and bleach-blond grasses, toward the cat’s last known position. “She’s got four little cubs with her.”
The opportunity to see the wildlife of the southern Kalahari at Tswalu, the largest private nature reserve in South Africa, has long been reserved for the select few who manage to book a stay at one of two lodges: Motse, with its nine suites for no more than 18 guests, and Tarkuni, a five-bedroom homestead. Thanks to last summer’s opening of Loapi Tented Camp, though, a few more people now have the chance to spy meerkats, black-maned lions, and, yes, cheetahs.
At Loapi, privacy and personalization are key. There’s no restaurant or communal space—each of the six one- or two-bedroom luxury homes feels like an exclusive resort, complete with a personal chef and butler—although a stay does include dinner at Tswalu’s famed Restaurant Klein Jan, from chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, the first South African to receive a Michelin star.
The real indulgence here is getting to explore Tswalu’s 282,000 acres in a dedicated safari vehicle—or via horseback—with your own guide and tracker. Besides spotting wildlife, you can search the rocky hills for petroglyphs that range from 200 to tens of thousands of years old, or simply watch the semi-arid landscape glow in the late afternoon’s golden light (with a sundowner in hand, of course).
As for the mother cheetah Chong was talking about? We find her sitting up on the ridge of a sand dune, scanning her surroundings. Her tiny cubs, fluffy-coated with silver mohawks running down their backs, scurry around and pounce on each other. The only creature that moves quicker is me, reaching for my camera.
