Timbavati Game Reserve

Timbavati shares an unfenced boundary with Kruger on the park's western side, so the game moves through freely, and like its neighbour Sabi Sand it operates as private land where lodges run guided drives with off-road tracking. What it is best known for is the white lion. These are not albinos: they carry a recessive gene, leucism, that removes most pigment while leaving the eyes coloured, and the gene occurs naturally in this specific area's lion population. White cubs have been born here since at least the 1970s, and the reserve is central to a long and sometimes bitter argument about whether captive-bred white lions should be reintroduced. The bushveld here is drier and more open than Sabi Sand, with mopane and knobthorn, and the reserve is a little less expensive than its southern neighbour without being cheap.

History

In 1956 a group of landowners formed the Timbavati Association to restore land worn out by crop and cattle farming, and in 1993 the fences between the reserve and Kruger National Park were taken down; the association now has 50 members and covers 534 km2 (Wikipedia, Timbavati Private Nature Reserve).

Highlights

• The white lions - a natural recessive gene in this area's population, not albinism.
• The open Kruger boundary - unfenced, so animals move between the two.
• Off-road drives - rangers and trackers following animals away from the roads.
• The drier bushveld - mopane and knobthorn, more open than reserves further south.

When to go

May to September. Three days. Bookings run through the lodges.

What to expect

Lodge-only access with no self-drive and no cheap option. White lions are rare and sightings are not something any lodge can promise. The reintroduction debate is contested, and different operators take different sides. Malaria risk applies in summer.

Nearby

Kruger's Orpen gate is nearby; Hoedspruit and the Blyde canyon are west.

Key facts