Tarkuni Homestead at Tswalu

At Tarkuni there is absolute freedom. Around you are views to forever, through endless space and under cobalt skies. This is Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, a vast, privately-owned conservation area of 114 000 hectares in the green Kalahari. It’s a world-class conservation initiative, place of magnanimous tranquillity, and beauty beyond imagination. Here you can completely escape the world and be immersed in authentic conservation and wildlife experiences found nowhere else. Best of all, everything – truly everything – is flexible and according to your desires. From your private game drives and other wildlife experiences to cuisine and meal times arranged with your personal chef, you choose it all. It’s simply nirvana for nature lovers who value spontaneity and privacy.

Tarkuni Homestead, tucked into a valley below the Korannaberg mountains, is an exclusive escape for families and small groups wanting to spend quality time together on their own terms. The five suites under one thatched roof offer community, while each spacious suite ensures privacy for everyone in residence. There are nooks and cosy corners to dine, as well as a games room-library and a dedicated therapy room for relaxing massages. 

Throughout Tarkuni the soft hues of the Kalahari outside are echoed inside through decor. Soft pink of the sand, pale green of the landscape after summer rain, tranquil cream and other neutrals give the interior a calm, welcoming energy that’s hard to explain and better to feel. It’s light and airy for the hot summers, and there are cosy fireplaces for cold winter nights in the southern Kalahari. When you arrive, you’ll immediately feel comfortable and relaxed. 

Wildlife here is as rare and unusual as Tswalu. From Kalahari black-maned lions and endangered pangolin and black rhino, to aardvark, aardwolf and oryx live here naturally. There are also cheetah on the plains and leopard in the mountains. You can interact with researchers too and learn about their projects, watch a colony of meerkats go about their daily lives, horse ride through the bush or walk in the mountains to find petroglyphs from the middle Stone Age. Then there’s always the option of relaxing on your verandah and being hypnotised by the rock cascades and endless space before you in the Tarkuni valley. Tarkuni means ‘a world apart’ and true to its name it’s exactly that. A beautiful world within the world, you could say – and a rare and precious space for sure. 

What we love

• the complete freedom and flexibility of everything
• so much unusual and rare wildlife
• smoothly sanded raw wood furnishings
• the incorporation of surrounding rock into buildings
• space, space and more space in every direction
• the gourmet snack pantry – all homemade
• sleeping under the Kalahari stars on your verandah
• dining at acclaimed Restaurant Klein JAN

Need to know

• the plunge pool is raised, but uncovered
• winter nights are cold and summers are very hot
• malaria free
• there is wifi
• please advise special dietary requirements in advance of arrival
• access by daily private charter flights from Johannesburg (90 minutes) and Cape Town (2 hours) directly into Tswalu

Posted by Keri Harvey