Motswari Personal Recreation Reserve reaches a exceptional milestone in 2026, celebrating 50 years of household possession, conservation management and soulful safari hospitality in South Africa’s Higher Kruger wilderness.
Picture: Provided
Based in 1976, the reserve has grown from a modest rehabilitation centre into one of many Lowveld’s most enduring personal sport reserves, with out ever dropping sight of its founding function: to preserve, defend and join.
Set inside the Timbavati and Umbabat Personal Nature Reserves, a part of the huge Higher Kruger ecosystem, Motswari’s story is inseparable from that of the Geiger household.
What started with 5 rondavels and a dedication to rehabilitating wild canine and cheetahs has advanced into a set of intimate safari experiences, every grounded in authenticity, heat and a deep respect for the land.
In 1982, conservationist Paul Geiger accomplished the acquisition of Motswari, dedicating his life to defending the wilderness of the Lowveld. As chairman of each the Timbavati and Umbabat reserves, Geiger performed a key function in one of many area’s most vital conservation achievements: the elimination of fences between the Kruger Nationwide Park and neighbouring personal reserves. This landmark resolution allowed wildlife to maneuver freely throughout an unlimited, open ecosystem, shaping the Higher Kruger because it exists as we speak.
Picture: Provided
At this time, Motswari is led by Marion Geiger-Orengo, daughter of Paul and Mechthild Geiger, whose stewardship blends conservation, creativity and neighborhood. A wonderful artist by coaching, Marion has infused the reserve along with her creative sensibility, from unique artworks to considerate design particulars throughout the camps, every reflecting each heritage and a robust sense of place.
But on the coronary heart of Motswari are its folks. Many employees members have spent a long time on the reserve, carrying deep, intuitive data of the land and its rhythms. Their continuity, heat and quiet delight are continuously cited by returning friends as what makes Motswari really feel lived-in moderately than staged, formed as a lot by human presence as by wilderness.
“With out soul, hospitality is nothing greater than a paid vacation spot,” says Geiger-Orengo. “What makes Motswari distinctive is its spirit, held by the individuals who take care of this land, the wildlife that strikes freely by means of it, and the generations of friends who return, carrying this place with them.”
Over 5 a long time, Motswari has expanded into a set of 5 distinctive camps. These embrace the unique Motswari Recreation Lodge, two self-catering camps, the intimate Geiger’s Camp, and the lately launched Motswari African Retreat & Strolling Safaris, which gives a slower, extra immersive manner of experiencing the bush.
Inside this panorama, friends can select from experiences as assorted because the seclusion of Paul’s Hideaway for personal wilderness stays, the elevated treetop perspective of Giraffe’s Nest, or the spacious Modjadji Grasp Suite at Geiger’s Camp. Whereas every camp has its personal character, all stay rooted in Motswari’s long-standing dedication to conservation, Truthful Commerce ideas and accountable, sustainable tourism.
“Reaching 50 years of family-led conservation is a rare achievement in fashionable safari,” says Neil Markovitz, CEO of Newmark Inns & Reserves. “Motswari stands aside for its authenticity, its unwavering dedication to conservation, and the depth of connection it creates between folks and place.”
Motswari’s legacy can also be intently tied to the Timbavati’s uncommon white lions. As soon as thought-about fantasy, their confirmed discovery within the Seventies revealed a uncommon recessive genetic trait often known as leucism. Probably the most well-known of those lions, a lioness named Whitey, lived to an distinctive age and have become a logo of the area.
Picture: Provided
Whereas sightings stay uncommon, white lions proceed to be born within the Timbavati each few generations. Lately, Motswari rangers recorded sightings of a white male often known as Xakubasa, and in 2025, returning visitor Mykal Dutton photographed a white cub alongside its tawny siblings, a reminder of a wilderness that is still alive, complicated and regularly unfolding.
Past its borders, Motswari’s conservation affect extends into international advocacy. In 2014, following a devastating rhino-poaching incident, Marion Geiger-Orengo and her husband Fabrice Orengo based Rhino Disharmony, a inventive initiative utilizing artwork, music and storytelling to problem myths round rhino horn and help anti-poaching efforts throughout Africa.
As Motswari celebrates its golden anniversary, the following technology, Victor and Eléa Orengo de Lamazière, is already deeply rooted within the reserve’s future, persevering with a household legacy formed by wilderness, creativity and take care of neighborhood.
After 50 years, Motswari stays what it has at all times been: a spot formed by folks, guided by conservation, and outlined by lasting connections.
Comply with us on social media for extra journey information, inspiration, and guides. You may as well tag us to be featured.
TikTok | Instagram | Fb | Twitter
ALSO READ: Renosterbos Personal Nature Reserve: A luxurious Overberg escape simply two hours from Cape City
