Game drives in the Klaserie take place in the early morning and late afternoon when the animals are naturally most active. Key to the experience is your English-speaking local guide. They bring their knowledge, experience and fresh observations to maximise your wildlife sightings. And not only in terms of how much you see. But how rewarding, informative and fun the overall experience is. Your guide may be a keen photographer and will be conscious and considerate if your mission is to capture sightings on camera.

You head out in an open-sided 4×4 game vehicle with three rows of comfortable bucket seats, generally with a maximum of 8 guests. This offers safe, yet close wildlife encounters. Guests sit up high for the best ‘spotting’ of birds and animals. There are no sides to inhibit your views and you naturally feel more in tune with nature. In the summer month, a shade top is added to protect against the African sun, but in winter it is open to the skies for the best bird-viewing and for stargazing.

The Klaserie Private Game Reserve offers an exclusive safari wilderness. There are never more than two vehicles at a sighting. So you don’t have to jostle for a position as you may do in a national park.

Guides are also allowed to take the vehicles off-road on occasion, to follow some of the Big Seven (for example rhino, lion, leopard, or wild dog). This allows you to enjoy up close and personal encounters.

Currently, over 40 mammal species are to be found in the Greater Kruger, including the Big 5 of Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Buffalo, and Elephant. The Timbavati is also a birdwatcher’s paradise, as many as 360 species of birdlife have been documented here.

Sunset drinks are an integral part of being on safari. Your guide chooses a suitable beautiful spot and you have time to climb off the vehicle to stretch your legs and enjoy a drink or two. Yes, it’s one of the iconic African memories of a safari. But that doesn’t mean that it won’t work its magic every time.

Night drives continued after the sun goes down, using a spotlight to search for a glimpse of a nocturnal hunter in the beam. Or one of the shy nocturnal animals which only operate after dark.

This may include some of the smaller cats such as civets and genets. Or the extremely rare and surprisingly aggressive honey badger. You may even encounter one of the predators starting their nighttime hunt.