Madikwe is a "Big Five" game reserve situated 90 km north of north of the small town Groot-Marico up to the Botswana border.
The Madikwe Game Reserve is a part of the latest park developments in South Africa. It was opened in 1991 and comprises 750 km² of bushland, and is currently the fifth largest game reserve in South Africa but yet not widely known. The park is now 680 km² by itself, and 750 km², including incorporated privately owned land. The terrain is mainly open grasslands and bushveld plains, interspersed with rocky outcrops and single mountains.
Madikwe lies on what used to be farm land, but owing to the poor soil type, farming was not that successful. After extensive research, the South African Government found that this land would best be utilized as a national park, to economically uplift this otherwise rather poor area. The entire reserve has been enclosed in a 150 km perimeter fence which has been electrified to prevent the escape of elephants and the larger predators.
The reintroduction of game began early in 1991, shortly before the perimeter fence had been completed. Operation Phoenix, as the reintroduction program was called, is the largest game translocation exercise in the world. More than 8 000 animals of 28 species have been released into the reserve, including elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, cheetah, Cape hunting dog, spotted hyena, giraffe, zebra and many species of antelope and herbivores. Leopard already occurred in the reserve. Operation Phoenix was completed in 1997.
The private sector has provided the necessary capital to build game lodges and to market and manage the lodges and the tourism in the reserve. Today there are 30 lodges on the property, and six lodges in the private farms outside the main reserve. Madikwe has also started Community Lodges, which the local villages own and run.
A special feature of Madikwe lies in its unique location, a transition zone on the edges of the Kalahari, where a number of rare species occur naturally, and the bushveld. The climate is generally mild to hot, but winter nights can be cold. Over 350 species of birds have been recorded at Madikwe. It is the only place in Africa where Springbok and Kalahari Gemsbok meet naturally.
| 
