Timbavati Nature Reserve
Timbavati Private Nature Reserve began in 1956, when a group of conservationists who owned game farms on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park came together to form the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. Large portions of land in the northern Lowveld was never permanently settled by man, leaving Timbavati were barely touched. This part of South Africa's bushveld region may therefore be regarded as truly unspoiled and deserves recognition as truly wild land.
The white lions of the Timbavati Nature reserve was discovered by Chris McBride in 1970 while doing his doctorate on his father's farm Vlakgezicht. Timbavati has since become well known for the white lions, and as a result the game lodges in the reserve have become very popular tourist destinations. Although there are currently no white lions in the reserve, the recessive gene causing this unusual phenomenon is still carried by the local prides, which are still paler than most other lions by composition. The main aim of the reserve is the preservation of game lands and wildlife by restoring the land to its natural state and maintaining the mix and balance of species, conditions, and processes that have historically occurred in this region. See some of our top game lodges below.
