Event: Botswana

Mashatu Game Reserve - Land of the Giants

When:	Daily
Where:	Mashatu Game Reserve

Mashatu Game Reserve is home to some of the giants of the natural world. Visitors can see Africa's largest cat, the largest and tallest land mammals on Earth, the world's largest bird, the world's heaviest flying bird and Africa's largest trees.

The reserve is a private park in Botswana's Tuli Block, south-east of Francistown and just on the border of Botswana and South Africa. There are rivers (Kipling's "great, grey, green, greasy Limpopo" flows through it), marsh, grassland, forest and rugged sandstone outcrops. The varied landscapes are home to a staggering variety of fauna.

The "giants" include the lion, the African elephant, the giraffe, the ostrich, the Kori Bustard and baobab trees. There are also zebra, all kinds of antelope and other big cats such as the cheetah and leopard.

Well organised and with various types of accommodation, the reserve offers guided tours on jeeps, by bicycle or on horseback. Pedalling past a herd of elephants is very exciting, if a tad unnerving.

The surrounding Tuli Block consists of a number of private farms and reserves, all with good accommodation and facilities. It provides a chance to see Botswana's rich diversity without the huge organisation and time needed for trips to its more well-known parks.