Thornybush Safari | Monwana | MORE Family Collection

This is why you came to Africa. To experience the Big Five in one of South Africa's pristine wildlife reserves. At Monwana Game Lodge in Thornybush Nature Reserve, game drives and guided bush walks reveal lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and buffalo living wild and free. 14,000 hectares of Greater Kruger wilderness. The area is known for leopard sightings - Africa's most elusive cat appears with remarkable frequency here.

Unique Safari Experiences at monwana

Leopard perched on a tree branch at Monwana Lodge, looking directly at the camera.

Big Five Encounters

Sun setting over the African bush at Monwana Lodge, casting a glow on the landscape.

Morning and Afternoon Game Drives

Walk at Monwana Lodge, local flora in the African bush.

Guided Bush Walks

Safari guide sitting at the front of a vehicle at Monwana Lodge, with a leopard in front in the African bush.

Leopard Tracking

Sundowners at Monwana Lodge, with drinks set out and the sun setting over the African bush at dusk.

Bush Dining Surprises

Safari guide in the African bush at Monwana Lodge.

Expert FGASA Field Guides and Trackers

Aerial view of a game drive near Monwana Lodge, surrounded by lush green bushveld.

Front view from a game drive vehicle at Monwana Lodge, with the guide in the foreground driving along a dirt track at dusk.

The Reserve

Thornybush shares a 22-kilometre unfenced border with Greater Kruger, one of Africa's oldest and richest protected areas. Animals roam freely between reserves, creating wildlife density across rivers, grasslands and mixed woodland. Non-migratory species mean sightings year-round - elephant herds at waterholes, lions on the hunt, buffalo moving in formation, rhino browsing in thickets. The landscape itself tells ancient stories, from seasonal riverbeds to established game paths carved over generations.

The Wildlife of Thornybush

See Africa's most iconic animals in their natural habitat

Big 5
Rare species
birdlife

Leopard in the African bush at Monwana Lodge.

Buffalo in the African bush at Monwana Lodge.

Herd of elephants, including calves, drinking at a dam in the African bush at Monwana Lodge.

Male lion at Monwana Lodge in the African bush.

Game Drives at Dawn and Dusk

Experience the bush when it's most alive - early morning when predators return from night hunts and late afternoon as animals emerge for evening activity. Your field guide and tracker work as a team in open safari vehicles, reading signs invisible to untrained eyes and positioning you for intimate encounters that become the stories you tell for years.

Maximum six guests per vehicle means everyone gets unobstructed views and the field guide's full attention. Drives pause for warming coffee at sunrise or sundowners as the sun melts into the horizon, giving you time to simply absorb where you are. With two drives daily, you witness different behaviours, personalities and the privilege of watching wild animals being utterly themselves.

Sunset shining through trees in the African bush at Monwana Lodge.

Sunset over the African bush during a safari at Monwana Lodge.

Bush Walks: A Different Perspective

Walking changes everything. Without an engine between you and the wilderness, your senses sharpen - stones crunching underfoot, wild grass brushing your legs, the scent of approaching rain. The bush transforms into something immediate and alive. Your armed field guide and tracker tailor one- to two-hour walks to your interests, whether tracking specific species or understanding smaller ecosystems. It's about discovering that safari isn't just big animals - it's understanding how everything connects

Ranger on a bush walk at Monwana Lodge, carrying a backpack through the African bush.

Sundowner drink at Monwana Lodge, set against the African bush at sunset.

Gin stop experience at Monwana Lodge, with drinks set up in the African bush.

Bush Surprises

The best meals happen in unexpected places. At Monwana, dining becomes part of the journey - breakfasts where elephants graze nearby and riverbed dinners beneath constellations with only lanterns for light. Each location engages all five senses. Each surprise setting creates moments you remember long after you've forgotten what was on the plate, which is precisely the point.

Our guide, Alex, and tracker, Fanoti, were phenomenal. We felt completely safe and informed the entire time, and they went above and beyond to find every animal we hoped to see.

hannah needle - united states

Our guide and tracker Al and Nik were amazing and so kind, with endless sightings of the Big 5 and more over the course of 3 days. Right outside your (stunning) home is a watering hole where the most of the animals come throughout the day, creating a surreal experience.

Mahni Ghorashi - United States

Daniel, our guide, possess unparalleled knowledge of the African wilderness. Witnessing majestic lions, elephants, cheetahs and rhinos in their natural habitat was breathtaking.

Jesse Waits – United States

Your Field Guide and Tracker

FGASA-accredited field guides and trackers are storytellers and naturalists who translate the bush into something you can understand and fall in love with. They'll explain why that bird call signals danger, how to age a lion by its mane, and what elephant body language reveals about mood. They read spoor like text, spotting details that would take you years to recognise. But more than knowledge, they bring passion - these are people who chose this life because they can't imagine another. Between morning and afternoon drives, bush walks and stargazing sessions, they act as your guides to the wild, revealing rhythms and connections that transform sightings into understanding. It's their expertise that turns a good safari into an unforgettable one.

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