MORE Collection owns and manages a collection of luxury safari lodges, boutique hotels, and exclusive-use residences in South Africa, offering seamless itineraries between its properties. Led by custodian and CEO Robert More, it is a fourth-generation family business — its origin dates to 1933 when great-grandfather Guy Aubrey Chalkley purchased the land that Lion Sands Game Reserve was later established on. The collection now includes four luxury lodges at Lion Sands.

The footprint spans four unique safari reserves — Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, Kruger National Park, Thornybush Game Reserve, and Marakele National Park — and a hotel in the vicinity of one of the Natural Wonders of the World, Table Mountain. Properties include Lion Sands Game Reserve (Mpumalanga), Marataba Game Lodges and Monwana Game Lodge (Limpopo), and Cape Cadogan Boutique Hotel (Western Cape). MORE Collection is committed to protecting the environment, community development, sustainability principles, and delivering life-enriching experiences for guests.

About Marataba Game Lodges

Marataba is a privately managed section of the malaria-free Marakele National Park. The park is a ‘place of sanctuary’, as its Tswana name suggests, conserving 67,000ha (165,560ac) of the Limpopo Waterberg’s biodiversity, as well as Iron Age sites of great historical significance. The game here is impressive in number and diversity due to Marataba’s location in a transition zone between the dry western and the wetter eastern regions of South Africa. Its wildlife includes the Big Five and abundant bird species, with the largest colony of endangered Cape vultures (including 800 breeding pairs) in the world to be found here. Rare plant species of yellowwood and cedar trees, ancient cycads, and fern trees flourish here.

Enjoy game drives with professional field guides, bush walks, morning and sunset water safaris, or a night under the stars in Thabametsi Treehouse. Bush dinners and boma dinners are filled with conversation about all the adventures of a safari.

Marataba is a conservation success story with a healthy rhino population. As an additional experience, from April to September, guests have the opportunity to participate in a rhino intervention alongside vets. This may include supporting fitting tracking collars, ear-notching, collecting blood and tissue samples, and micro-chipping of horns.

About The Lodges

Marataba Safari Lodge is for the active family safari — a place in the mountains to unwind or find adventure. The 15 Luxury Tents (including four Family Luxury Tents) bring you closer to nature without having to rough it. The stone and canvas abodes each have a king-sized bed, en-suite bathroom, outdoor shower, and shaded viewing deck, while the Family Luxury Tents give children their own bedroom and bathroom. A guest pool is located next to the main lodge area. Between the hours spent on safari, guests can relax at the pool, enjoy an in-room spa treatment, or simply take it all in.

As of 1 June 2025, Marataba has expanded its Mack & Madi Kids’ Adventure Safari Club offering at Safari Lodge. It will offer a wide variety of activities on-site with a dedicated coordinator and an enhanced Eco-Garden play area. There’s a jungle gym, paddling pond, haybale archery, toys and games, arts and crafts, movies, beanbags and blankets, and a yard in which to run wild. On arrival, children aged 12 and younger are given a Mack & Madi-branded peak cap and backpack. Family game drives for the young ones include bush orientation, basic bush survival course, animal ‘spoor’ identification and mould making, identifying the stars from the eco garden, and more. From 1 June, Marataba is also offering family safari drives for kids of all ages. Family safari drives are limited to a total of eight people per vehicle (irrespective of age).

Marataba Mountain Lodge offers seekers a soulful safari adventure — a place to balance alone time and meaningful connections with others who share this approach to life. This remote retreat overlooks the breathtaking Waterfall Valley, with wide-angle vistas of the Waterberg escarpment. Fully solar powered, five private Luxury Rooms blend into the environment and offer a king-sized bed, fireplace, en-suite rain shower, and shaded viewing deck. On hotter days, guests can enjoy the guest pool at the main lodge. The wellness offering features relaxing treatments and is the perfect filler between safari adventures.

About The Residence

Marataba Residence features four separate Luxury Tents spread out along the edge of the Matlabas River, yet connected by a central common area. This unique layout comfortably accommodates eight adults and two children (all ages are welcome). The Residence’s main area includes a fully equipped interactive kitchen, lounge, dining area, welcoming fireplace, a boma facility, and a pool. There is a dedicated hospitality team, including a residence butler, chef, and a field guide and private safari vehicle for a personalised safari experience.

About Marataba Treehouse

A remote, luxury treehouse positioned between mountain and sky awaits just 20 minutes away from Marataba Safari Lodge. Experience the African bush and fall asleep under the stars at the Thabametsi Treehouse. Solar-powered and built over two levels, Thabametsi features an enclosed shower room, bedroom, lounge and viewing decks — presenting the Waterberg and Marakele plains in all their wild expanse. Guests arrive at sunset to sundowners, followed by a picnic dinner. Spend the dusk hours watching animals wander past (at a safe distance) and fall asleep counting shooting stars. A field guide is always a radio call away. The Treehouse Experience is booked in conjunction with accommodation at the lodge, with the room available for returning to at any point.

About Community Tours

Community tours allow guests to experience a different — and humbling — way of living by visiting culturally and historically significant sites, as well as connecting with local people, while positively impacting their lives. These extraordinary social experiences bring guests into the heart of South Africa and make visits all the more meaningful. Guests of Marataba can experience the authentic rhythms of Obakeng village life on a tour that sheds light on the challenges faced by its community members. This active immersion showcases the most essential projects, featuring Heuningvlei Primary School and Itsoseng Daycare Centre, situated on Honingvlei Farm, the sole educational hub for the area.

Highlights

Marakele National Park (Setswana for ‘place of sanctuary’) is unlike anything else — the Waterberg mountain range is a spectacular backdrop to this iconic safari experience.

The lodges offer experiences designed to get guests closer to nature and the animals with walking safaris, Miss Mara Water Safaris, and traditional open safari vehicle game drives.

Marataba Residence for more personalised family stays.

The Thabametsi Treehouse experience offers a night out in Africa that guests will never forget.

Unique opportunity to participate in a rhino conservation experience with a veterinary team that may include fitting tracking collars, ear-notching, collecting blood and tissue samples, and micro-chipping of horns (April–September, at additional cost and with advance notice).

This large concession has a low density of safari vehicles for a more exclusive experience.

Wildlife diversity includes the Big Five with impressive black rhino sightings, and opportunities to see the rare brown hyena, aardwolf, and pangolin.

Exceptional, FGASA-accredited MORE Field Guides.

Only six people per safari vehicle (family safaris at Safari Lodge are eight).

Two distinct lodges to suit guests’ individual preferences, whether travelling as a family or a couple.

All dietary needs are accommodated — Vegan, Vegetarian, Halal (7 to 10 days’ notice required), Kosher catering (advance notice and at additional cost).

Mack & Madi Kids’ Adventure Safari Club at Safari Lodge offers a wide variety of activities on site that keep children entertained and encourage them to discover, learn, create, and express themselves.

Creative Lab is for professional and novice wildlife photographers — a photographic specialist helps transform photos into canvas artworks for the ultimate keepsake.

Voted amongst the best in the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards and recognised in Travel & Leisure’s Top Hotels in the World.

Daily flights from Johannesburg and only a four-hour road transfer from Johannesburg.

Seamless itineraries can be arranged between MORE Collection properties.

Location

Marataba is located in a 23,000ha (56,834ac) privately managed section of the Marakele National Park, in South Africa’s Limpopo province. The park falls within the UNESCO-recognised Waterberg Biosphere — the only savannah biosphere in the world.

Weather

The average maximum temperatures range from 21°C/70°F in July to 35°C/95°F in January, with the lowest average minimum occurring in July at 3°C/38°F. The region is semi-arid, with an average annual rainfall of 500mm (20in), most of which occurs during the summer months (December–February). Rain is usually in the form of thundershowers, very seldom lasting longer than a few hours.

Best Time to Travel

A year-round safari destination. The animals in Marakele National Park are non-migratory, and variation in the safari experience is season- rather than location-related. The best period for birdwatching is from October to April.

Health Info: Malaria

Marataba is situated in a region of South Africa that is not inhabited by the malaria-carrying mosquito (Anopheles) and is therefore classified MALARIA FREE.

A: Marakele National Park
W: MORE Collection