Want to combine a visit to Cape Town with a few days on safari, but don’t want the hassle of connecting via Johannesburg? A new airline service has launched direct flights from the Mother City to Madikwe Game Reserve, a Big Five safari hotspot in the North West Province.
Premium transfer service Safari Skies is set to launch in May 2025 – so yes, you’ll have to plan ahead – with flights from Cape Town to Madikwe Game Reserve. Departures will take place on set days, and are confirmed with a minimum booking of two passengers.
While air transfer companies such as Fedair already offer a frequent air shuttle service from Johannesburg to Madikwe, the new direct service will allow passengers to avoid the hassle of flying via Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.
The 75 000-hectare Madikwe Game Reserve is a hidden gem in the world of South African safaris. It’s free of malaria and offers an unforgettable ‘Big Five’ safari experience at an array of luxe lodges.
The diversity of habitat across the reserve hosts a wonderful array of animal life: 60 species of mammals, and 300 bird species. Madikwe is also home to a healthy population of endangered African wild dogs and is famous for sightings of the shy cheetah. Plus, day visitors are not allowed in Madikwe, meaning travellers can look forward to quieter sightings and fewer vehicles on the tracks.
In addition to the Cape Town-Madikwe service, Safari Skies will also offer flights from Cape Town to Kwandwe Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape, and a connection between Madikwe Game Reserve and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport.
‘We’ve designed Safari Skies to offer a seamless travel experience from Cape Town - a previously underserviced route for direct connections in the safari lodge circuit - from the moment our passengers arrive at our luxury lounge, to the time they arrive at their lodge,’ says Grant Pienaar, CEO and co-founder of Safari Skies, which operates using pressurised multi-engine aircraft.
But, the convenience doesn’t come cheap.
A one-way flight from Cape Town to Madikwe (the service is set to operate three times a week) will cost R13 400 per person. Cape Town to Kwandwe is R9600, and Madikwe to Kruger will set you back R9500.
Or skip the wildlife and hop aboard the Durbanville Wine Safari!