The Madikwe Game Reserve lies in the North West Province bordering the country of Botswana. The Madikwe Game Reserve consists of vast plains of open woodlands and grasslands, dissected by the rugged Rant van Tweedepoort, and bordered in the south by the Dwarsberg Mountains. The area is dotted with huge rocky hills and is home to 66 mammal species including the Big Five and approximately 300 resident and migrant bird species.

A special feature of the Madikwe Reserve lies in its unique location, a transition zone on the edges of the Kalahari, where a number of rare species occur naturally, and the bushveld. The climate is generally mild to hot, but winter nights can be cold. It is the only place in Africa where Springbok and Kalahari Gemsbok meet naturally.

Madikwe Game Reserve lies on what used to be farm land, but owing to the poor soil type, farming was not that successful. After extensive research, the South African Government found that this land would best be utilised as a national park, to economically uplift this otherwise rather poor area. It has recently opened itself up to private farms outside the main reserve.

The reintroduction of game to the Madikwe Game Reserve began early in 1991, shortly before the perimeter fence of this game reserve had been completed. Operation Phoenix, as the reintroduction programme was called, marked the largest game translocation in the world. More than 8,000 animals of 28 species have been released into the reserve, including elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, cheetah, Cape hunting dog, spotted hyaena, giraffe, zebra and many species of antelope and herbivores. Leopard already occurred in the reserve. Operation Phoenix was completed in 1997.

The Madikwe Reserve is divided into two main areas. The area north of the Molatedi Dam is fenced and stocked with all the historically indigenous wild animals, which include elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo. As part of future developments for Madikwe, the dam area will be fenced separately and stocked with smaller, non-dangerous animals - thus allowing free movement of tourists and maximum utilisation of the dam.

Madikwe Reserve is the fifth largest park in South Africa with 30 lodges on the property, and six lodges in the private farms outside the main reserve. Madikwe has started Community Lodges, which the local villages own and run. All profits are then used to uplift the communities.

Madikwe is very close to Pilanesberg National Park and there is currently a two year plan between the two parks that will eventually lead to there being a corridor between the two parks creating a larger area of the animals to roam free.