OF THE EARTH

A recent refurb at TSWALU KALAHARI - the biggest privately owned reserve in South Africa - has given the TARKUNI HOMESTEAD a makeover that both looks to the future and honours tradition. And then there's the breathtaking RESTAURANT KLEIN JAN...

- BIDDI RORKE

"IT MUST LOOK LIKE OUMA HAS JUST STEPPED OUT TO HANG UP THE WASHING, AND YOU CAN SMELL THE FOOD SHE IS PREPARING ON THE STOVE." CHEF JAN HENDRIK VAN DER WESTHUIZEN

REMOTE, EXCLUSIVE AND ECO-CONSCIOUS and complete with tawny desert sunsets Tswalu Kalahari embodies all the elements of a memorable safari experience. The Oppenheimer family, committed conservationists and custodians of this tract of stark beauty for more than two decades, are driven by their intent "to leave our world better than we found it". And they are succeeding.

Two camps - Motse and the private villa Tarkuni - shimmer graciously in the sun. We featured Motse in VISI #106; now we focus on Tarkuni, and the camps' acclaimed Klein JAN restaurant. As with Motse, an artful revamp by multidisciplinary design practice Savile Row has given the spaces a fresh, contemporary feel that doesn't compete with the dramatic landscape that unfurls around them.

As project architect and director Adrian Davidson explains, one of the key reasons for the renovation was to invite more light into the Tarkuni homestead, and to create a more connected flow between the indoor and outdoor living spaces. "We drew inspiration from the surrounding fauna, using a palette of earthy tones and dusty botanical greens for muted, cool, simple interiors," he says. "There's nothing fussy or layered in our approach - we wanted the extraordinary vistas to be the hero of the site."