Private Wild

02/10/2026

If this sounds like the way you want to travel, begin a conversation with us.

Understand exclusive use, private safari stays and how a journey shaped around your own group can change the experience.

01/10/2026

To all our followers & Partners

Over the past three years, it has been a privilege working with you to create extraordinary private safaris and hands-on conservation experiences across Africa.

Today, I’m excited to share the next chapter in that journey.

Bushwise Exclusive is evolving into Private Wild

Through a mutual agreement with Bushwise, I have taken full ownership of the custom safari division I founded and developed. Going forward, this business will operate independently as Private Wild.

Private Wild gives me the opportunity to focus fully on what has become the heart of our safari offering: highly personalised African travel combining private access, exceptional guiding and meaningful engagement with conservation.

For our travel trade partners, however, the most important message is very simple:

The name is changing. The people, relationships, expertise, and experiences behind it are not.

What This Means for You & Your Clients

The relationships and operating model that have shaped our safaris continue with Private Wild:

Product Continuity: Our lodge relationships, exclusive-use properties and luxury villa options continue under Private Wild.The Same Ground Delivery Team: Through our ongoing operational relationship with Bushwise, we continue to work with the experienced team behind our safaris, including senior guide trainers as safari hosts, dedicated private vehicles and private chefs.The Same Trade-Focused Approach: Our B2B nett pricing and 20% FIT commission structure for our set departures continue, together with dedicated resources and support for our travel trade partners.The Same Extraordinary Access: Your clients can continue to experience the immersive elements that have defined our safaris, from tracking and telemetry to specialist conservation experiences and, where available, opportunities to observe or participate in wildlife management activities.

And importantly, I remain personally involved in designing and overseeing our private safari programmes, just as I have from the beginning.

How We Work Together Under Private Wild

Our safari offering continues across two distinct travel styles:

1. Set Departures | Safari Guide Experience

Ideal for individual travellers and couples looking for a deeper safari experience without travelling as a private group.

Our 7-day Safari Guide Experience operates on selected departure dates, with intimate groups of no more than eight guests staying on a property reserved exclusively for the group.

Traditional Big Five safari experiences are combined with elements of professional guiding, including tracking, wildlife behaviour, bush skills, and conservation.

2. Private Custom Travel | Families & Small Groups

This is our completely bespoke offering, where we work with you as your specialist African ground partner to design a journey around your clients.

Depending on the itinerary, this can include exclusive-use safari properties or luxury villas, private vehicles, a dedicated senior guide or guide trainer, and a private chef, allowing us to operate the safari almost as though it were your clients’ own private lodge.

Itineraries are designed around their dates, interests, preferred level of accommodation and pace of travel, with experiences ranging from exceptional traditional safari to tracking, telemetry and specialist conservation access.

Private Wild Agent Resources

Our new Private Wild website and dedicated Agent Portal are currently being finalised and will provide easy access to:

Sample B2B itinerariesClient-facing video contentOur complimentary Masterclass training seriesTrade information and sales resourcesRegional portfolios for South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zambia

You do not need to wait for the new website or portal to begin working with Private Wild. I remain fully available for new enquiries, proposals and existing bookings throughout the transition.

For enquiries relating specifically to Bushwise wildlife career and student programmes, these also continue with Private Wild, and you can speak with Corne to advise you on the best fit for your client within both the Safari Guiding as well as conservation fields.

Please Update My Contact Details

This email has intentionally been sent from my existing Bushwise address so that you know the update has come directly from me.

Going forward, please save my new Private Wild contact details:

Corne Schalkwyk
Founder & Director | Private Wild
📧 [email protected]
📱 +27 67 934 8358

My Bushwise email will remain active for the next 30 days while our partners update their records, so nothing gets lost during the transition.

Private Wild now operates through its own company and banking arrangements. Updated company and payment documentation will be supplied directly when required for future bookings and settlements.

If you currently have an active booking or enquiry with me, there is no need to do anything, I will communicate with you directly where any administrative update is required.

Thank you for the trust and support you have shown me over the past three years. I am incredibly excited about this next chapter and about what Private Wild will allow us to create together for your clients.

Our new website and Agent Portal will be launching shortly, and I look forward to sharing them with you.

Wildlife may draw us to Africa, but it is the people, experiences, and the opportunity to engage more deeply with the wild that give the journey its true meaning.

That belief remains at the heart of everything we do.

Warm regards,

Corne Schalkwyk
Founder & Director | Private Wild

24/09/2026

Botswana sleepouts

There is something deeply grounding about spending a night beside the mighty Limpopo River.

As darkness settles, the constant sound of water flowing over rock becomes the soundtrack to the night, a reminder that the river keeps moving, following its course without hesitation. It doesn’t stop for every obstacle; it simply finds its way around it, carrying on as it has for thousands of years.

But the Limpopo is not just peaceful, it is wild. The same river that soothes with its steady flow is immensely powerful, its home to all kinds of wildlife and its waters demand respect. This is not a tamed landscape, but one where nature still sets the rules.

Sleeping under the stars here is about more than the view. It is about listening, slowing down, and remembering that we are visitors in a place that has sustained life, stories, and untamed beauty long before us.

The river flows on, indifferent to distractions and constant in its purpose, inviting us to pause for a moment before continuing on our own journeys.

07/09/2026

Our type of Traffic

26/08/2026

Elephants below, endless views beyond, and a place shaped by nature that surrounds it.

Speak with the Private Wild team if you need something truly special for a group or family safari experience in Kenya 🇰🇪

Thank you Stevie Mann for these Wild Hill photos…

25/08/2026

Land of Giants

Immersion in nature takes on a different meaning at our Botswana camp.

Its our answer for a off-the grid, rustic yet refined wilderness safari camp sleeping a total of 10 guest in 5 tented units. ( We also have exclusive use options for families or groups)

Each unit is equipped with two single beds, the most comfortable linen, a luggage rack to place your bags and belongings. A private deck with hammock and deck chairs is the perfect place to enjoy some solitude with minimal separation from the environment.

Enjoy your lazy day moments between our walking safaris or game drives, just watching the giants do their thing....or join them at the pool

24/07/2026

New Botswana base targets experiential safari demand

Bushwise Exclusive has expanded its footprint into Botswana with the launch of a new ranger-led safari experience in the Tuli Block, alongside an updated agent portal aimed at improving trade access to product and rates.

The move marks a significant product extension for the South Africa-based operator, introducing its immersive “Ranger Experience” concept into a new destination and creating fresh opportunities for advisors selling repeat Africa travellers.

Bushwise will offer both a six-night set departure itinerary suited to FIT bookings and fully customised private safaris, giving agents flexibility across different client segments.

Read More here: https://africabeat.com.au/bushwise-expands-into-botswana-with-new-tuli-block-safari-and-agent-portal-update/

Bushwise Exclusive has expanded its footprint into Botswana with the launch of a new ranger-led safari experience in the Tuli Block, alongside an updated ag ...

23/07/2026

Spotting the Fastest Land Mammal Takes More Than Luck: It Takes Science. 🐆

Cheetahs are masters of blending into the African savanna. Finding them consistently requires sharp eyes, deep ecological knowledge, and modern conservation tools.

When you book an immersive safari with Bushwise Exclusive, your private group learns directly from the experts who train world class safari guides.

Behind the Scenes on Safari:

📷 Camera Trap Deployments: Experience how researchers strategically place trail cameras along game paths to monitor cheetah populations and movement.

🐾 Reading the Spoor: Decipher fresh tracks and subtle behavioral cues alongside Senior Specialist Guide Trainers.

🌿 Exclusive Access: Enjoy private, uncrowded wildlife sightings across our exclusive use properties in premier Greater Kruger reserves.

Whether you're planning a bespoke family gathering or a private group retreat, Bushwise Exclusive blends luxury, privacy, and meaningful wildlife conservation.

👉 Agents: Log in to the Bushwise Exclusive Agent Portal to explore private reserve options and secure dates for your clients!
https://bushwiseexclusive.my.canva.site/

07/07/2026

What does your dream safari look like?

For a lot of modern travelers, it’s about getting their hands dirty and seeing what happens behind the scenes of critical wildlife work. 🐾

Thrilled to see our Bushwise Exclusive approach to immersive conservation travel mentioned in this Forbes article!

Check out the feature below and let me know your thoughts:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/emesemaczko/2026/06/23/3-african-conservation-safaris-that-take-travelers-behind-the-scenes/

There are safari experiences in Africa that make the crucial work of rangers more visible without shifting the focus from wildlife sightings.

17/06/2026

For private reserves managing vast tracts of land, conservation is a permanent financial pressure.

Increasingly, high-end tourism is helping fill the gap.

Big thanks for including Bushwise Exclusive, and our conservation Safari's and great insight into Rhino dehorning from Cindy-Lou Dale.

For decades, luxury safari sold access: dawn game drives, leopard sightings in marula trees, sundowners against a burning horizon. Now, for a certain kind of traveler, access means something else entirely. It means paying not simply to see wildlife — but to help keep it alive. Across parts of Sout...