Mala Mala Game Reserve

By: Krizzy Sean
Submitted: 2009-05-25 17:21:55
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After the 1 hour flight from Johannesburg, the journey from Nelspruit took around 2.5 hours but once we arrived, it proved to be well worth the effort. Mala Mala was South Africa’s first private game reserve and borders Kruger National Park’s western boundary and is well established as a premier safari destination in southern Africa and the world. There are 3 accommodation options at Mala Mala; first is Rattray’s on Mala which is a small exclusive camp accommodating a maximum of just 16 guests at any one time. No children under the age of 16 are allowed. Second is Sable Camp which is another small exclusive camp although the age limit for children here is 12. Finally, there is Mala Mala Main Camp, where we were booked in. Although it is a larger camp, it retains an intimate atmosphere with a capacity of just 36 guests and it is a child friendly camp.  

We arrived quite late in the afternoon and after check-in we opted to go out on a game drive although by now it was practically dark and the chances of seeing much were greatly reduced.. Just before we left, we were briefly introduced to Michael Rattray who founded Mala Mala over 40 years ago. He had just finished a work out in the gym – not bad for a 76 year old, he pointed out. Mr Rattray also added that although it was not an ideal time, if we didn’t go out on a drive, we definitely wouldn’t see any game. I personally didn’t expect to see much but it was the chance to drive out in the open air in Africa and I hadn’t come all this way to sit in a hotel room. As it happened, we got lucky. After about an hour, we got a report that a leopard had hidden a kill from earlier in a tree which we found. We sat and waited for a while to see if the leopard would appear and although we didn’t see the mother, one of her cubs made an appearance. After a few minutes, we relocated to try to get closer and after a while we ended up just 20 metres from the cub who by now was relaxing in a tree. We just sat and watched this beautiful animal for a while and I still don’t know how our tracker managed to spot him.

Eventually, we headed back to camp where we were due to have a Boma. The food and drinks were excellent and all the staff working tireless to make sure nothing was left unattended. When it was time for bed, the wardens walked us back to our rooms. As we were reminded, Mala Mala is a lodge in the middle of a game reserve and as such, animals can come and go through the camp as they please.

The following morning started early with a 6:30am call as our morning game drive was due to start at 7:00am. In addition to the drive, we would also have breakfast in the bush. The drive was fantastic. Not only did we see the Big Five – Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Elephant and Rhino, we also had the added bonus of a rare Cheetah sighting as well as Zebra and many other smaller birds and animals. In all we were out for 5 hours so when we got back, it was time for lunch. We were briefly entertained by a pair for Vervet Monkeys jumping from tree to tree but moments later a large heard of elephant walk past the hotel terrace less than 200m away.

This set us up very nicely for the afternoon/evening game drive but not before we spent half an hour looking round the other camp, Rattrays on Mala Mala. This is there exclusive camp with a capacity of just 16 guests. The rooms are even more spectacular that the suites at Mala Mala with guests having a private plunge pool, TV and internet access in the rooms. The view from the rooms over looks part of the Sand River so it is a great place to combine relaxation and game viewing.

We moved on to the evening game drive and we were lucky enough to see some giraffe up close and as night fell we moved down towards the river where we found a hippo grazing on the land. This is one of Africa’s most dangerous animals and we sat and watched him from only a few metres away for quite a while before moving on.

That night, we ate around the Boma again and I was very fortunate to sit next to the CEO and founder of Mala Mala, Mr Rattray and his wife. Our meal was briefly interrupted by a small scorpion appearing on the table next to Mrs Rattray but it was dealt with and we had a wonderful evening listening to his stories about life in Africa as well as many other things.

The following morning, there was time for one final game drive before we were due to check out and the highlight was finding a female leopard and its cub who were quite comfortable to have our vehicle positioned less than 10m away and this gave an excellent opportunity for some close up pictures. We headed back to camp and were given a tour of the facilities before leaving.

I can’t speak highly enough of Mala Mala, everything and everyone who is involved with the place.

My Big Five sightings at Mala Mala:
Day 1: Elephant, Leopard
Day 2: Elephant, Leopard, Lion, Rhino, Buffalo
Day 3: Leopard

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