We really do feel blessed returning from another magical safari in the MalaMala Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger National Park area of South Africa. We celebrate our birthdays the first week of June. When planning what to do, we both looked at each other and smiled knowing this would be it!
Going back to this special area was at the top of our list. Once you catch that safari bug, it’s difficult to shake!
We missed the animals, and the birds too. We missed the spectacular sunsets and glorious sunrises. And we missed just being disconnected from worldly affairs and being close to nature. It’s like stepping into a different world. Waking up to the roar of lions reverberating across the bushveld, climbing into the open-top jeep before sunrise to follow tracks and listen to alarm calls while looking for predators.
If you’ve never experienced a safari we highly recommend it and hope our safari planning write-up can help you decide where and when to go. But do be careful, you may catch the safari bug and want to go again and again!
We usually try to combine two camps and/or a couple of activities on our safari trips as it is a long way from home. Especially when it’s our first time visiting a camp and we’re not sure exactly what to expect. This time however, we opted to return to a favorite area and simply spend more time in one place. We would spend five nights at MalaMala Rattray’s Lodge, which would be just enough time to cover both of our birthdays.
Where we stayed
We opted to return to the MalaMala Game Reserve which was now called Tengile MalaMala. We originally visited MalaMala’s Rattray’s Camp in 2019 and simply loved it. This is the place to come for leopards, and you’re almost guaranteed to see at least one on any stay. This time around we saw nine!
We went back again to experience a newly renovated Rattray’s Camp in 2023, and we were curious about the new branding and plans for the Tengile MalaMala safari camps and lodges.
The changes include the addition of the former &Beyond properties Kirkman’s Kamp and Tengile Lodge. The combined property is now overseen by a community cooperative encompassing the five lodges and camps along this prime stretch of the Sand River. All the land is now owned and managed by the N’wandlamhari Communal Property Association representing the local Shangaan communities in the area.
While we don’t know the whole history behind the change, we understood that community land claims had been exercised to reclaim the property and there was a kind of continued operation but with oversight from the new association and some continued profit sharing amongst new investors, the community, and the original Rattray family.
We do hope they realize what a jewel this area is and don’t change it too much. We loved that it was all about the wildlife!
We also heard there would soon be a new luxury lodge being built with modern amenities such as floor to ceiling glass windows and a hip vibe. This will be opening in December 2026! Who knows, maybe one day we will return to check it out.
Getting there
Again, we took the United flight from Newark direct to Johannesburg which is a lot more convenient than other options for us. We then stayed at the airport Intercontinental Hotel which is also the perfect option to connect with the next morning bush flight to MalaMala. We wanted to be sure to arrive at the camp in time for the afternoon game drive.
As we arrived at the nice FedAir Lounge, the wonderful lounge attendant smiled and said: I know you! He remembered us from last year. We took a few minutes catching up and learned that he and his wife would soon be having their first baby.
It turned out that the MalaMala airstrip had been damaged by flooding and it was not possible to land there. We had to land at Londolozi which is only a short drive away.
Arriving at Tengile MalaMala
We got picked up by our ranger who would be our guide and didn’t waste much time getting setup or going through any lodge orientation tours. We just grabbed our gear and our coats and headed for the jeep for our 3pm departure to see the animals. Filled with anticipation as to what we would see, we were excited to head out.
MalaMala had recently switched over from the Land Rover vehicles (which were seemingly discontinued) to the Land Cruiser Toyota vehicles. It is still an open- top multi bench vehicle and our guide told us it was very capable. Perhaps even more so in some situations with its longer wheelbase.
We were happy to have a private jeep (well worth paying the supplement), allowing us to spend as much time as we wanted at sightings without having to worry about negotiating with other guests that may have had differing interests.
Our ranger/guide JJ had been at the camp for over a dozen years. He was passionate about wildlife and simply loved the area. He was also very fond of leopards and thus an excellent fit for us as a ranger, tracker and guide!
This time we went all out and brought two cameras including a new one that my husband had purchased (for me) which was capable of taking some very fast and spectacular shots. While my current Sony RX10 was already great, it’s a bridge camera with a smaller sensor.
The new camera was also a Sony, an A9-3, and it has a full-size sensor and can take 120FPS with pre-capture capabilities and all the latest AI-based autofocusing. We were curious to see how well it did. I was already worried that we’d have thousands of pictures to sort through every night.
The schedule
With five nights and careful planning to ensure an arrival before 2pm and a departure after 12pm, we were able to get a total of ten game drives in during our stay.
The schedule was action-packed with a 4:30am wake-up to prep and head out before dawn when the animals started to get active. We didn’t mind and our guide JJ was also keen to be the first one out of camp to get first dibs at the sightings and to start tracking the creatures.
While other jeeps returned for breakfast at 10am, we would usually stay out until at least 11am sometimes skipping breakfast entirely and opting to go straight to lunch.
The animals generally get sluggish around midday, so we would go to the room, try to clean up pictures, take a short nap if we were lucky, and then head back out at 3pm for a quick teatime and straight onto the afternoon drive.
We would then stay out, usually after all the other jeeps, often to well after dark looking for nocturnal species and returning around 7pm for some mocktails followed by dinner.
We invited our guide to join us, and our conversations would often take us to almost 9pm. The staff was wonderful with Victor (our waiter) taking great care of us and Zweli our bartender making us creative mocktails at every opportunity. Sarah the chef prepared five-star meals nightly all under the watchful eye of Noms the camp manager.
After-hours we were escorted back to our rooms by Lodrick or Mefhuso who ran the in-camp taxi service with the golf carts. Being an open camp, you can’t walk unescorted after dark.
Finally on our return to the cabin, we would try to keep our eyes open long enough to sort through the day’s worth of pictures before falling asleep and doing it all over again.
After a few days it was getting more difficult to get out of bed, but up again we were at 4:30am because we didn’t want to miss anything!
Funny enough it didn’t matter what time we told Lodrick to come get us. He always smiled saying: “yes, yes” but still came at 5:45am. On our last day we told him 6am and everyone agreed. But we were ready anyway and sure enough at 5:45am the doorbell rang and the jeep was ready.
The game drives
Each guide that we’ve had and each area that we’ve visited have brought about a unique experience to safari viewing.
Some guides are constantly chattering about trivial facts while others remain clammed up offering information only when asked. Some are great at spotting wildlife and others not so much. We’ve sometimes had to tell them to stop at sites where we’ve spotted wildlife ourselves. Some love birds while others ignore them. We won’t mention names here but suffice it to say when you spend 9 hours a day in a jeep trying to spot wildlife together, you get to know your guide at least a little and get to experience their style of guiding.
We also enjoy having dinner with our guides and always invite them when the camp allows for it so as to connect more at a personal level and build a bond.
We felt that we had really lucked out with JJ. In all honesty it didn’t even feel like we were being guided but rather we felt like he was on a mission to track and find the animals and we were somehow just along for the ride as part of some masterclass in game tracking, photography, and finding and documenting the animals on the reserve.
As we progressed, he would share his knowledge of the various species and their habitats. It didn’t feel like a tour but more of a joint outing with an expert on African wildlife.
JJ had the eyes of an eagle, and the jeep would screech to a halt next to a bird on a branch that he’d identified calling it out by name and often being able to imitate its call for us.
We would not always see it right away even when he pointed it out to us after we had stopped. We wondered how his superhuman vision could have spotted it from a distance while driving, scanning the horizon, and reporting into base camp on the radio.
Reading tracks in the sand
Other times he would pull over and read tracks in the sandy road surface pointing out not just leopards but individual leopards he had grown to know in the area by their territories and the size of the paw prints. He’d point out the tracks and explain what we were looking at.
One time showing us one set where a hyena had stolen a leopard’s kill and dragged it across the riverbed with paw prints and signs of drag marks. Fascinating that he could bring such a scene to life from scattered prints and impressions in the sand.
Listening to alarms calls
As we stopped, we’d all listen intently for the tell tail signs of a barking impala alarm call. He said that birds, monkeys, squirrels or ‘anything on the menu’ had such calls and this usually indicated that there was a leopard or lion that had been spotted by the animals. We’d head over to the area to see which way the antelopes were pointing to see where we might find the predator they were alarming about.
Following the gaze of vultures
Another time we saw a vulture in a tree looking in one direction. Check where he flies said JJ. Vultures will often fly out of their perch towards a kill and return. Watching could give us an indication of where we could find the kill (and likely the predators that were still feeding on it).
The vultures would rarely attempt feeding until the big predators had finished and had abandoned the remains of their catch. At that point, hyenas and vultures would move in eating all that remained. We’d seen a kill be completely devoured without a trace over a few days. Each animal had its place and its purpose in the ecosystem.
Leopards of MalaMala
Mala Mala’s property extends to both sides of the Sand River and normally the jeeps can cross in a multitude of places during the dry season. They had had an extreme rainy season, and the river was still high making the crossing possible only via the man-made bridge, which would be part of our habitual route as we explored.
One day, arriving at the bridge on our way back from searching for leopards we saw a vehicle beside the bridge embankment with all the cameras pointing towards the bridge. As we approached, we saw Nambu, a handsome male leopard that had climbed onto the structure leaning up against the side using the bridge as a vantage point to look for prey. Undaunted by the sound of vehicles, excited human chatter and cameras clicking he just sat there with his arm folded over the railing looking chill. What a beautiful leopard.
Over the five days and ten game drives we saw a total of nine leopards. We saw some of the same ones on multiple days. Each time, we followed them along in the brush for a while as they hunted. Sometimes, we’d sit with them as they perched up in trees or on dried logs. These big cats are our favorites to view and most days we were focused on searching and tracking them.
We are not alone in our passion for leopards and the camps themselves work with Panthera (an organization dedicated to the preservation of wild cats) to assign names to each of the leopards. Like a soap opera the lineage of each leopard is kept track of. Leopards are easily identified by the spots on their cheeks each one being unique like a fingerprint. Experienced trackers like JJ recognize them easily by their size, mannerisms, and even their tracks having spent so much time with them.
Wonderful leopard encounters
Nambu was the first leopard we encountered this time. A beautiful one at that. The first time we saw him, he was perched up in a tree devouring an aardvark kill. We went back early the next morning, and he was still there eating. We ended up seeing him multiple times over the 5 days we were there. Once on the bridge and another time tracking the scent of the Three Rivers Female. Another time, we followed him hunting some kudus, perhaps for a late afternoon snack!
On my birthday we spotted Shingi, a recently independent male leopard, by the riverbank. It was pretty exciting to see him again as we had first seen him on Londolozi as a cub with his mother, the Nkoveni Female. And to top it off we had also encountered his father, the dominant Maxim’s Male, when we first came to MalaMala in 2019. It looks like he will be a powerful big leopard just like his father.
One evening we also spotted and followed the Piccadilly Female in the thicket after spending time with her daughter earlier that same evening. Later on, we also got to briefly glance at her son, Matumi, before he went deeper into the brush. Nice to see the Piccadilly Female again as we had also seen her on the small bridge when we stayed at MalaMala Rattrays in 2023.
One juvenile female leopard was just learning to hunt, and we watched her do her best to catch a francolin from a flock. She snuck along with her stomach low to the ground and darted (too soon) toward the flock lunging high up into the air. But the squawking flock escaped and flew off into a nearby tree where they continued squawking at her! What an exciting sighting that was! This was the second time we encountered this beautiful little leopard (the Piccadilly Female’s daughter).
Another lovely sighting we had in the southern part of the reserve was the Nukuma Male Leopard. He was keeping an eye on lions (members of the Sand River Pride) on the other side of the Sand River. He was so busy gazing across the bank that he didn’t pay us any attention.
Yet another time we saw a young female leopard (the New Rocks Female) sneaking soundlessly through the bushveld as she stealthily did her best at avoiding detection by birds or antelopes that would start alarm calling thus giving away her position and putting everyone nearby on high alert.
Earlier that day we had the chance to also spend time with a beautiful young leopard resting in a tree. This was the cub of the Kaben Female, mother of the New Rocks Female.
On our last afternoon game drive on the way back to camp via the main road, we were lucky to spot one more small leopard cub. Because it was dark, we didn’t follow her into the bushveld and risk alerting predators of here presence.
Sad news about a beloved leopard
While at the camp, we also heard some sad and unfortunate news about a well-loved leopard, the Three Rivers Female. She had been killed by lions! It was a shock! We had seen her on a prior visit and were hoping to see her again. Unfortunately, she had just given birth to two cubs that would surely perish without her.
The whole group of trackers were in mourning. Our guide would also reminisce as we drove by various areas of the reserve telling us, that’s a spot where we’d often see her, and how it was hard to accept that she was gone. Lions kill leopards in their territories because they compete for the same food sources he said. While leopards could usually run up trees and escape no one knew how and why she had gotten caught and perished. Some thought she may have put up a fight to protect her cubs.
Birding at MalaMala
One day we went along the drying riverbed and found two kingfishers on a branch overlooking a small pool of water. As the river dries, small ponds are left where fish get trapped. Eventually the whole riverbed turns to sand.
The kingfishers would hover over a spot looking down, and when they acquired their target, they would dive down into the water sometimes emerging with a small fish in their beaks.
Other small birds started to appear in the neighboring hackberry tree to eat fruits while we watched from the jeep.
There are many beautiful birds in South Africa, and we were glad our guide was also a birder. He knew every species of the birds we saw by name and was able to tell us something about them and often imitate their calls. Even without looking we’d hear a call and he’d identify it by the sound.
Another time we watched from the road as a colony of little bee-eaters darted off their perches to catch bees.
These beautiful colorful birds are some of the most beautiful we’ve seen and we couldn’t resist taking hundreds of shots of them as they darted on and off their perches.
We also saw all manner of water birds such as the funny looking hamerkops, herons, egrets, ducks and geese.
High up in the trees we spotted eagles and hawks scanning the bushveld for prey.
One day we again screeched to a halt near dusk spotting the cutest tiny juvenile owl. It was a Verreaux’s eagle-owl also known as a giant eagle-owl, and Africa’s largest owl measuring up to 26 inches!
Lion cubs
At the time of our visit, two lionesses from the Kamboula Pride had given birth to four lion cubs each and these tiny newborns were literally some of the cutest lion cubs we had ever seen.
The pride with kittens was still considered a den and special viewing rules were in place. At MalaMala (and many well-run private reserves) limitations on the number of vehicles and the frequency of viewings are strictly imposed so as not to disturb the animals.
For a new den each vehicle was allowed to stay a maximum of 15 minutes and there had to be a break of 15 minutes before the next vehicle. This would also help habituate the tiny cubs to the sound of vehicles and people and cameras clicking in the reserve. It still amazes us how close we can drive up with the vehicles, and the lions don’t give us a second glance.
It was honestly very difficult to tear ourselves away from these rambunctious and curious cubs. They would approach the vehicle with curious looks under mom’s watchful gaze. If they got too far, a tiny growl from mum would send them running back.
We could have watched for hours as the tiny cuties wrestled and growled at each other often climbing over mom and tumbling down the other side. One had gotten hold of the tip of a nyala tail and was shaking it in its mouth like a cat with a toy mouse. So cute!
Memorable safari encounters
While much of our time was spent looking for our favorite creatures we found all manner of incredible sightings.
An endangered rhino with her cute little calf. A baby hippo with mum. Two dens of hyenas with cubs of differing ages. Huge herds of elephants crossing the river or grazing in the bush. Giraffes, zebras, and all manner of antelopes such as kudus, nyalas, waterbucks, bushbucks, and huge herds of impalas. The little squirrels and mongooses were also cute.
As we moved through the MalaMala game reserve stopping to look at prints on the side of the road we’d often see lilac-breasted rollers perched on a branch watching. While we’ve undoubtedly taken hundreds of pictures of these extremely photogenic birds, we just couldn’t help ourselves and took a few more. They are such cuties.
Some days we really felt like the leopards were finding us! We’d drive through the bush reading tracks and listening to sounds and just like that a leopard would come out of nowhere and walk right past the vehicle. We’d still credit our ranger with bringing us to the right place even if on the rare occasion we would spot the leopard first.
We honestly felt that JJ with his passion for leopards and his experience tracking them would arrive at a juncture, pause and think, if I was an Ingwe (local for leopard) which way would I go here. However he did it, we were thrilled to see nine leopards during our stay and even four distinct ones in one day!
We also got to see a pack of African wild dogs that was roaming the reserve, and we spent time with two of these that had broken off to hunt.
Other interesting and rare sightings included a white-tailed mongoose, a Goliath heron, and one night a civet (a cat-like creature) related to mongooses, genets, and weasels.
On one drive a black mamba (or possibly a Madagascar cobra) slithered across the road into the grass making us think twice about following anything on foot into the thick underbrush.
More Lions
When the two Gijima male lions arrived on MalaMala and pushed out the older Ndhzenga males, one of the Kamboula lionesses left with the group of sub-adults in order to protect them from the Gijima males.
These young lions were fathered by the Ndhzenga males so they would surely get killed by the new dominant lions, the Gijima Coalition.
This group of lions is now pretty much nomadic, and we were fortunate to cross paths with them in the northern part of the reserve. We stayed with them for a while and laughed when they all lied down one on top of the other. A pile of lions!
We followed them for a while, but they went down a ravine where the jeep could not go. Our guide went around and we waited for them on the other side to no avail. Perhaps, seeking a cooler place to rest, the lions decided to stay in the thicket.
Symbiotic relationships
Nature works together and there are so many symbiotic or simply opportunistic situations where one creature benefits or takes advantage of a situation caused by another.
We watched some elephant bulls stirring up the bottom of a pool of water while kingfishers watched as fish were driven to the surface by the churning water movement only to be snatched by the awaiting birds.
Small birds like oxpeckers sit on big animals such as elephants, rhinos, hippos, buffalos, giraffes, and so on. They eat ticks or parasites from their host, and in return get a free ride. In some cases, they also alert these larger animals to the presence of predators in the area. But sometimes these little birds can also cause damage by removing small scabs on their host.
Wildebeests and zebras are often found together for safety. Zebras have a great vision, but wildebeests have an increased sense of smell and excellent hearing so together they are better equipped to detect predators in the area. Further, both animals are grazers but don’t compete for the same type of grass. Zebras eat short and tough grass while wildebeest prefer the tender shoots.
These are only a few examples of these types of collaborative relationships. Isn’t nature amazing?
Safari at Tengile MalaMala
The newly enlarged territory of Tengile MalaMala was huge with 20 km of river frontage. We drove along the west side border of Kruger National Park which went on for miles. The whole border is unfenced since 1993. And I learned that the day of my birthday was the day (100 years ago) that Kruger Park with its protected status was formed. Very cool.
MalaMala still goes out with only a ranger and no tracker, but it works out quite well as the ranger/guides are very talented. While you’d think there would be more success at finding animals with two sets of eyes, we’ve never been disappointed with the number of sightings at MalaMala. The frequency of sightings is much higher here than elsewhere and this is why we keep coming back.
The iconic slogan used to say: “It’s all about the wildlife.” I do hope they bring that sentiment back. We personally think that the real differentiators at MalaMala are having the longest riverfront access and the largest and most accessible private game reserve with an abundance of animals and expert rangers. This is what makes MalaMala so special. We don’t care much about all the fluff. We are not here for the spa or fine dining. We can do that at home. The natural beauty and the wildlife are what draws us to MalaMala.
So, would we come back again? We believe we would. It’s a magical place and one we’d love to come and see again and again. The animals, and the abundance of leopards is why we come to the Greater Kruger area, and MalaMala in particular.
The new safari camera
Our new SONY A93 camera did quite well with moving birds and the fast-action scenes. But I found it difficult to use with the heavy lens and my husband was left manipulating it while I stuck to my trusted Sony RX10. In most cases as we reviewed the photos, they looked equally impressive.
The added benefits of being lighter, smaller, and having a 24-600 focal range still kept the RX10 as my go-to camera. In many cases my husband had his huge zoom on, and animals were close by making it more difficult to capture close-up images. And we didn’t want to change lenses in the dusty bushveld to avoid getting dust on the sensor.
Rattray’s Lodge impressions
Not much had changed since our visit two years ago at Rattray’s as we had visited after the recent renovation of the lodge. The eight cabins at Rattray’s Lodge are enormous and each has a view of the Sand River.
We saw elephants crossing from our veranda and had nyalas and kudus grazing just outside the porch. We had birds in our private birdbath, and monkeys on the roof.
Not sure if the small plunge pool was heated but the days were so cold and the water was freezing and we were too busy going on game drives to even ask about it.
A Nespresso machine, a well-stocked minibar, cookies and snacks were replenished daily. Towel warmers were handy on the cold mornings, and the ceiling-based heating and AC worked well and was controlled by a remote. Definitely all the creature comforts and more than enough space to stretch out.
On our last two days we surprisingly found ourselves in an empty lodge being the only guests. We left in the morning with just our guide present and ordered our lunch and dinner in advance to prevent any waste. This was still quite surprising to us as Rattray’s usually has to be booked well in advance as the 8 cabins are coveted by nature lovers and repeat guests.
Restaurant and bar overview
The restaurant and bar area had not changed, and we had pleasant memories of Zweli bringing us drinks in front of the fireplace after returning from a game drive before dinner. We were glad to find him there again.
The menu was quite fancy with pork bellies and seabass and even game meats such as elan. The staff made us birthday cakes and came out to sing which was a really nice touch.
Everything tasted great and yet we longed for something simpler and down to earth after a few days. We were happy when on the last day chef Sarah came to ask us what we’d like. We all asked for a hearty pasta dish with chicken. And we always extend an invitation to our guide to join us for meals and he did.
Conclusion
With the game drives behind us and another wonderful safari filled with memories it was time to head back home to see our own mini-leopard house cat that was waiting for us.
The FedAir flight to Johannesburg was there early. So, we gave out our gratuities and comment card to the camp manager and headed to the Londolozi landing strip. As we talked with JJ, our guide, and said goodbye we found ourselves using words like ‘next time we will do this or that’ and laughed as it just seemed obvious to both of us that in some shape or form it was very likely that we’d find ourselves back in South Africa to see these majestic animals again.