​User Reviews – MalaMala GR

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 31-33 of 33 Reviews
Russell R   –  
Australia AU
Visited: March 2013 Reviewed: May 14, 2013

Email Russell R  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Mala Mala Game Reserves definately delivers the wildlife experiences you are looking for.
Overall rating
4/5

The Mala Mala Game Reserve is privately owned, nestled between the Sabi Sands Game Reserve and the Kruger National Park. The reserve is about 133 sq kms and only accessible to Mala Mala guests. This is a major point as lodges in the Sabi Sands Reserve share traversing rights with other lodges resulting in increased vehicle and human presence.

Mala Mala is renowned for the wildlife. On my trip I was lucky enough to see the rare pangolin (actually 2 of them), leopards, elephants and an array of other animals and birds. You can see why many documentary makers and professional photographers are drawn to Mala Mala.

The accommodation is good, but a little tired. There are 2 properties on the reserve - Mala Mala Main Camp which houses Sable Camp and Rattrays. Rattray's is more upmarket than Main Camp. All the properties have the concept of "his" and "hers" bathrooms which to me is overkill and I would prefer more space in the bedroom/living area. The bathrooms need an update as well. Accommodation at Main camp is affordable and fine, especially compared to other camps in the Sabi Sands. You'd choose Mala Mala for the wildlife opportunities, not the accommodation.

Mala Mala has its own airstrip so recommend people fly in rather than transfer from Nelspruit or Hoedspruit. This can be done through Fedair. The drive from Nelspruit to the Sabi Sands gate takes a little over an hour then it is another hour to get to Mala Mala Main Camp. Normally transfers are done by an external company so bouncing around in a transit van is uncomfortable, whereas the flight will take you from Johannesburg airport directly to the Mala Mala airstrip.

The guides are great and have a great love of the bush. My guide Ross even has a Masters of Zoology so the depth of knowledge is incredible. The open vehicles are comfortable and reliable. The rangers are allowed to go off road in certain cases, which adds to the excitement. We followed a leopard stalking a rock python which we couldn't do unless we were off road. This is why you pay the extra money to be a private lodge.

Game viewing = 10 out of 10
accommodation = 7 out of 10

Thomas Berggren   –  
Sweden SE
Visited: April 2013 Reviewed: Nov 4, 2013

35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

A wild place
Overall rating
5/5

My stay at Mala Mala game reserve was one out of three stays during a photosafari trip arranged by Stu Porter at Wild4 Photo Safaris. He had arranged this stay as the last on our tour and i can understand why. A better ending to a perfect week in the bush is hard to find. We stayed at Rattray´s on Mala Mala where i had the privilege to live in my own Khaya wich is something i can really recommend. These Khayas are simply wonderful and makes you feel like a king. The staff is very helpful and service minded and will always do everything to make your stay memorable.
Anyway, our main goal with this trip was to get as many nice safari pictures as possible and Mala Mala delivered that too. Our ranger Peter took really good care of us and as he also was very interested in photography he had a good feeling for what we probably would like to see. We successfully spotted the big five and lots of other interesting animals such as a pangulin for instance. We went out into the bush at 6 o clock every morning and brought our breakfast with us out to have it the Landrover. Being in april it was kind of cold in the mornings but the car was equipped with blankets so that was no problem. We then went back to camp at around noon to have lunch and do some downloading of our pictures and after that we went back out again until the sun went down and it became too dark for photography. We really had a lot of nice moments at Mala Mala during this trip and those moments will always stay in my mind. I hope i get to go there again sometime.

Douglas Croft   –  
United States US
Visited: July 2012 Reviewed: Oct 25, 2013

50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Beyond Amazing!
Overall rating
5/5

Let's get the mundane stuff out of the way. The lodging, food and bar were outstanding. The staff was friendly and eager to please. The safari vehicles were open and as comfortable as one could expect. Our Ranger was extremely knowledgable and was great at getting us in the best position for photos while being respectful of the animals. As a private reserve, we had it all to ourselves. Most of the time, we were the only vehicle in sight. At most there would be one other vehicle (this is carefully controlled). That is HUGE! Great for viewing/photos and great for the animals.
Now on to the good stuff: The wildlife.
The abundance and variety of wildlife was astounding. The Sand River flows through the reserve and draws the wildlife to it. As we were being shown our room (all with a view of the river) a herd of elephants came down for a drink. It just got better from there. Our first morning game drive gave us the Big 5 before we stopped for lunch! Before the day was over we had also seen cheetah and wild dogs to round out Africa's Super Seven. Our evening game drive that day ended with a lioness and her three week old cubs on one of their first ventures out of the den. Absolutely amazing! I would return to MalaMala in a heartbeat.

Average User Rating

  • 4.9/5
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star 29
  • 4 star 4
  • 3 star 0
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 0
Write a User Review