He ’ s much bigger and stronger than she is , so she climbs up the bank , settles under a bush , and waits nervously but hopefully . He slumbers on .
Our drive continues . We tick off spotted hyenas , white rhinos , a herd of Cape buffalo crossing in front of us , and after another glorious African sunset and a round of sundowners , on the spot-lit drive home , a scrub hare , a bush baby , a spotted genet , a side-striped jackal , and a white-tailed mongoose , the biggest of the mongoose family .
Later in the boma , around a crackling fire , under stars so bright you could reach out and grab them ( most of the foreign guests have never seen such a dazzling stellar display and are oohing and aahing ), we feast on scrumptious homemade food and sip great South African wine .
Welcome to Africa ’ s most famous game reserve , MalaMala .
Why is it world-famous ? Not only because of superb standards of service , sound and principled conservation policies , the vast size of the property ( with unfenced borders with Kruger National Park and 20km of Sand River frontage ) and possibly the finest , most consistent game viewing on the sub-continent ; but also because MalaMala has always been at the forefront of change . It was the first private reserve in South Africa to make the move from hunting safaris to photographic ones , and now is once again leading the way .
March 1 , 2016 , marked a momentous occasion both for MalaMala and the South African eco-tourism industry when the ‘ new ’ MalaMala Game Reserve was born – a private-public partnership between Mr Michael Rattray , legendary founder and previous owner of the reserve , Mr Stephen Saad , owner of the adjacent Kirkman ’ s Kamp , and members of the N ’ wandlamhari Communal Property Association .
Now the local community is firmly and importantly established as an enduring and exciting part of MalaMala ’ s ongoing history .
There are also exciting new projects planned ( including a new camp and a state-of-the-art photographic vehicle ), but the spirit and soul of the place – beloved by so many thousands of visitors over so many years – will continue to inform MalaMala . And yes , your guest experience will continue to be simply the best … ■
BMW INTERNATIONAL POLO 39