Mala Mala and Mashatu Safari
Returning guests of Sun Safaris, Christine and Detlef, needed to be in the far north of the Kruger National Park for their son’s graduation as a Safari Guide! The guiding school is located in the private Makuleke concession in the Kruger National Park. This was the perfect excuse to go on safari! Starting with a charter flight from Johannesburg, the couple landed at Mala Mala, within the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger. This iconic safari reserve shares unfenced borders with the Kruger National Park allowing freedom of movement for the animals.
From Mala Mala there is a direct flight to Mashatu Main Camp located in Botswana’s Tuli area, bordering the North West of South Africa and the south of Zimbabwe. Underground hides and herds of elephants awaited them at Mashatu! From Mashatu it was an easy drive to the Makuleke in Kruger where the proud parents enjoyed game drives and bush walks in the Kruger, led by their son! Magical!
Here is Christine’s review of their trip along with her fantastic pictures!
Dear Brett and Michelle,
Here a short review! The itinerary and logistics were great. We saw more wildlife than expected and loved both camps. Below please find a review.
Two improvements I would suggest for the lodges: all meals were taken with the guides and same group as in jeep: not a must, would have been nice to have some private time or with other guests and give the guides a break! Food at Mashatu was not as good as at Mala Mala.
Sun Safari as usually did an outstanding job, thank you!
Mala Mala:
Mala Mala is an amazing place for wildlife sightings. We saw all the big 5. Leopards mating, wild dogs hunting and killing a steenbok as well as many white rhinos were all real highlights! From the terrace in our room we saw a lot of game as well! The lodge is nicely decorated and the rooms very large with two bathrooms (!) one with a bathtub. The atmosphere is pleasant and not stuck up despite the fact the lodge is high end. The guides are excellent (we were very lucky to have Olly) and the food was very good (same cook for the last 8 years) but too many meals (early morning coffee+, breakfast, lunch, high tea, dinner) which created a fragmented day and not enough time for resting mid day. Michael, the barman is an institution.
Mala Mala is the biggest private area for wildlife viewing in the fantastic Sabi sands area; it was fantastic way beyond our (high) expectations.
Mashatu:
A wonderful guiding team: Dan and Morgan! We had the best cub sightings ever: leopards, lions, cheetahs and hyenas. We were very close to the animals and usually the first at the sightings giving us plenty of time. The landscape is beautiful and diverse. We also loved the hide where you can see animals at eye height (book ahead!). The cabins are well decorated and pleasant. The atmosphere at the lodge was very relaxed with wildlife roaming around the camp. Small suggestion: food quality could be improved (fresher, less starchy and greasy) but the schedule of their meal was better than at Mala Mala.
