I wrote this on the airplane from Kruger to Cape Town. I am like a zombie at this stage so any errors forgive me. We only bought one computer and Ken is "itching" to look at his pictures tomorrow. So I will post this now "as is" and Ken can have the computer in the morning

We had a great dinner with Tom and Marcie tonight, then Linda and Chris arrived so they all met. Then coming back to our rooms who was about to go in their room - Ken and Sheila. They introduced us to their friends Dave and Claudia. We gave hugs all round and then everyone was pooped and we all went to bed.

Here is my "airplane" post

What a great two days at Mala Mala. This lodge is in the Sabi Sand area, bordered by other properties we have used. Chitwa Chitwa in the north, Lion sands in the South and the Londolozi, Ulusaba, Leopard Hills area in the west and Mozambique in the East. No fences between these areas. Mala Mala has 27 miles of river front in their area which is a big draw for game animals particularly in the dry months.

The game was fantastic, and the first two game drives were good we saw the big five, elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and cape buffalo. Including a stunning male lion during the day and then roaring at night. Plus a really great night sighting of a mother leopard and her cub very close to our vehicle. They have so many elephants, the best was a young elephant that came right up to the car we thought he was going to put his trunk on the car. Plus many tiny baby elephants.

We also saw a hyena den with a young hyena, a baby giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, dikers, kudu, and of course impala.

Plus others saw some spectacular sightings. The morning we arrived our assigned vehicle saw a kudu taken down by lion in the middle of the river bed. A huge pride of 18 lions arrived and were consuming the carcass. Then a herd of elephants that were quietly grazing on the river bank and suddenly charged the lions and pushed the lions off the kill. The pictures were absolutely amazing. That same large pride took down a kudu the next night as well and some vehicles were able to see that after the kill.

The last morning was OUR turn for amazement it is was incredible. We started out going to the kudu kill from the night before that was literally a few minutes drive from our room. We saw three lionesses with five cubs. One lioness was eating the carcass and a three month old cub was digging in too. The others cubs were nursing, climbing all over mom and having fun. Perfect light for Ken he was in heaven. In the trees were vultures patiently waiting their turn to feed. I really did not want to leave but on the other side of the river was a single lioness and Adam our WONDERFUL ranger said we need to go and investigate as this lioness has the youngest cubs just three weeks old. Was he ever correct we were in for a great experience.

Success was ours, we found two three week old lion cubs in clear site with no obstruction to the sighting. It is very hard to see cubs this young they were still having trouble walking around, they had faces of angels it was such a special moment. Climbing on sticks and each other, so much fun to watch we were totally enthralled. They were the most adorable cubs we have ever seen it was magical. Mom left and the cubs retreated to their den we they would stay hidden until their mother returned.

The lions we had left crossed over the river as well while we were watching these tiny cubs so we went down the river a short distance to look at them again. We were sitting there with the lions and Adam said, “there is a leopard approaching the kill site on the other side of the river” In a few seconds the vultures went flying up into the air, the leopard had arrived at the kill site.
The three female lions instantly reacted and one lion raced crossed the river. We saw her chase the leopard off the kill, the leopard jumped into a tree then fell out of the tree. We could see the lion at the base of the tree but not the leopard. Another lion crossed over as well and we could see them hunting for the leopard. We were afraid the leopard had been killed and we crossed back over the river to see what had happened. This was really thick bush and trees and on a fairly steep bank. It took a lot of skill to maneuver in this thick bush. Adam saw the leopard, Ken and I could not see it. The leopard was on the ground in thick bush. We were all surprised it had not climbed into a tree for safety. Adam knew the leopard from past sightings but had not seen it for about 9 months. It was a 3 year old male leopard not doing the things he should be doing in this situation his inexperience was showing. Adam parked at the carcass that the leopard had stolen and dropped as he felt the leopard would return to get the “stolen meat”. Adam was right again, the leopard returned and he picked up the remains and we thought he would take it up a tree. No this leopard just moved it into an area we could not see well and started eating on the remains. Not a smart leopard!

After a short while and lots of vehicle moving on our part the leopard left and moved down to the river bank to go back to the main kill site. We followed and the leopard ate for while and then abandoned the kill and went to drink from a close by pool of water. Ken got some great shots of him drinking.

After the leopard had his drink he walked into a clearing stopped in the middle of the clearing and looked directly at the lions. It seemed like he was flaunting his success at stealing the kill and outsmarting the lions. The lions immediately perked up and we thought it was all going to happen again. I do want to see a kill but NOT see a lion kill a leopard. It is okay to kill their regular meat source but not a leopard. Thankfully the lions did not cross again and the leopard went off into the thicket.

A truly amazing morning almost all in sight of our room!

MALA MALA

We visited all three camps in Mala Mala staying in the standard Main Camp and then staying in the upscale camp Rattrey’s. I have always heard this place described as a “camp” not a lodge and even Mala Mala describes itself this way. We had heard that the rangers were young and inexperienced with a high turnover. These are the reasons I had not visited before. However I decided I needed to check it out as I have been to pretty much all the other camps I have wanted to consider and I am SO GLAD that I did come here. I should have come sooner!

What I had heard was true but not the problem I had anticipated.

CAMP instead of a LODGE
None of the lodges are all inclusive. All meals at all camps are buffet so no fancy gourmet sit down dinners. This is part of the concept of it being a CAMP not a lodge. Breakfast is standard fare cooked to order eggs. Lunch is salad items and three set hot dishes. Dinner is soup, appetizer served at the table and the main is a choice of two main and vegetables from the buffet. Then they serve dessert at the table. The food is good and tasty nothing fancy. Meals are in the boma or on the deck. They seem to use the dining room only when weather dictates outside is not possible. Bush breakfasts are simpler and the ranger is the chief cook and bottle washer. He cooks the eggs sausages and bacon over a fire. No fancy set up but a table a log seat and some breakfast items in Tupperware containers. The basic set up and clean up is done by rangers that do not have guests that day. It was a ton of fun but again not the “elegant bush breakfast” of a lodge. No morning coffee on the morning game drive, sundowners a simpler affair and no trackers. Afternoon tea is simple with one plate of goodies. Dinner is very late at 8.30 pm, they will not go all inclusive, this camp has been run the same way for years and things will stay to the same schedule and program. If you take a WHOLE camp then you can do things differently if you wish. There are other small differences like this but this is NOT a big thing if you know this going in. Price point is very competitive in comparison to what we use now. Main camp about the price of Kings Camp and Chitwa Chitwa and Raffety’s about the price of Leopard Hills.

THE YOUNG INEXPERIENCED GAME RANGERS
I will agree with the young part but I find a great group of highly enthusiastic game rangers that were so in love with their jobs it was very infectious. They all have full ranger training so they are mostly young but sprinkled with more seasoned rangers. Only Mala Mala vehicles are on the property and the co-operation between them all was the best I have witnessed. We were with a young ranger for two game drives and a more senior ranger for two game drives. Both were really good and I would be happy going out with either of them. Every ranger was happy, communicating with all guests the enthusiasm was bubbling up everywhere. I can see the turnover situation as these guys work SO HARD. They greet you on arrival, they show you the lodge, they handle any problems they are the social host eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with the guests. They are the waiters, the cooks on bush breakfast, the ranger and the tracker. They are also involved in many duties with the animals and work on the reserve. I saw NO down time during the day for these guys. I think they may burn out and move on it is pretty inevitable. They all seem to love doing “it all” and Mala Mala is creating young rangers that will have fantastic skills on all levels as they move on to new lodges. It is a very personal experience that one person is your “everything” but it must be hard on them after a period of time, they burn out and move on.

THE LODGES
All rooms are large, with two full size bathroom, one with bathtub and one with a shower. The rooms have air conditioning, fans and a view. Wireless internet is free and accessible in all the rooms. Laundry is included but a limit on the pieces per day. Not all inclusive they provide bottled water and all drinks are extra. Main camp is not fenced and Rattrey’s is fenced/

THE CAMPS AND ROOMS

MAIN CAMP
Divided into Buffalo and Sable camps, a BIG lodge holds 50 people. Sable can be taken privately by up to 20 people with its own bar, lounge, meal service.

Main Camp has great rooms. All the rooms have two nice sized bathrooms one with a bathtub for the lady and one with a shower for the man. Each bathroom has a closet with 8 drawers. Good sized bedroom room with two lounge chairs facing the river or the water hole. There are three desks in the room, a big mini bar area and a small reading area with couch. A wall of windows looks out at the view and Nyala were eating the grass and shrubs right at our window. There is a large deck with two lounge chairs.

RATTREY’S CAMP
Maximum capacity is 8 rooms for a total of 16 people. The lodge area is very spacious for this many people and with a more upscale public areas.

The main two bathrooms it is just bigger beautifully decorated a stunning room in every way. I have been to so many top lodges and this room rivals the best I have seen. An absolute pleasure to stay there is not only classy but extremely practical as well. I loved this room. Ken has pictures and we will post these on our smugmug site later. There is also a large deck with a large plunge pool. From our room number 8 we saw lions and cubs crossing from one side of the river to the other. Probably visible from the other rooms too we were just closest to the crossing area. We saw giraffe and other animals drinking on the other side of the river. This room is the largest distance from the lodge and if you want it there is a golf cart to take you to and from the rooms. It is not that far though about 4 minutes and totally flat.