Greetings from MalaMala,

As 2007 lies in wait just below our horizon, we find ourselves (all too soon) reflecting on the year past.

We have had an exceptional 2006. Game viewing remains our speciality. Our visitors have experienced a total of 3784 lions in 990 sightings, 1777 leopards in 1501 sightings, 1404 buffalo sightings (some herds in excess of 500), 2002 elephant sightings, and 3818 rhinos in 1969 sightings. Our wildlife has provided the content of two international award-winning wildlife documentaries produced by Kim Wolhuter – Predators at War, and Hyena Queen. MalaMala was again voted as one of the top hotels in Africa & the Middle East by readers of the Travel and Leisure Magazine. We are proud that after 42 years, we are still able to deliver on our promise of offering the ultimate wildlife experience on the African sub-continent.
 

Interesting Fact number one: Fire Breaks

Mala Mala has had an active fire prevention policy for over forty years. The core element of this policy is the fire breaks, which divide the property into seven blocks. A small road is situated parallel to one of the main roads and about eighty yards off. In early Autum, as soon as the grass is dry enough to burn, the area between these roads is burnt resulting in an eighty-yard-wide strip containing no flammable material. These fire breaks are sufficient on their own to stop a small fire burning up against them. The effect of temperature and wind however has a profound effect on bush fires. On a hot day with a strong wind even a fire break of such width will not stop an inferno, which will “jump” across the break - mainly via burning clumps of vegetation that are picked up by the fierce heat generated by the fire and transported by the prevailing wind surprisingly long distances ahead of the fire. On these occasions the fire break is useful as a safe area from which a back burn can be started against the runaway fire.

Without such a system in place and constant vigilance during the dry season, fires can devastate large swathes of land with undesirable consequences for the ecology and for game viewing.
 

The Charleston Pride was found near Rocky Crossing with an unknown male lion. There was a lot of aggression between the male and the lionesses – the latter eventually giving in and running rapidly west into Ingwe Donga. Eventually they –united and headed northwards towards F-Bend Open Area. The male lion followed the lionesses closely, not letting them out of his sight.

The lionesses eventually had enough and charged the male as a unit. Although there was not any physical contact between the lions, there was extremely hostile behaviour. After the stand-off, however, all the lions roared in unison, indicating that the females had perhaps accepted the male as a member of their pride. Only time will tell what is to become of this new male lion.

A man must clearly earn his stripes in the animal kingdom too!
 

“This is a story that might have been humorous – depending on which side of the “fence” one was standing. It happened a few summers ago when, according to the normal course of events, it rained. Once all the ponds and puddles were full of water, the frogs emerged to sing in tuneful chorus and breed. Everyone is interested in something and one of my interests happens to be frogs. So, one fine evening, I was standing ankle deep in a puddle shining a torch onto the frogs, catching them and showing them to my guests (as well as to another ranger and his guests who were similarly interested). All was going well until it suddenly got better! Right in the middle of the puddle, the torch’s beam happened upon a truly enormous trophy sized Bubbling Kassina (a yellowish frog with chocolate brown bands down its sides). This was by far the biggest I had seen, so I set the beam on it and carefully crept closer and crouched - ready to pounce. Just when my free hand was hovering a few inches away from the frog …. just before I lunged forward to secure it ….. the gut feeling that had been growing stronger that it was an unusual looking frog suddenly became a certainty as the picture in front of me resolved with shocking clarity. I leapt back with a quickly stifled oath of the more expressive variety. The Bubbling Kassina is not the only sometime-yellowish-coloured-with-chocolate-brown-bands visitor to lonely ponds. Nor is it the only such visitor to lie half submerged in the water waiting for food to conveniently wander into its jaws. What I had been looking at was in fact not a Bubbling Kassina, but a four foot long python, with a head just larger than the entire body of the frog in question. Although a four foot long python is not likely to be of great significant in a life insurance policy, it is more than adequate in the line of nasty surprises. And so, seven guests, one ranger and two trackers were witness to the gratifying spectacle of the then-senior ranger erupting from a shallow pond like a demented Polaris missile, trailing a small python in an elevated degree of vexation.

One can well imagine how entertaining it would have been to anyone other than me.”

Regional Manager – Nils Kure (at MalaMala since 1988)
 

MalaMala Main Camp is the ideal family destination. Welcoming children of all ages, youngsters are able to participate in a holistic programme tailored to suit their needs. This includes (but is not limited to) “mini-survivor” activities, creative exercises and access to a veritable collection of wildlife movies that are both thrilling and educational.

A range of family accommodation is available in inter-leading rooms, quad or triple family rooms. Children’s menus are available as are babysitting facilities should mom and dad wish to enjoy dinner in the boma without the kids.

 

The MalaMala Guest’s Gallery (an initiative conceptualized by MalaMala 6 years ago) remains a popular show-case of what our visitors have experienced during their stay with us. We would like to thank the Wheeler Family from San Antonio, Texas for the following submission. "I had to share Africa with my 9 & 11 year old children and MalaMala was the only place I wanted to take them.  We were off and running on the first game drive!  It was so full of amazing sights that I was just about speechless.  On our game drives we saw 2 leopards in trees two times on one game drive, leopards mating, a croc eating an impala, cheetah cubs eating a duiker, a leopard eating a duiker in a tree,  lion cubs eating a warthog, kudus mating, Lilac Breasted Rollers mating, a Giant Eagle Owl, giraffes fighting/necking and that's just what I remember off the top of my head.  We heard lions late at night and early in the morning from our room a couple of days.  What an adventure!  My thanks to Nils, Leon and all the rest of the staff for making our stay such an unforgettable experience."

We could not share the magic of MalaMala were it not for our guests, clients, partners and friends. We thank you for your support, your loyalty and your passion for Africa. We wish you an inspiring festive season full of delight and goodwill. And we wish you a year ahead that far exceeds your greatest expectations.

We remain committed to bringing the best of Africa to you, with pride!

The MalaMala Team