The most interesting part of MalaMala is seeing the animals but I was also interested in the aviation aspects of the trip. We headed to MalaMala from Johannesburg aboard a 29 passenger Jetstream 41 regional turboprop airliner which is made by British Aerospace. Their were two pilots, a flight attendant, and six passengers. I don’t think South African Airways made much money on the flight. I was impressed with the Jetstream. It has two 1,650 horsepower Honeywell turboprop engines with McCauley five-bladed propellers. The pilots have a digital radio communications system and a fully digital automatic flight control system. The MalaMala Airport is a different story. The "airport" is actually a mile-long paved strip in the middle of the bushveld. There are no buildings and the emergency ground resources consist one fire truck sitting in the weeds. I don’t believe there are any navigation aids on the ground. Nevertheless, I am quite confident that the daily flight into and out of MalaMala is as safe as any flights anywhere.
The MalaMala Game Reserve has been in existence since 1927 and claims to be the largest private "Big Five" (lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros and elephant) game reserve in South Africa. MalaMala has 40,000 acres of land with a 12 mile unfenced border with the world-renowned Kruger National Park. There are several different "camps" where one could stay — we were fortunate to be at Rattray’s. Not only does MalaMala provide an exciting wildlife experience but it also is very focused on preserving and protecting the animals and the ecosystem. This became evident from the outset when Rob, our ranger, briefed us on the protocol to be followed while out in the bush. No getting out of or standing in the Land Rover, no waving of arms, and no making of noises to try to attract the animals attention.
Each day started at 5:30 AM with a wake-up call from Rob. After a cup of coffee we headed out in the Land Rover with our new friends, Gerhard and Hiltrud, from Germany. In total we made five trips into the bush. Rob and Culver, our tracker, had an uncanny sense of when various kinds of animals would be in certain places. The reserve has more than 1,000 miles of "roads" and frequently the Land Rover would suddenly pull off into the grass to see one of the big five or other animals. Rob would shut off the engine and we would just sit and watch. The rangers are in constant radio communication with one another to keep each other informed about the location of the game. The animals at MalaMala have grown up with engines as part of the ambient noise of the bush. They were not intimidated or seem to notice us whispering to each other as we were in awe of these great animals. We were typically twenty to fifty feet or so away and sometimes less than ten feet. (see photo gallery).
We got back to camp at 9am for breakfast. In the afternoon we would meet at 4 PM and head out until 7:30 PM and then meet for cocktails and dinner. All three meals each day were prepared by the on-site natively-dressed staff. Our ranger sat with us at each meal and the homemade food was extremely good. On the second night we dined outdoors in the boma by the crackling fire pit. After dinner it was time to return to our khaya (Zulu for ‘home’).
Although the facilities were more than expected, the real attraction was the animals. At departure we received a certificate validating that we had indeed seen the big five. We actually saw many more animals including jackal, hyena, baboons, water buffalo, cheetah, giraffe, zebra plus many different birds and interesting plants and trees. The lioness playing with her four cubs was a special treat. As usual, I have to apologize for my poor photographic skills but the photo gallery is worth more than whatever else I can say, except for one thing that I found truly amazing. A leopard had overtaken and killed an impala. An impala is a fast runner and weighs 150-200 pounds. They can jump a distance of thirty feet. Whatever it’s abilities, it was not enough to get away from the leopard. It dragged the impala to the base of a tree and we sat thirty feet away in the Land Rover watching as it planned the next steps to protect the "kill" from being taken by other leopards or by hyenas. After devouring enough of the meat to lighten the weight a bit, the leopard picked up the impala by the neck with it’s teeth and raced straight up a fifty foot tree like a rocket ship. I could barely believe it as I saw it. Leopards are said to be able to carry three times their weight up a tree. The leopard placed the impala between two limbs near the top of the tree with head and antlers and two legs hanging over one part and the other two legs hanging over the other. The leopard then parked itself spread-eagled over a lower part of the limb and rested. We went back that night and saw hyena (notice those nasty teeth) laying in the grass hoping the leopard would get sloppy and let the impala fall to the ground. We went back the next day and the leopard was still up in the tree. Too bad I did not have a night vision zoom lens. Hopefully the pictures here convey the story.
