Leopards plus +

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(This is part of a trip report to Africa, flying United Global Business/First, costing $87 and 120,000 miles which were Ultimate Reward points from my Chase Ink card, transferred to United.)

Our first day out at Mala Mala, we saw eleven giraffes! I just LOVE to watch them…

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We also saw a little elephant family…

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The elephant tusks are actually incisors (like teeth) and they are right/left tusked, just like us!

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We just waited for them all to cross the road, and the ages were about one and a half, four, and seven!

 

DSC_0458-001Sadly, due to poaching, elephant tusks are not as long as they once were.

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Just a little snack…

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Mala Mala has been privately owned since 1927. They started “camera” safaris, rather than hunting, in 1965 when the current owners bought it. There are three camps, we stayed in the main camp, the least expensive one. The property is 33,000 acres, with all human habitation on the western side of the Sand River.

Here are some photos of the lodge and other buildings…

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The property has an infinity pool facing the Sand River..

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Maybe the male nyala wants to go for a swim?! (The female looks totally different).

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And there were exercise rooms, which we had NO time to use!

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In the lodge, these tusks were over ten feet long! The elephant had died a natural death some years past.

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This is the entrance to Mala Mala.

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I promised leopards and we saw these twins, about eight months old, one morning. The mom was on a hunt, which can last 2-3 days, but she’s trained her babies to stay in one place.

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All the pictures are the female, the male was more elusive…

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We watched her stalk, and even that young, they are experts. They move V E R Y s l o w l y!

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ALL the food throughout the trip was spectacular! I don’t have any photos, I guess I was too busy enjoying it all! At Mala Mala, we had a breakfast and lunch buffet, and ate on the patio facing the Sand River. In the afternoons, before our drive, we had tea. And at night, we were served a meal in an open air hut.

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The main reason we went to Mala Mala was the 99% guarantee of seeing leopards if you stay two nights! And we certainly did, more on that later…

Comments

Leopards plus + — 5 Comments

  1. Ellen,

    Never saw a nyala before! Interesting. Love your photos, and especially of the young leopards. Amazing that the mother trains her babies to stay put while she is gone hunting. Thank you!

    June