(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.)
Mala Mala is a private camp, with a twelve mile, unfenced border with Kruger National Park in South Africa. Our main reason for going there was the almost guaranteed leopard sightings (more on that in a later post). It was winter in South Africa, as you can see from the above photo, which was our view from the patio during lunch.
The camp is like a little village, with eighteen suites. The walkways were raked daily!
Each little cone shaped building was a suite of rooms!
The flowers were amazing! 
I love how the buildings were built into the land.
And here is our little “house” for four nights!
Inside it was HUGE, with two bathrooms, two closets, a desk, sitting area, and snack bar. I love all the art work! The arch to the right leads to my bathroom and closet. Notice the bench at the foot of the bed; the white seating area is rope.
One bathroom had a tub and one had a shower.
That is rope around the mirror…we also saw a rope stool, similar to the bench, at one of our friends. But I never saw anything similar for sale – I would have loved to take something like that home.
The writing desk…
The snack bar area with some snacks, tea, and coffee. We were too stuffed from all our meals to try anything!
Our sitting area…the last night we had room service and ate dinner here…very relaxing!
The wall of windows with the patio behind.
Our view…
Coming soon, leopards at Mala Mala!
Wow, the hotel/lodge where you stayed was beautiful!!! Anxious to see the leopards next!
Ellen, you scoundrel! You know just how to leave us hanging! 🙂 Hey, what was the food like? – Dori –
Dori, it’s what I teach my students; I want to keep my readers begging for more! (:
Beautiful pictures. I came via MMS and am interested in reading the blog. As a fellow teacher I love to travel too, and the teaching career offers the time but not necessarily the money to do it. Thus the miles and points hobby is fantastic. My dream destination (and I’m booked to go there for spring break) is the Galápagos Islands. I have a former student who actually lives there, so I hope to get lots of local insights and ideas for my visit. No UA – won’t be in a UA lounge airport during the validity of the pass.
Great pics — they remind me of a trip to Kenya many years ago. South Africa is my next dream destination. Thank you.
Absolutely stunning pictures! Did you have a 300 mm lens, or did your jeep get close enough to take such great close ups? My dream trip and # 1 on my Bucket List is an African safari. I’ve wanted to see The Big 5 since I was a youngster!
@ Nancy, I did have a 55-300 mm lens, but the jeeps also get really close to the animals! But I would NOT go on a safari without a zoom lens, it makes a big difference, I think.
I have always wanted to go to a safari in Africa. Your pictures have brought those thoughts back. My dream destination is Bali. I am interested in the natural beauty and way of life.
Great trip report! My dream destination is Scotland. I hope to convince my wife that we should go there, but it is hard when she wants to go somewhere warm!
I would love to do this someday! My dream is to see as much of France as possible.If I could, I’d live there even for a little bit.
As retired science teacher I also would like to go on an African Safari.
My dream destination would be Sydney, Australia. I’ve always wanted to go visit the iconic Sydney Opera House and visit the Gold Coast.
No UA Passes please, I cannot use those. Thanks.
You flew there for $87— WOW- that is amazing.