Top 8 Best Malaria-free Game Reserves in South Africa

One of the big advantages of traveling to South Africa, compared to other African safari destinations, is that a number of game reserves where you can see the Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino) are in malaria-free areas. This is fantastic if you’re traveling with small children or want to avoid taking antimalarial medication.

Key areas to look at are the Eastern Cape (handy if you want to combine a safari with the Garden Route), Pilanesberg Game Reserve (only a couple of hours’ drive from Johannesburg) and Madikwe Game Reserve (a four- to five-hour drive or one-hour flight from Johannesburg). If your budget allows it, also consider Tswalu Kalahari Private Game Reserve in the far northwest. Below are our recommendations for the best malaria-free game reserves in South Africa.

161 Malaria-free Safaris

1. Madikwe Game Reserve

Madikwe Game Reserve is one of the best malaria-free parks in South Africa. It offers a classic Big Five safari experience, and it also has a great reputation for wild dog and cheetah sightings. It should be noted that leopards are more difficult to see here than in the Greater Kruger reserves. Although Madikwe is state-owned, it is privately run, which means you can’t self-drive and you need to stay in one of its all-inclusive lodges. In addition to the usual game drives, there are night drives and walking safaris.

The safari vehicles can travel off-road in the reserve, which hugely enhances the quality of sightings. Madikwe offers the most consistent wildlife viewing of the malaria-free reserves, and with its classic bushveld terrain, it really feels like you’re on safari. There are a variety of upmarket lodges to choose from, with some that specialize in catering for children. Madikwe is a four- to five-hour drive from Johannesburg. Or you can fly in, although this can be expensive (especially for a family).

43 Madikwe Safaris

2. Pilanesberg Game Reserve

Set in an ancient volcanic crater, Pilanesberg Game Reserve is one of the most beautiful malaria-free safari parks in South Africa. It is less than three hours’ drive from Johannesburg, making it a great add-on to other destinations. The Big Five are all present, and you should encounter plenty of elephants and white rhinos. You will need a bit of luck to see big cats, but brown hyenas are possible on night drives.

Pilanesberg is also a good bird-watching destination, with more than 300 species on its checklist. There are a number of hides where you can get out of your car, and these provide great opportunities for bird and wildlife photography.

Pilanesberg does not feel as wild as some of South Africa’s bigger reserves, and it can get very busy with day-trippers from the neighboring Sun City resort complex. However, it makes for a great short trip from Johannesburg. There is a variety of lodges as well as self-catering options, and you can self-drive or go on organized game drives.

82 Pilanesberg Safaris

3. Shamwari Private Game Reserve

Shamwari Private Game Reserve is one of the most popular reserves in the Eastern Cape. It is a family-owned reserve that gives visitors the opportunity to combine the safari experience with luxury accommodations. Shamwari is home to the Big Five and offers excellent wildlife viewing with knowledgeable guides. It has six luxury lodges, two of which specifically cater for families. This malaria-free reserve is 100km/62mi from Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) and is easy to combine with a Garden Route vacation.

Shamwari offers guests the chance to learn more about its conservation efforts and visit its Rhino Education Centre and Born Free Big Cat Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre. There are also a number of interesting volunteering programs.

4. Kwandwe Private Game Reserve

Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is one of the newest private malaria-free safari parks in South Africa. Like Shamwari, it is in the Eastern Cape and home to the Big Five. Kwandwe covers 220km²/85mi² of picturesque hills and valleys stretching either side of the Great Fish River. Formerly farmland, it has now been restocked with wildlife. However, the wildlife can be skittish as it isn’t as used to human presence yet as in some other private reserves. Kwandwe is renowned for the opportunity to see black rhino and, if you’re lucky, cheetah.

Kwandwe has four luxury lodges, two catering for couples and two specializing in families. It is just a two-hour drive from Gqeberha, so it can easily be combined with a holiday exploring the Garden Route.

Kwandwe Safaris

5. Marakele National Park

Marakele National Park is a scenic malaria-free park in the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve, northwest of Johannesburg. The Waterberg is home to a number of upmarket private game reserves and safari lodges, in addition to Marakele. Marakele is a relatively new national park, and you can self-drive and camp or stay in self-catering accommodations here. One of our favorite places to stay is Tlopi Tented Camp, overlooking a dam where elephants come to bathe.

Marakele is in the heart of the Waterberg Mountains, with truly beautiful scenery comprising grassy valleys and red cliffs. The park is divided into two sections. The first section contains easy-to-drive gravel roads where you might see white rhino. The second section feels wilder and access is controlled with a gate. Visitors must not miss the drive to the mountaintop viewpoint, where you can watch endangered Cape vultures soaring on the thermals. It is relatively easy to spot both black and white rhino in Marakele, but do not come here expecting to see predators.

Marakele Safaris

6. Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve

Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve is based at the foot of the Sneeuberg mountain range in the malaria-free Karoo, outside the town of Graaff-Reinet. The reserve is home to white rhino, buffalo, cheetah and the rare mountain zebra. There are plans to introduce elephant and lion sometime soon. Accommodations are in three beautifully restored, gabled manor houses and two luxury safari tents.

In addition to game drives and bush walks, the reserve offers cheetah tracking, scenic helicopter flights and stargazing. Informative talks take place at historical Boer War sites on the property. Mount Camdeboo is a three-hour drive inland from Gqeberha or can be accessed via the airstrip at Graaff-Reinet.

7. Tswalu Kalahari Private Game Reserve

For a totally different experience of a malaria-free game reserve in South Africa, if your budget allows it, visit Tswalu Kalahari Private Game Reserve. The country’s largest private game reserve, Tswalu is situated in the vast, pristine wilderness of the southern Kalahari. It is famed for its rare and extraordinary wildlife. Here you can see the magnificent black-maned lions and African wild dogs, encounter habituated meerkats, and look for pangolins and aardvark in the winter months.

Tswalu provides an exclusive, five-star safari experience and you are allocated your own game-drive vehicle, guide and tracker. In addition to game drives, Tswalu offers walking safaris and horseback riding. You can also enjoy wine tastings, champagne breakfasts, dune picnics and luxury spa treatments.

8. Samara Private Game Reserve

Samara Private Game Reserve is a malaria-free luxury safari park in the Eastern Cape, close to Graaff-Reinet. The main lodge, the Manor House, is a beautiful old Karoo farmhouse surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery. Samara was one of the first reserves to pioneer cheetah tracking on foot. It is thrilling to go out with your guide and use the radio aerial to home in on approximately where the cheetahs are and then track them on foot.

The cheetahs, although used to humans, are wild and ignore you completely. It is amazing how close you can get without disturbing them. This makes for fantastic photography with the spectacular Karoo scenery as a backdrop. In winter, Samara also has a great reputation for sightings of aardvark, one of the most secretive and strangest African mammals.

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161 Malaria-free Safaris

By Harriet Nimmo

ZA

Harriet is a zoologist with more than 20 years’ experience. She has the privilege of working with the world’s top wildlife photographers and photo-guides.

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