I recently completed a 3 week trip through 3 different countries in Africa which included South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. Our first stop was in Johannesburg for 3 days, after which we made the journey to the private game reserve of MalaMala. Known for its abundant wildlife sightings, MalaMala quickly become my new favorite location for photographing the big 5, (rhino, elephant, leopard, lion, and buffalo). Sharing an unfenced boarder with Kruger National Park, the animals are free to roam between the 2 areas which leads to a high frequency of sightings, as well as unrivaled variety. I kept looking at my family and saying that it was like shooting fish in a bucket, because what we saw in just 1 morning in MalaMala, took me a whole week to see in Kenya.
MalaMala is a private reserve which allowed for off-road tracking of the animals. We were able to follow animals close enough off the beaten track and capture behaviors not normally seen if restricted to the roadways. The communication amongst the rangers allowed for comprehensive animal viewings, and highlighted their conservation efforts restricting animal sightings to only 3 vehicles at a time so as not to be a nuisance to the animals. I certainly will be returning to visit MalaMala again, and I hope you can join us too; it’s an amazing experience for photographers and families alike.
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