Top Destinations for a Malaria-Free Safari in South Africa

When travelling with family (especially if you’re travelling with multiple generations, from wide-eyed toddlers to cherished grandparents), safety and comfort are often top priorities. For many families, the biggest hurdle to a dream safari is the concern over health risks. And the risk of malaria is an extremely real concern when considering a safari destination.

Fortunately, a malaria-free safari is possible in South Africa. It will allow you and your loved ones to immerse yourselves in the magic of the wild without worry.

In this guide, we’ll explore some of South Africa’s top malaria-free safari destinations, as well as how to plan the best malaria-free safari for you and your family.

How is Malaria Spread?

Malaria is a parasitic disease that is transmitted through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It causes fever, chills, flu-like symptoms, and, in severe cases, organ failure and death. All of the reserves listed below are naturally malaria-free, and, while mosquitoes may be present, they don’t carry malaria.

Why Choose a Malaria-Free Safari for Your Family?

Ease of travel is essential for a family holiday. Choosing a malaria-free safari destination means you’ll be able to avoid the often-difficult task of getting young children to take prophylactic pills. However, it’s still a good idea to carry repellent, as non-malaria-carrying mosquitoes are still present and may be a bit of a nuisance.

Malaria-free regions are ideal if you’re travelling with young children, the elderly, or pregnant women, as they have a higher risk of severe disease – especially if they’re immunocompromised or haven’t travelled to a malaria-endemic region before.

Best Malaria-Free Safari Destinations in South Africa

Madikwe Game Reserve

Situated right on the border of Botswana and South Africa and close to the Kalahari Desert, Madikwe Game Reserve is the gold standard for a malaria-free safari. It’s the fifth-largest game reserve in South Africa and offers a Big Five experience over an expansive 750 square kilometres.

Madikwe is naturally malaria-free. This status is primarily due to its altitude, climate, and geographic location. It lies in a special transition zone between the dry Kalahari and dry woodland, making it unsuitable for malaria-carrying mosquitoes, found in warmer, humid, low-altitude areas.

Wildlife here is abundant, with the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino) being present, as well as an impressive population of predators like cheetahs, wild dogs, and hyenas; a variety of antelope species; and birdlife. Elusive aardvarks and servals also call this reserve home – your chance of spotting them increases on night drives.

The landscape consists of vast open plains of woodlands and grasslands, bisected by the rugged Rant van Tweedepoort mountain range and bordered in the south by the Dwarsberg Mountains. This variety means a range of wildlife species and birdlife to track.

With its pristine wildlife, incredible hospitality, and stunning lodges, it’s the perfect place for a luxury, malaria-free safari.

Shamwari Private Game Reserve

Situated in the Eastern Cape, Shamwari Private Game Reserve is a naturally malaria-free area that serves as a perfect transition to the Garden Route. This award-winning Big Five reserve boasts five unique ecosystems, meaning it’s absolutely teeming with a wide variety of game and birdlife.

Shamwari is malaria-free primarily due to its geographic location in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, which is outside the high-risk transmission zones found in the northeastern parts of the country.

Spanning over 20,000 hectares of restored wilderness, Shamwari is a testament to conservation, which is blended into its very core. With just six lodges, you and your family will be treated to an extraordinary level of comfort and privacy, making it the perfect setting for a luxury malaria-free safari. Children over the age of three are welcome on private game drives.

Beyond the game drives, families can visit the two Born Free big cat sanctuaries. Big cats here are rescued from zoos, circuses, private ownership, and other captive facilities. The sanctuaries’ focus is on giving these cats a fresh start with dignity, privacy and space they desperately need.

Shamwari was built on a foundation of conservation and restoration. Once a land stripped by agriculture, the landscape has been beautifully restored by the Shamwari Foundation. Some of their other incredible conservation projects include the Shamwari Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Shamwari Rhino Haven, the Sindile Leopard Protection Project, and Vulpro Shamwari which focuses on the rehabilitation and protection of African vulture species.

These wildlife rehabilitation, anti-poaching, and environmental education programmes are run on-site. A stay here means that you and your family aren’t just visitors but active contributors and supporters of the conservation of the wildlife, communities, and ecosystems around you.

Addo Elephant National Park

Located near Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape, Addo Elephant National Park offers not just the Big Five but the Big Seven! It’s one of the only places in South Africa where you can see the iconic Big Five as well as two of the marine Big Five (great white shark and southern right whale). From July to October, southern right whales travel to these waters to give birth. The park is considered to be one of the best malaria-free safari options and is a popular choice for families.

As the name suggests, Addo is particularly famous for its high population of African elephants, with over 600 of them calling it home. Addo is so filled with them in fact, that they have even been a part of highly successful translocation campaigns to help restore ecological balance to once barren areas and help expand their range.

The park has a wide variety of activities on offer, from game drives and nature walks to simple birdwatching excursions and spa treatments at your lodge. At luxury lodges like Gorah Elephant Camp, you can expect a five-star treatment, with candlelit dinners, high tea, and a sparkling pool to cool off in after a game drive.

Tswalu Kalahari Private Wildlife Reserve

For families seeking total privacy and a slower pace, Tswalu Kalahari is the ultimate luxury malaria-free safari destination and offers a true unscripted wilderness experience. There’s no set time for drives, and your family decides when to go out and when to stay in.

Every booking includes a private vehicle, tracker, and guide. This is a game-changer for families with young children, as you can return to the lodge whenever you need and have a truly personalised experience.

Tswalu specialises in rare species and unique desert-adapted wildlife such as the black-maned lion, the endangered ground pangolin, and the desert black rhino (a critically endangered subspecies of black rhino). Other wildlife you could have the opportunity to spot here include habituated meerkats, aardvarks, aardwolves, and brown hyenas.

The landscapes of Tswalu Kalahari are especially unique, with five distinct habitats creating a fascinating diversity of surroundings. This includes the bushveld, plains and mountain shrubveld, duneveld, and calcareous scrubveld – which each contribute to the preservation of the entire ecosystem within the reserve. The undulating dunes of the Kalahari punctuate the landscape, while the mesmerising Korannaberg Mountains enhance the biodiversity found nowhere else in the Kalahari.

Plan Your Safe and Memorable Family Chapter

Ready to start planning a safe and memorable malaria-free family safari? Whatever it is you seek on your malaria-free safari, our team of safari experts are here to handle every detail so you can focus on making lifelong memories.

Get in touch with us today to start planning your malaria-free safari.