Malaria Free Luxury Safari in South Africa (7 days)

Is the Malaria Free Luxury Safari in South Africa for Me?

This luxury option offers a safari in two malaria-free areas in South Africa.

You will visit both the Madikwe Game Reserve, bordering Botswana and the Marakalele National Park, offering spectacular landscapes and iconic wildlife. It is a fly-in option, taking you swiftly from lodge to lodge, where you can relax and reconnect with nature. The guiding is extremely professional, the food to the highest standard of freshness and innovation. It is a safari that can work as a romantic getaway, as much as a family holiday.

Your 7-Day Itinerary

A leopard in a tree in Madikwe, a great place for an African safari for seniors.

RHino and her calf in Madikwe Game Reserve | Photo credit: Jamala Madikwe Royal Safari Lodge

Arrive at Johannesburg International airport and transit to the departure lounge for the seat in charter shuttle flight to Madikwe. Depending on your time of arrival, you might require a pre-night in Johannesburg, we will advise you accordingly.

Flying into the bush means that your safari experience starts before you even touchdown at the airstrip nearest to your lodge. Amazing views from above capturing the landscapes‚ wildlife and unique angle from the aircraft as you soar above the African safari landscapes. Arrive at the airstrip and transfer to the lodge. Jamala is your home away from home for the next 3 nights.

Traversing over 75 000 hectares, Madikwe Game Reserve is where the plains still team with game and the acacia savannah symbolizes a paragon of beauty. The malaria-free Madikwe Reserve is home not only to the ‘Big 5’ of Africa, but also to a wealth of other fascinating creatures, including the rare Wild Dog. Wildlife can be viewed on game drives, walking safaris, and from the privacy of your suite deck.

Includes & excludes

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

Drinks: Local brands included

Activities: Included

Transport: Included

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airstrip, on time for the shuttle charter flight to Marakele National Park.

You will now have the opportunity to discover a very different region, with a variety of landscape and wonderful wildlife encounters. Marataba Safari Lodge is tented which brings a different perspective to your safari. The lodge is a simple extension of the natural safari environment beyond its walls – natural, rich, and bold. While Safari Lodge’s stone and canvas Suites may look ‘down to earth’, they are anything but basic, with all the modern features included. Each has a king-sized bed, en-suite bathroom (including an oval bath you can languish in up to your chin), outdoor shower, craft bar and shaded viewing deck.

Within this 21 000ha (51 890ac) piece of unspoilt Africa, luxury is in the experience of life’s great treasures: space, a preserved natural wilderness, and enriching human connections. Enjoy game drives with professional field guides, bush walks, and a surprise sunset water safaris. Game viewing here is particularly impressive due to the overlapping of habitats in a transition zone. Encounter the Big Five, as well as the black rhino – in numbers seldom seen in the southern hemisphere. Observe elephant by the waterways, rare brown hyena and aardwolf, critically endangered pangolin, and the world’s largest colony of endangered Cape Vulture.

Includes & excludes

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

Drinks: Local brands included

Activities: Included

Transport: Included

Last morning on safari, back at the lodge for breakfast before you are transferred to the airstrip.

The return charter shuttle flight back to Johannesburg is included, and time at leisure until your own flight back home. Alternatively you can extend your stay with a visit to Cape Town, or Victoria Falls, contact us to discuss the different options.

Every itinerary can be crafted to your needs, from adjusting the length of your stay to including different accommodation and refining the route. Your safari is yours, shaped around your idea of a dream experience.

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General: Great service by Antoinette who was helpful and very dedicated to help us booking our South Africa experience. She showed us lots of different options and recommended her favourite stays.

Overall an absolute 5 star service!

Accomodations:

Klaserie River Safari Lodge: Perfect place for the first stay in the region, staff was very limited due to low numbers in travellers (covid) but did an excellent job! A true feel good place right at the Klaserie River. Our guides Lauren and Herman were very dedicated to make it the best stay ever. Great value for the money. Would definitely recommend this place!

Hamiltons Tented Camp: Outstanding private luxury lodge where you won’t miss a thing. From location, food, game drives to service this is what I call high end. Prices are high but standard for this kind of place.

Muluwa Lodge: Nice stay on the way from Kruger back to Joburg. We only had one night but I would recommend staying at least two nights. Beautiful sceneryand lovely tents with great views. Food was tasty and the staff very friendly.

Spier Wine Farm: Large vineyard with nice accomodation. The place is created with lots of love, the garden is beautiful and invites to hang around and have a picnic. Wine was not our favourite but tastes are different so you might like it for sure!

Mont Rochelle: Luxury Hotel on a vineyard owned by Richard Branson. Probably our favourite location in the area if you want to relax for a day or two. Overall excellent service, great food and lovely stuff. Price is high but worth the money.

Mosaic Lagoon Lodge: Hidden gem right at the Klein River Lagoon. Staff was again superb, food great and lots of activities to do. If you don’t like to stay right in Hermanus this is the place to go to!

Lagoon Beach Hotel: A bit off the city trouble but still just a 15 mins drive to the waterfront. It’s a standard hotel like any other. Room was clean, breakfast okay and they offered a free shuttle to the centre.

Cape Milner Hotel: Nice place close to Bo Kaap, walking distance to the city centre. Can recommend the place if you would like to stay in the city.

"This trip was a 20th anniversary/bucket list trip. From the time we landed in South Africa until we sadly had to depart, we were hosted like no other country we've visited. Our travel agent, Dianne DuPlessis from Discover Africa, was..."

Patty Whidden, United States · 21 Jan 2025 ·

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"I would highly recommend Megan Warrington from Discover Africa. She planned the trip of a lifetime for my family! She was professional, service-oriented and every detail was done perfectly. During the trip, Megan reached out to check in to see..."

Zahida, United States · 25 Jul 2023 ·

"Working with Discover Africa on our safari trip to South Africa was absolutely wonderful. We had to worry about next to nothing because they provided so much support and assistance. It was a true experience of a lifetime, and we..."

Jacqueline, United States · 19 Jul 2023 ·

"General: Great service by Antoinette who was helpful and very dedicated to help us booking our South Africa experience. She showed us lots of different options and recommended her favourite stays. Overall an absolute 5 star service! Accomodations: Klaserie River..."

Tobi, Germany · 22 Nov 2021 ·

"Communicating with our Discover Africa agent was a pleasant and enjoyable experience. Tanya was quick to respond to questions that popped up along the way, and proactive in making sure our specific needs were taken care of. From recommendations around..."

Caroline, United States · 10 Dec 2019 ·