Royal Malewane Lodge
And another warm South African welcome.
Royal Malewane
Private Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park
South Africa
Much different feel from the more contemporary Singita Boulders, this high end lodge feels like a step back in time to British colonial days. Where Singita was an oasis on the edge of a reserve, Royal Malewane is in the reserve with animals, including elephants, free to roam anywhere on the property. With a busy watering hole right in front of the dining and living area.
The Game Room.
Royal Malewane features a great spa.
All 8 suites are in the game reserve with ceiling to floor windows giving a great view of the wildlife. Our suite was #6.
After five drives in three days at Singita, we opted to do just just the afternoon drives at Royal Malewane.
Nevertheless, more wonderful experiences in the bush.
And then the part that I'm glad Mrs. SFO missed as she stayed home the first afternoon when two lions brought down a baby giraffe and brought it home for the cubs.
Day 2 at Royal Malewane.
Sunset in the bush.
And cocktails in the bush.
Heading out for our final drive of the vacation.
The same brother-sister lions from yesterday, this time on the side of the runway at the airstrip.
Rush hour and we're not going anywhere quickly tonight.
Another gorgeous South African sunset.
And the cutest chamelion.
Always an interesting view from the dining room...
One of the reasons we decided not to go on every drive was just to spend quiet, relaxing time in our suite... and let the animals come to us.
One of the funniest parts of the week at both resorts was the hilarious attempts by monkees to steal food... like a nonstop game with the wait-staff trying to run them off by various means including slingshots. All I had to do was open the sliding glass doors at our suite and a few would show up a few minutes later.
Some of the great food we enjoyed at Royal Malewane...
Like Singita, Royal Malewane was a wonderful experience with staff that seemed genuinely happy that we were there and went out of their way to make sure that we enjoyed ourselves.