13 Night African Wildlife Photo Safari

The cost of the 2025 Mashatu & MalaMala safari is US$14,950 per person sharing. The 2026 cost is US$16,250.

Single supplements:

A limited number of single rooms are available, on a first-come, first-served basis. Single room supplement is US$2,000. We do not make a profit on single supplements, which are less than the cost to us.

Gratuities:

We understand that knowing who, when and how much to tip can be a headache, so we now include gratuities in the cost of the safari. We’ll make sure everyone deserving a tip, from photo guides to kitchen staff, receives an appropriate amount, so you don’t have to worry about it. Of course, if you wish to reward individuals with something extra for excellent service, then you are welcome to do so, but there isn’t any expectation or need that you do this.

The cost includes:

The cost excludes:

Giving back

To see how your booking helps engage disadvantaged young people in South Africa with wildlife and conservation, visit our Giving Back page.

Like all our safaris, our Mashatu & MalaMala trip puts photography front and centre, with the emphasis on spending as much time as possible looking for excellent wildlife photo opportunities.  But that certainly doesn’t mean we’ll be roughing it in the bush. Mashatu Lodge offers very comfortable accommodation, in spacious, tastefully decorated airconditioned suites, great home cooking, a large swimming pool, and a view over a busy waterhole.  There’s a small shop selling curios and basics such as sun cream and batteries.

World famous MalaMala offers classic safari elegance and great food.  We’ve booked the luxury suites in Main Camp, which are superbly appointed, with beautiful views over the Sand River.  This really is a taste of old style safari chic, in unashamed luxury.

Mashatu game reserve is part of the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, in the extreme east of Botswana, at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers. It shares unfenced borders with Tuli Safari Area, a Zimbabwean national park to the north, and Mapungubwe, a South African national park and World Heritage site to the south.  Together these form a vast cross border wildlife conservation area notable for the diversity of its flora and fauna.

MalaMala is a private reserve in the Sabi Sand, bordering South Africa’s Kruger national park.  It covers 13,200 ha (33,000 acres), considerably larger than other Sabi Sand reserves, and shares an unfenced 19 km (12 mile) boundary with the national park.

The safari begins and ends at Johannesburg O R Tambo airport.  Numerous international airlines fly into Johannesburg. Check stopover times and baggage allowances when comparing prices.

On the first day of the safari, June 15, we will be flying to Polokwane on an early flight (around 0930 hrs, but times may change), so we would strongly recommend you arrive at Johannesburg on June 14 and book an airport hotel for that night.   Arriving on an early long-haul flight on June 15 risks missing the first day of your safari and incurring significant extra costs if your flight arrives late.

On the final day of the safari, June 28, we will fly back to Johannesburg O R Tambo, arriving around 1600 hrs (time may change).  We would recommend booking an evening long haul departure no earlier than 1900 hrs.

Flights between Johannesburg, Mashatu and MalaMala will be organised by us and are included in the cost of the trip.

On the first day of the safari we’ll meet at Johannesburg O R Tambo International airport and board  the morning flight to Polokwane (about an hour).  We’ll be met at Polokwane airport and driven the two hours to Pont Drift border post, where we cross into Botswana.  Our Mashatu guides will pick us up at Pont Drift and drive us the 40 minutes or so to Mashatu Lodge, our home for the next eight nights. We’ll arrive in plenty of time for an afternoon game drive. We’ll be doing morning and afternoon game drives, and at least two exclusive-use sessions in the low level hide.

We’ll leave Mashatu, driving back to Polokwane for the afternoon flight to Johannesburg.  We’ll overnight at the City Lodge, a functional but comfortable hotel that’s right on the airport, so very convenient.  Next day we’ll catch the morning flight to Skukuza airport (one hour), where we’ll be picked up and transferred to MalaMala Main Lodge for a four night stay.  Again, we’ll be doing morning and afternoon game drives, including a drive on our last morning, before we return to Skukuza airport for the short flight back to Johannesburg in the early afternoon.  We’ll be back at Johannesburg O R Tambo airport by 1600 hrs, in plenty of time for evening departures.

You can use anything from 15mm to 500mm or more on Mashatu and MalaMala, but we recommend trying to pare your kit down to a manageable selection of lenses, rather than weighing yourself down with everything but the kitchen sink.  It’s worth bringing a second camera body if you have one, both as back-up in case you have a problem, but also to reduce having to change lenses at crucial moments.  You can photograph with both a short and long lens to hand, reacting instantly to opportunities.

The wildlife is often relaxed and confiding, and it is sometimes possible to get very close to game. The sunken hide at Mashatu also allows close encounters with some large animals.  So it is definitely worthwhile to being a short zoom: something like a 24-105mm (full frame equivalent) is perfect.

If you have an even wider lens and room to carry it, then bring that too, for odd occasions when we may get very close to elephants. We find a 17-40mm comes in handy.

To get the best out of safari photography you do need a lens of at least 400mm. For general game drive photography we use 100-400mm or 100-500mm lenses for many situations, they are compact enough to handhold and easy to use on a vehicle.  If you have a 500mm or 600mm it is worth bringing.  A superzoom (typically 150-600mm) covers many bases, but bear in mind that autofocus at the long end can be slow when photographing action.