Guided Safari Drives · Mjejane Game Reserve
Open vehicle.Big 5 Country.
Morning and sunset drives with FGASA-qualified rangers who know this bush better than anyone.
The Mjejane experience
Dawn, dust and a cold cooler box
You meet at the lodge, wrap in a blanket, and roll out of camp before sunrise. Your ranger reads fresh leopard tracks in the sand, radios in a lion sighting, and slows for a breeding herd of elephant working the riverine forest.
Around 7am, you pull over under a marula tree for coffee and rusks. By mid-morning you’re back on the deck with a breakfast and a story.
Big 5
Resident species
3hrs
Average drive time
~20km
From Malelane Gate
FGASA
Qualified rangers
Our rangers
People who track this bush every day
FGASA-qualified, locally born, and on WhatsApp. Contact the guide directly to check availability and book your drive.
Cliff Butlin
One of the most experienced guides working the Mjejane block. Cliff has been tracking lion, leopard, and elephant across this stretch of bushveld for years — many of our guests come back specifically to ride with him. Equally at home on a sunrise drive in the reserve, a full-day Kruger trip via Malelane Gate, or a slower photographic safari where the light dictates the route.
Lebeko Malatji
A true safari legend with deep expertise in wildlife encounters. Lebeko knows the Mjejane and Kruger bush like the back of his hand and delivers unforgettable game drive experiences.
Steven Thabete
Professional safari field guide and owner of Budzatja Safaris & Touring (PTY) LTD. Based in the Malelane area within the Greater Kruger National Park, Steven has extensive wildlife knowledge and specialises in open vehicle safaris.
What’s on offer
More than one way to find a lion
Big 5 Territory
Mjejane shares an unfenced border with Kruger National Park. Lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino roam freely through the reserve.
Morning Drives
Depart at sunrise when predators are most active. Soft, golden light makes for the best wildlife photography of the day.
Sunset Drives
Late afternoon drives catch the golden hour and the handover to nocturnal life — leopards waking, hippos leaving the water.
~3 Hour Drives
Each drive runs around 3 hours — sometimes a bit shorter, sometimes a bit longer — in open safari vehicles with FGASA-qualified guides who live and track in these hills every day.
Up to 10 Guests
Open vehicles fit up to 10 guests. Private drives (just your group) can be arranged on request — ideal for families or birthdays.
Kruger Day Trips
Your ranger can also take you on a full-day or half-day guided trip into Kruger National Park via Malelane Gate (~20km from Mjejane).
Who you might meet
Regulars of the Mjejane block
Resident lion prides, breeding elephant herds, leopard along the Crocodile River, hippo and crocodile in the water, buffalo, white rhino, zebra, giraffe, kudu, nyala — and the best lilac-breasted roller light in the country.
Drive smart
Tips from people who do this every day
Bring binoculars and a camera with at least a 200mm zoom lens — they make or break a drive.
The first and last 2 hours of daylight are prime for predator sightings.
Pack snacks and drinks — flasks, rusks and a sundowner are part of the ritual.
Dress in warm layers — open vehicles are cold at dawn, even in summer, but warm up fast.
Prefer to wander Kruger yourself?
Your lodge is 20 minutes from Malelane Gate. Take the car, pack a cooler box, and spend a full day looking for cats in the H4-2.