Marvellous MalaMala!
Out in the wilds of the African bush, Sharon Feinstein takes a walk among the animals on the ‘trip of a lifetime’
Thunder crashed through the bush all night, like the beat of African drums, while rain pounded rhythmically on the tin roof of our apartment.
At dawn we stood on the broad terrace of Rattray’s safari lodge facing the wide river bed with its first pools of water, the sky the colour of purple pressed grapes.
Our soft-spoken, knowledgeable guide, Gordon, grabbed his shotgun and prepared the Land Rover with blankets and flasks of water.
For two days, I had Gordon to myself as we weaved through the spiky acacia and mahogany trees, the air fragrant with scent and iridescent butterflies.
Of all the camps in southern Africa, there’s nothing to touch Rattray’s for game viewing, attention to detail and tasteful luxury. There are only eight rooms, a world-class chef, and a unique setting on the banks of the Sand River.
When you return from a long game-viewing drive, there’s the offer of a deep massage and a cooling swimming pool.
Out here in the plains of South Africa, we are hundreds of miles from the closest Jewish communities in Pretoria and Johannesburg, the latter boasting the largest Jewish population in the country and an extraordinarily moving Holocaust museum. 
Here, in the land of the safari, animals move slowly across the hush of the bush and it all seems completely still until you spot the giraffe, zebra, buffalo and slow lumbering elephants. Tawny eagles are diving through the sky. The impala, living under constant threat, jerk their heads at every sound.
I longed to see a leopard, the aloof, majestic animal that walks alone. We rounded a bend and there she was, perched on high rocks watching three cheetah eat an impala they had just caught.
Four cats in one sighting, which soon turned even more dramatic as the King stood on the horizon gazing across at the gathering vultures, realising there was food.
Within minutes, the beautifully-built male lion charged, scattering the vultures and chasing away the three cheetah. He picked up the carcass, his muzzle soon covered in blood, and settled under a tree to eat. The death of the impala brings life to the lion for another day.
National parks can have up to 20 vehicles at a sighting, but MalaMala won’t allow more than three, so the animals are never crowded.
Gordon, who has been at Rattray’s MalaMala for 11 years, tells me: “Animals live in the moment in their daily struggle to find food, water and protect themselves.
“There’s no thought of future or past, it’s only the present, and a lot of people have lost touch with that.
“Watching them teaches us to cherish what is important in life right now, not what might be happening next week.”
Reflecting on what he has observed over the years among the animals, he adds: “Elephants and primates are the most emotional creatures, and feel a great sense of loss when their young die.
“Impala will forget they’ve had a baby within ten minutes of it getting caught by a lion, while a female baboon will pick up the dead baby and carry it with her, sometimes for days.
“There’s no real sympathy or feeling for the animal being killed. All they see is food, survival. We are the same. That’s the animal side to us.”
A highlight always on any safari is seeing the big five – lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo – but there’s a special award given at this camp, a certificate for the MalaMala Seven, and I was hugely fortunate to receive it. That’s because we found the three cheetah and a pack of African wild dogs and their babies.
I first visited MalaMala, one of the oldest private reserves and the most professional, years ago with Rod Stewart and his then girlfriend. This time, as the orange sun streaked the sky behind the thorny acacias, Gordon stopped the Land Rover and served chilled wine and snacks. We listened to the lilting sound of the wood owl and watched saddle-billed storks.
The privilege of being in a camp like this won’t last, with the threat of sophisticated poaching, population expansion and drought. It’s a piece of forgotten paradise and a trip of a lifetime that has forever changed my life.
Sharon’s travel tips:
Sharon stayed at MalaMala Rattray’s camp, where a luxury suite
starts from £913 per person, per night, on a shared basis. Details: malamala.com
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
