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Marloth Park is a unique project. It opened in 1972 as a holiday township. A large part of the park remained natural. There are no fences. The gardens remain in their original state. Marloth Park is separated by a fence and by the Crocodile River from Kruger Park. Within the park, there are giraffes, wildebeest, kudu, zebra, impala, bushbuck, warthog, baboon, vervet monkeys and other small game an

d a rich bird life. Meanwhile, the infrastructure of the natural park is very well developed. Inside Marloth Park (3000 hectares), the freedom of movement is remarkable. Tourists can ride a bicycle or go for a walk on their own through the African bush. Movement is not confined to the hotels. While walking along the Crocodile River, visitors can watch spectacular wildlife scenes in the adjacent Kruger National Park. Local restaurants and shops are easily accessible. Source - Wikipedia

16/12/2025

Sometimes I feel like my house in the bush has accumulated too many residents.

Most of these squatters are Foam Nest Tree Frogs, who only come to life at night, like vampires. During the day these little amphibians rest. When they do, they slow their heart rate down to virtually zero and their skin turns from their cryptic camo to ghostly white.

I have no problem with these squatters. They are very well behaved and a lot of fun to watch at night when the bushveld insects are attracted to the lights in the house. This is why they’re here of course – a Marloth Park house is an all-you-can-eat buffet for frogs when the lights come on!

I’ve never seen an altercation between any of them. However, no two of them occupy the same spot. It seems that once a frog lays claim to a particular light source, others leave it in peace.

They’re everywhere there is a light and it seems that they’re pretty permanent residents rather than wandering squatters, so I see them every day. This familiarity has led to them being named, like pets would be.

Bill Gates lives on the front door security gate, while David Spade has his spot on a garden shovel leaning against the wall under an outside light. Judith Light has claimed that outside light as her own. George Wash-ington lives on the shower mixer tap.

There’s also a nice plump gecko who lives under the Kelvinator fridge. His name is of course, Kelvin.

Enjoy your stay in Marloth Park even more by getting your own copy of MY MARLOTH PARK from the Info Centre on the corner...
12/12/2025

Enjoy your stay in Marloth Park even more by getting your own copy of MY MARLOTH PARK from the Info Centre on the corner of Olifant and Ratel, or Ingwe Supermarket in the Bush Centre. Besides very detailed maps of Marloth Park showing every stand, it has full-colour posters and photos of many of the creatures you’ll see during your stay, making identification easier! For Twitchers there’s a comprehensive, bilingual Bird List that lists the more than 300 bird species found here!
Everything you need to know about Marloth Park – its history, some of its interesting stories – a complete list of all the memorial benches dedicated to past Marloth-lovers and much more, are in its sturdy, ring-bound pages. Makes a classy Christmas gift too!

Cosy, secure semi-detached one-bedroomed flat with air conditioner on parkland available for long-term rental. It has a ...
03/12/2025

Cosy, secure semi-detached one-bedroomed flat with air conditioner on parkland available for long-term rental. It has a covered veranda and 1 shade cloth Carport. Prepaid Electricity and water heating by gas. Free wifi. Please note furniture is NOT included. R7,500 per month, negotiable. Whatsapp to arrange to view.

Newly renovated private studio cottage on parkland available for long-term rental. It has a cool, private veranda and a ...
03/12/2025

Newly renovated private studio cottage on parkland available for long-term rental. It has a cool, private veranda and a single shaded carport. Prepaid Electricity and water heating is by gas. Free wifi. R6,500 per month, negotiable. Whatsapp +27 72 923 8923 to arrange to view.

18/11/2025

After the wonderful rain we have had, nature seems to let out her long-held breath. Suddenly there’s life everywhere. Frogs get quite frantic, perhaps because they have learned that this window they have been given might not stay open for long.

Appearing like magic from little holes in the damp ground, swarms of thousands of flying ants take to the air in their one chance of finding love.

This has been happening all afternoon around my house. As the sun sinks in the west, a Hammerkop has arrived for a glutinous feast!
This big bird with the funny-shaped head can’t believe his luck! Jinking left and right, grabbing the little insects on the ground and catching them mid-air, he assures the survival of his species for the short-term future at least. He can’t possibly catch and eat every flying ant, so he improves the odds of the survivors and ensures that species survives too.

What a wonderful world we are lucky enough to live in!

16/11/2025

There’s something about rain in Africa that you feel at the level of your soul.
Being rained on in Africa is a blessing. It is pure grace poured out by the Universe, and there isn’t an African who doesn’t receive it so.
The sound of it landing on the roof, on the dusty leaves on the trees and on the ground, is music we Africans sing along to. Happy, celebratory music.
And when it stops, the world sparkles, so clean is it.
The rain falling on Marloth Park today brings a soft promise with it. It promises that everything will be alright in the end. It’s not alright yet, but that’s because it’s not yet the end.
So, Marlothians, rejoice! Look outside and see what blessings look like. Listen too and smell the pure clean it’s bringing and let your souls sing!

13/11/2025

Marloth Today

At 75, I am too old to worry about things I have no control over. So I don’t. I am however, acutely aware of what’s happening around me, especially when it comes to my beloved Marloth Park.

Marloth appears to have survived the gross animal overpopulation of the past eight years or so. In general its property owners and other stakeholders appear to be resolved to get involved in the long process of the rehabilitation of the grazing necessary to sustain the animals that are an integral part of what Marloth is all about.

It's almost 30 years since I first bought property here and 20 years that I’ve lived here. For 14 years it was my permanent home but for the past 6 years health issues have necessitated living in a city. I still spend the winters here, usually from April to September every year.

When I first built here, Marloth was this wonderfully quiet place. It wasn’t lit up at night like a Christmas tree as it is these days. The only night sounds were lions, hyenas and hippos. In summer we had Piet-my-vrous, Nightjars and Woodland Kingfishers.

I have lived through the phenomenal growth that has turned Marloth into one of the most popular holiday destinations in the country. I don’t know the numbers, but I should imagine that Marloth’s GDP is at least 100 times what it was in 2000. It is one of the country’s true success stories!

The problem with this growth is that it is experiencing an identity crisis. Is it a nature reserve, or a holiday town like Badplaas or Margate?

I am convinced that it could be both, if more of its stakeholders could agree to abide by a few simple rules. Rules such as plant only indigenous; don’t bring in domestic pets that are a severe health risk to wild animals; no fences so that wild animals can roam freely; do not feed problem animals like monkeys and baboons and especially warthogs; respect the night creatures and don’t light up your house like a casino.

None of these rules infringe on anyone’s right to enjoy the bush as natural as it can be, and yet there are some owners who insist that they are free to do as they wish on their own property.

However, I truly believe that the number of deliberate rule breakers is a lot smaller than it appears on social media. Of the 1500 ha of Marloth Park, 500 is parkland, another 200 road reserves. Rule breakers properties probably total less than 200 ha, leaving 600 ha occupied by those who respect the rules. More importantly, rule breakers are numerically in the minority. They also are usually advanced in age, so natural attrition will reduce their numbers over time.

Take into account that we are experiencing drought conditions. This is delaying the rehabilitation of our grazing. A drive into the Kruger National Park over the Crocodile River will reveal how serious the drought actually is. I have many photos of Marloth in November over many years and it has never looked as dry as it currently does. It is so dry that the Woodland Kingfishers haven’t come here this year. That’s one of the iconic sounds of the bush in summer that we’re all going to miss!

In summary, we have to wait this one out. After all, we still have the clean air and the wonderful village atmosphere to enjoy!

28/10/2025

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Many of Marloth Park’s animals are territorial. That means that you are likely to see the same ones almost daily around your house. They almost become family, so we name them, and talk to them like we would to our pets if we were still living in the city.

Imagine though, that other people who live in the territory of those animals, are also giving them names. This can result in some quite funny situations! Luckily the animals don’t identify with the names you give them, or we would have some seriously confused creatures in Marloth Park!

Here’s an example:

Two couples I know, live within two hundred meters of each other. I am friends with both couples, but they don’t know each other.

I was having sundowners at one of their houses when one by one four warthogs came around to get their treat of game pellets. They were greeted with delight by my hosts; “Benny! Penny! Lenny! and Jenny!”
For the bush novice, animals of the same species look the same. Like humans however, they have distinguishing features and characteristics that make them each unique. When you live alongside them, you genuinely do learn to distinguish one from another.

Benny, although a big, solid boar, has tiny tusks. Penny is a petite girl who lost her tail. Lenny has really big tusks, but one is broken off halfway, probably in a fight over a girl. Jenny is a brazen h***y – she’ll walk right up to you and stare straight into your eyes willing you to give her a treat – now!

My hosts fussed over each one as they came close for their game pellets. The warthogs seemed to love the attention. After a while, they hurried off, chasing the daylight to get their next snack before they had to hide from predators for the night.

Down the road they went, up to the veranda of the other couple’s house.

“Bring the game pellets!” shouted the person on the veranda to her partner inside. “Bacon, Chops, Ribs and Roast are here!”

19/10/2025

SOUTH AFRICA’S BEST KEPT SECRET!

How would you like to live in a suburb that borders the world-famous Kruger National Park; that has one of the lowest crime rates in the country, so you can live without high walls and electric fences; where the property rates are low and the monthly levy is R40; little to no costs for keeping a garden because your garden is magnificent bushveld; where you have visits by the amazing creatures of the bush day and night?
Such a place exists – it’s called Marloth Park, and it’s South Africa’s best kept secret! There are signs that the secret has been leaked though, because in the past few years Marloth Park has featured in the top 5 destinations chosen by holidaymakers in South Africa. More affordable than the Cape and quieter than the South and North KwaZulu Natal coasts, it has the added advantage of being only 5 hours from Gauteng on excellent roads.
It has infrastructure problems just like every other town in South Africa, but more and more houses are fitting back-up electricity and water systems to mitigate these.
According to the Weather Service, the area is entering a “dry” period. A combination of egos and economics has hampered good management of animal numbers in the town and we go into winter with denuded veld and far too many animals for what’s left of the veld to maintain. As a consequence, a drastic reduction in animal numbers will take place over the next three months. This will have to be followed by years of restoration of the veld by every Marloth Park stakeholder. The goal is to achieve a good balance between the carrying capacity of the 1500 hectares of Marloth Park and animal numbers.
Despite its problems, Marloth Park remains a place to escape the rat race, breathe clean air, commune with nature and allow jaded nerves every opportunity to recover. There’s no feeling quite like the ambience of a fire in the open under star-studded skies, or the sight of a herd of elephants playing in the Crocodile River while you watch in awe from the bank. On nights that will become life-long memories, the trance you’re in as you watch the flames dancing in your fire will be broken by the unmistakable coughing roars of a lion, or the ghostly whooping of a hyena.
And then there are the birds – more than 300 species spotted in Marloth Park to date! Insects that will boggle your mind and reptiles you didn’t even know existed, will keep you and yours fascinated for as long as you stay. There are even carnivorous tortoises in Marloth Park!
It’s a piece of paradise, but don’t tell anyone!

01/10/2025

MARLOTH PARK HISTORY
Dear Alwyn,

This is a short history of Marloth Park I put together from my research. It was published in all three of the Marloth Park guides I have produced over the years: “Marloth Park – a User’s Guide” (2020); “This is Marloth Park” (2022; “My Marloth Park” (2023)

‘Marloth Park consists of a collection of farms that were acquired by the Tuckers Land and Development Corporation in the late 60’s and early 70’s.

Before this, the owner of the farm “Ouniek”, Piet Nortje, had made camping stands available on the bank of the Crocodile River for travellers on their way to Mozambique. He planted the seed that eventually led to the idea that became Marloth Park.

On 7th December 1977, the Administrator of the Transvaal issued a proclamation proclaiming the “Marloth Park Holiday Township”. The township consisted of 4,000 stands on 1627 ha, with 45% of the land area set aside for parkland to provide shelter and food for the animals.

Tuckers went insolvent in 1988.

Their successors, Bester Homes, also went insolvent and ABSA Bank finalised the development.

The water infrastructure was built in 1987, and the municipal building was inaugurated in 1992.

Marloth Park became part of the Nkomazi Local Municipality in 2000.’

In hindsight I am sceptical about the statement about the camping stands provided by Piet Nortje. A glance at the map showing the boundaries of the farms that make up Marloth Park shows that the farm “Ouniek” did not have access to the Crocodile River. I trust the mapmaker who produced the map implicitly – therefore my scepticism.

As with all history, there is truth and there’s other truth, depending on the viewer’s perspective. For an example, the land area (1627 ha) quoted in the short history above, is at odds with the land area (1548 ha) quoted on the map showing the farms that make up Marloth Park. These contradictory values both appear on Page 02 of “My Marloth Park”! I missed this contradiction in the final editing before printing!

I learned many stories about the early days of Marloth Park from one of its oldest residents, a wiry old 80+ year old retired professional hunter who worked for Henk van Rooyen and led hunts on all of the farms in the area. As far as I know he is still alive. His precious collection of documents and photographs is being curated by a personal friend. Hopefully one day this collection will form part of a Marloth Park “museum”?

Some of the stories told to me by this amazing person have been included in all three of my books on Marloth Park. One of them concerns a man known as “Voorman”, a retired road builder who was responsible for laying out all of Marloth Park’s roads. An abrasive character, Voorman often got into heated arguments with land owners in the area who accused him of breaching their boundaries with his road building.

Another interesting story from early days concerns a troublesome hippo on one of the first sugar cane farms in the area. (This story features in another of my books about Marloth Park, titled “How to eat a Hippo, and other Marloth Park Stories”. This story is especially interesting because it recounts the arrival of the very first Toyota Hilux in the Lowveld!

Other interesting facts that emerged from my conversations with the old professional hunter, are that before citrus and sugar cane, the major crops grown in our area were to***co and sisal. Strewn around the area are the ruins of to***co warehouses and a factory that made rope and twine from sisal.

I applaud your efforts to find the truth about Marloth Park’s history. I suspect that the most interesting history is going to come out of the last 10 years or so!

Best regards, Alan

I entered the Kruger at Crocodile Bridge at 06.30 this morning in a light drizzle. By the time I got to Lower Sabie it w...
17/08/2025

I entered the Kruger at Crocodile Bridge at 06.30 this morning in a light drizzle. By the time I got to Lower Sabie it was raining properly. I watched tourists climbing onto OSV's from the comfort of my car and was thankful I wasn’t amongst them!

In the 30-odd kilometers from Crocodile Bridge I had seen many elephants, all the herds with the cutest little babies you just want to pick up and hug! The giraffe herds also had plenty of youngsters just as cute!

I also saw a pair of nyala bulls, resplendent in their lederhosen, waterbuck who’d all sat on an open drum of white paint, and the first 3 of the 11 Fish Eagles I was going to see. And it got better from there!

A big male lion lying in the shade of a bright green bush in the river bed was soon overshadowed by a leopard doing what all cats do best when they’re not killing something – just lying around chilling!

Two hyenas also chilling next to the road close enough to see how big these predators actually are were another highlight, as were two honey badgers scurrying across the road in front of the car.

It seemed today that Fish Eagles grew on trees, as I racked up another eight sightings of these beautiful raptors.

I watched a badly beaten-up Hippo struggle in the river bed in an area where there were at least two Hippo skulls that I could see, prompting me to think that this area is where hippos come to die.

There was more. Much more! But a whole day in a place as magnificent as the Kruger National Park is exhausting for someone my age and I need to sleep now!

Can’t wait for the next time!!

Lions as I've never seen them before!I have been visiting the Kruger National Park for more than 50 years. Lion sighting...
05/08/2025

Lions as I've never seen them before!

I have been visiting the Kruger National Park for more than 50 years. Lion sightings are always a highlight of any drive in the park. Some are more memorable than others – like this very recent one, which is special because it told such a story!

We’re told not to anthropomorphize animals, because they’re not sentient beings capable of emotion like we humans are, but from more than half a century of observing animal behaviour, I don’t believe that for one second!

To my story. . . . .

About a kilometer down the S28 from the Lower Sabie side, there is a tall dead tree which has served for years as a leopard’s larder. Every time I enter the Kruger at Crocodile Bridge I check this tree for leopard activity both on my way into and out of the park, and I’ve often found the larder full (usually of impala), sometimes with the leopard in attendance.

Excitement built as I approached that tree this time, because it was festooned with vultures! Whatever the “kill” was, was hidden from view by its covering of many more of these birds. I settled in to watch in case whatever had made this kill showed itself. Besides myself, there was a Chinese couple in a rental Suzuki there, keeping vigil with me.

A lioness with a serious limp appeared and made her way in full view down to a nearby stream and lay down to drink.

Next, a magnificent male lion entered stage left. This guy had a seriously sore right front leg and his limping progress to the stream had me wincing in sympathy.

With these two drinking copiously, attention was drawn stage left again, as another big male with an injured front leg appeared and yet another with an obviously very painful back leg.

Once these three big boys had slaked their thirst, they lay down making sure that there was a decent amount of space separating them. Whatever had caused them to fight each other was obviously still an issue!

Suddenly, the whole scene was made clear! A young(ish) female with a cheeky spring in her step came trotting into the picture. The first of the injured males made a dash towards her but his injured leg had him lying down again within a few meters.

The pride “floozy” then snuggled the injured female briefly.
Then she walked up to the third of the injured males, lifted her tail and I swear she wiggled her hips right under his nose!

So, now I had the story! This young female had obviously messed where she shouldn’t have been messing and caused the fight between the males. The older female was either collateral damage in the fight, or had been an active participant in it.

A third female appeared. She seemed uninjured so perhaps she had managed to avoid getting caught up in what must have been one hell of an argument!

Unlike so many lion sightings, this one took place in full view and only a few meters away. I stayed for nearly an hour watching this drama which had so obviously been caused by the green-eyed monster that it was as close to human behaviour as you can get!

I left after the massive male closest to me rolled onto his back and stuck his injured back leg up into the air like a flag pole.

Some days are diamonds, it is said. This day was a massive one!

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