The South African residential estate divided from the Kruger Park by just a river

The Mjejane Game Reserve allows residents to wake up to a herd of elephants walking past their window or watch hippos bob in and out of the Crocodile River from the comfort of their patios.

Mjejane is located on the southern boundary of the Kruger Park, alongside the Crocodile River, in an area rich in wildlife and dotted with luxury resorts.

Covering 4,000 hectares, the estate is home to the last significant tract of indigenous bush alongside the river. It shares 10 km of riverfrontage with the Kruger Park, and animals can come and go as they please.

The sought-after piece of land on which the private reserve now stands has an interesting past, having formed as a result of Mpumalanga’s largest land claim to date. 

The history of the Mjejane estate dates back to the 19th century and the reign of King Shaka. Around the 1830s, a period of war broke out, which caused groups of Tsonga people to move southwards.

One group, the Ngomane under Chief Mjejane, settled in the estate’s current location. Here, the community settled and began to build homes, grow crops and raise cattle.

When European settlers arrived, the area became known as Lodwich’s Lust and was an important part of a transport route from the gold fields near Pilgrim’s Rest to Delagoa Bay in Mozambique.

In 1875, the land was signed over to Alois Nellmapius, a businessman and friend of President Paul Kruger’s, to build a refreshment station on the transport route.

Later, between 1926 and 1954, the indigenous inhabitants of the land were removed by the Apartheid Government. 

However, in 1994, Mpumalanga’s largest land claim was won, and the R24 million Mjejane land was given back to its original owners, the Lugedlane community, descendants of Chief Mjejane.

Homes on the edge of the wild

A trust was established to benefit the descendants of Chief Mjejane. The community sought a solution for using the land in line with the conservation goals of the Kruger Park.

The initial intention of the community was to build homes and use the area for farming. However, the soil is relatively poor, and access to water is limited. 

Because the property borders the Kruger, the risk of farm animals developing wildlife diseases was too high to make cattle farming a reasonable option. 

In 2008, an agreement was signed with Leisure Properties to create a 5-star eco-tourism destination, which is now the Mjejane Game Reserve. 

According to the Home Owners Association’s 2025 annual report, the Mjejane Trust, the body that received the land through the deal, has ejected its trustees on allegations of corruption, and an interim Trust Administrator was appointed.

The new administrator has now disputed the legality of the original documents signed, which allowed the Home Owners Association the responsibility of running the Reserve and providing utilities, resulting in a new, ongoing court case.

The fence separating the Game Reserve from the Kruger Park was removed in 2008 to allow wildlife to move freely between the different wildlife sanctuaries. 

The conservation management of the reserve was placed under SANParks, making Mjejane an eco-extension of the Kruger, boasting the same diversity and protection. 

The Big 5 have wasted no time in making this piece of land their home and roam freely between the freehold homes, time-share residences and luxury lodges. 

The Lugedlane community continue to benefit from the sale of properties, the building of lodges and tourism activities in the area. 

Property prices in the reserve range from just over R1 million to over R25 million. Those looking to live amongst the pristine wildlife of Mjejane have several options to choose from. 

Vacant stands are available for buyers to build their own dream homes; however, the area has strict building and architectural rules to preserve the local environment. This ensures each home merges with the surrounding landscape as much as possible.

Mjejane includes 24-hour security and 24-hour access for residents. It was originally envisioned that a low-lying bridge over the Crocodile River would give Mjejane residents easy access to the park for game drives.

SANParks has now disputed that the rights to use the bridge had been granted in perpetuity to Mjejane, despite homeowners at the time of development been sold this right.

This article has been corrected to reflect that a court case is currently ongoing that challenges the legality of the land settlement, and access to the Kruger Park using a low-lying bridge has been blocked by SANParks, despite homeowners having been told they would have access to the park at the time of development.

The headline of this article has been changed to reflect that residents’ private access to the Kruger Park has been blocked by SANParks.

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More photos from Mjejane Private Game Reserve

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