What is Marloth Park?

Where it is

Marloth Park is between Malelane and Komatipoort, just north of the N4 on the road to Mozambique. It falls under the Nkomazi Local Municipality, in the Ehlanzeni District of Mpumalanga. The Crocodile River is Kruger's southern boundary, so the park is right there across the water. Crocodile Bridge gate is 15-20 km away by road.

Marloth isn't part of Kruger. For the distance, the gates and what separates the two, see is Marloth Park in Kruger?

How it started

The area opened as a holiday township in 1972, and Marloth Park was formally established in 1977. It's named after Rudolf Marloth (full name Hermann Wilhelm Rudolf Marloth, 1855-1931). He was a German-born pharmacist, chemist and botanist who settled in Cape Town in 1883 and wrote the six-volume Flora of South Africa. The mountain aloe, Aloe marlothii, carries his name too. It grows here in the Lowveld, and you'll see it on the park's emblem.

Most of the land was left as natural bush, with no fences inside the township except around Lionspruit. That's why the animals still walk between the houses.

How it works

Marloth Park is a town and a conservation area at once. It's legally declared a conservation area, and its gazetted by-laws cover things most towns never think about. There are no pets, no high fences or walls around stands and no collecting firewood from the veld. The only food you may give the animals is antelope pellets and wild bird seed. The rules page lists the rules that matter to guests.

The Nkomazi Local Municipality runs the town, including its rangers and the by-laws. Drought and overgrazing left many animals starving, and in November 2024 the High Court in Mbombela ordered the municipality to manage the number of animals in Marloth. In October 2025 more than 1,000 animals were moved out, some to Lionspruit and others to reserves elsewhere.

Volunteers do a lot of the conservation work. The honorary rangers are all property owners who give their time under the municipality's conservation department. They clear alien plants, restore overgrazed veld, count the animals and track lions that come in from Kruger. Marloth Park also has a property owners' association and a ratepayers' association.

Lionspruit

Lionspruit is a fenced game reserve of about 1,500 ha on the southern side of Marloth Park, along the N4. The lion and buffalo live inside it, away from the houses. You can drive through in your own car, though some tracks need high clearance or a 4x4. See Lionspruit for how to visit.

The animals

Outside Lionspruit you'll see giraffe, kudu, zebra, blue wildebeest, impala, nyala, bushbuck, duiker, warthog, mongoose, baboons and vervet monkeys, all moving freely between the houses. There are no elephants in Marloth itself, but you can often watch them across the river in Kruger. Now and then lions cross over from Kruger as well. The wildlife guide covers what you'll see and how to behave around the animals.

Who lives here

The 2011 census counted about 1,000 residents, and many more houses have gone up since. The stands are large (vacant ones are mostly 1,900-2,200 m²). Many hold holiday homes that are let to guests, and others belong to people who live here all year. In 2023 nearly a third of the owners who lived here were retired. In 2011 the most common home languages were Afrikaans, Swazi and English.

Who Marloth Park suits

Marloth suits you if you want a self-catering house in the bush, animals at the stoep and Kruger a short drive away. You'd be happier elsewhere if you want a lodge with meals and guided drives included, or if you're after nightlife. The shops in Marloth are small. The bigger supermarkets, banks and pharmacies are in Komatipoort and Malelane.

If it's your first time, read your first visit before you arrive.