A Wild Afternoon at Malealea Lodge

Posted on Sat February 1, 2025.
A beehive at Malealea Lodge

Here at Malealea Lodge, we’ve recently taken on an exciting new project—starting our very own beehives! Bees play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems through pollination, and we’re thrilled to support these incredible little workers right here at the lodge. Not only will they help our surrounding gardens thrive, but we’re also hoping to produce our own fresh, locally-made honey. While our buzzing friends are usually peaceful, as you’ll see in the story below, sometimes they remind us who’s really in charge!

It was late afternoon, Lucky was  just finishing up the last bit of lawn mowing behind the lodge—completely unaware of the chaos he was about to unleash! I was in the bar doing stock when suddenly, Roxy 🐕 came sprinting in, panicked, with a single bee hot on her heels. Moments later, Bob was tearing up and down the deck, swatting at the bees with his hat and losing his glasses in the process.

Then came Monstuoe and Lucky in their blue overalls, bolting past at full speed! Helgard burst into the bar, covered in stings—ten in total! Meanwhile, Sana and the cleaning ladies, on their way home, found themselves under attack, while the bees also went after the men sitting outside the shebeen. Even the kitchen ladies weren’t spared, taking a few stings themselves. Phoka, just watching the mayhem innocently from the deck, also got targeted!

Thankfully, everyone is okay, and now we can laugh about it. Bob and Helgard can’t stop cracking up—turns out Bob has some serious speed after all! 🐝

Malealea Lodge Beehive The Beehive outside the generator room

Further Reading

Chasing Horizons: Trail Running the Malealea Mountains with Phoka Mon April 6, 2026

Meet Phoka Koatja – Our Barman, Our Mountain Goat 🏔️

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🚀🍯 “Mission Malealea: Honey Extraction One” Wed April 1, 2026

This morning at Malealea Lodge, while the world is sitting glued to their screens awaiting the next great moon launch, we quietly conducted a mission of our own… It began with an unexpected discovery: a highly organised, buzzing “alien colony” had taken up residence inside one of our rooms. Not paying rent. Not checking out. And definitely not following housekeeping schedules. Enter our elite team, Leon (Thabang) Sesler and Tleki Musi Dressed...

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Food at Malealea Lodge: Honest, Hearty, and From the Heart Fri January 2, 2026

Every now and then, we receive feedback about our food that makes me pause, smile a little, and reflect on where we are — and what we offer. Over the years, we’ve been told our food is “not African enough.” More recently, we’ve been told it’s “not European enough.” And now, occasionally, that the dining room is not decorated enough. In many ways, that perfectly captures the unique space Malealea Lodge occupies.

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