The small town of Malelane is situated on the banks of the Crocodile River and is at one of the Southern entrances to the Kruger National Park. The town lies in an area known as the Onderberg and is enclosed on three sides by high mountains.

Malelane and its surrounding area have a large variety of indigenous trees and shrubs, and is a heaven for bird watchers, offering a huge variety of species. The name Malelane is derived from the Swazi word "emlalani" meaning "place of the lala palms". Malelane was established in 1949 and became a municipality in July 1990. The town is the center of the sugar cane industry in Mpumalanga Province. Malelane was originally a large farm, which had been sold by Mkonto Elrick in 1928 after the death of the his wife, Rosa Louisa from blackwater fever. The farm was split up into 50 acre plots, each of which was sold for £1000 with water rights.