How bad is the rain in Kruger in January? Will it impede animal viewing/game drives?

The Kruger is a large area, the far nrothern area is particularly dry, while the southern region is wetter in Jan.

The vegetation is likely to be in full blossom, hindering deep penetrating views into the bushveld.
That all said the rainfall is typically late afternoon thunderstorms. Occassionally a cyclone can positon itself off the east coast and dump rain continuously for weeks on end, however those occurances are infrequent.

Since the primary roads in the Kruger are tarred your game drives should not be compromised.

If you use the term "kruger" generically and will in fcat be in the sabi sands you will have limited "off road" experiences and probably will not travel on certain roads that cross seeplines and cotton soils.

The game in this region has no migratory pattern, which implies that the densities will not change.

Mala Mala will not be significantly affected unless the rain is unusually heavy. Even then the bridge over the Sand river means that a lot of their territory is available, even when the river level is too high for landrovers.
The worst weather I ever had was two days rain out of five at Mala Mala in March, when it was also quite cold. That didn't stop us going on drives, it just meant we were wet.
The most fun part of the wet season is the occasional problem of getting stuck. But that just adds to the adventure, and has only happened to us once.
I really would not let it be a concern. I'll be there in January for eight days and wont give it a second thought.
Also at Mala Mala the bathrooms have heated towel rails, which while being quite luxurious for safari is quite practical when you are drenched.

I am planning on sabi sands and mala mala, so any thoughts would be helpful

Well there you have it:
At mala mala the rain is either not as significant as elsewhere in the Sabi Sands, or they really are not concerned about the damage caused by vehicles going "off road" during significant rainfall periods.

Evidently to some getting stuck is part of the adventure, well I guess that is true, but at $500 a night I'd rather be moving and enjoying ggame sightings.

that said with my tongie in my cheek I do need to add that in general the rainfall around the southern kruger in Jan/Feb is sporadic and shouldn't be a consideration in planning your trip.

Mkhonzo

Tongue in cheek. Seemed a little more harsh to me. Perhaps because I speak with passion about a place that you find unacceptable, what commission rates not high enough?

Only speaking tongue in cheek.

well I have to chuckle, since it was your comment that prompted my response.

What commission are referring to?

As I read it, G2G was enquiring about the weather in the kruger, not whether Mali Mali was superior to other properties in the area.

And frankly having stayed at most of the sabi sands properties over the years, both in the rain season and dry, I have witnessed many guides going out of their way to avoid driving off road in such conditions. All without fail have advised their motives for doing so, so passionate were they to avoid damaging the environment.

Your comment on Mala does convey a message of environmental insensitivity. I do not find this company unacceptable: that is your interpretation.

Getting back to the thread.......