The honest answer
You can have an excellent, genuinely wild safari without malaria risk in South Africa. The Eastern Cape is the headline — Addo Elephant Park, Shamwari, Kariega, Amakhala — with the Big Five, open vehicles, and no prophylactics needed. It's the right answer for families with small children and anyone pregnant or cautious about medication.
Where
Addo (national park, self-drive, elephants and more, near Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth) is the budget self-drive option. The Eastern Cape private reserves — Shamwari, Kariega, Amakhala, Lalibela — are the all-inclusive option, easier logistically than flying to Kruger, malaria-free, and within ninety minutes of Gqeberha airport. Further north, Madikwe (near the Botswana border, North West) is a Big Five reserve that's also malaria-free and well-run.
When to choose it
Choose malaria-free if you're travelling with children under five (who shouldn't take prophylactics), if you're pregnant, or if you simply don't want to plan around pills and a wet-season risk. The wildlife density is marginally lower than the Sabi Sand/Kruger lowveld — but most visitors won't notice, and the trade is a safe, logistically simple trip.
The trade
You give up the sheer scale and predator density of the Kruger lowveld. You gain no pills, no malaria anxiety, and often a much shorter transfer. For a first safari that's also a family trip, the Eastern Cape is hard to beat.