Pilanesberg Game Reserve

I have been around many game parks in my life - I was born and raised in Kenya. I know you have to be lucky to see certain animals. I did find the tarmac road through the park rather unusual, and although I understand the why, I found rhinos without horns a bit sad. The grass was very long so visibility was a bit difficult for things like warthogs, lions etc. It was very pleasant and my colleague had never been to Africa before so she found it wonderful.

Smaller park with easy access from Jo'burg airport hotels...a real satisfying suprise. Definately worth the day trip!!

Game feast in a beautiful mountain ringed crator with expansive views extending kilometres.

I have travelled Kruger and Pilanesberg extensively. The rhino have disappeared from Kruger. Although the vistas have limits in Pilanesberg you can access 5 hides with many more opportunities of alighting from your vehicle. All hides have toilets. While people share their sightings with other game viewers this is seldom the case in Kruger. Hides are few and far between in Kruger without toilet facilities except lake panic.
I have often seen 4/5 big five…. Buffalo are elusive in Pilanesberg…within a weekend. Big herds are not on show though as they are in Kruger.
A great advantage of Pilanesberg is proximity to Jhb 2.5 hrs drive and it is MALARIA FREE and for the animals TB free too.
The Iron Age site in Pilanesberg allows you to roam around a large section of bush which is fenced. The view points from Moloto drive are exquisite…
Pilanesberg’s only drawback is noise from the populated areas near the rest champs at night and after 3 days you will find that you travel the same routes again, not so with Kruger.

We did one day safari only. We did not find the felines. We could see other big animals like Rhino, Giraffe, Elephant, zebra, etc..
My little girl became really astonished.
I recommend it!

It was very cool.

I had luck seeing some of the 5 Big very close. The scenery and weather is very similar with some regions in Brazil, i.e, savanna (cerrado) covers a large area of the Brazilian territory and our climate is subtropical in the south. The accommodations, food, transportation and guides were very good - Morokolo lodge is perfect. I suggest to everyone to be at least two days in this game reserve. Enjoy it.

Great safari for starters

Pilanesberg is a great game reserve option if you are in Johannesburg and a limited time for a safari (1-3 days), with rich variety of wildlife. In a 5-6h tour, we spotted giraffes, elephants, wildebeests, antelopes, zebras, boars, ostriches and jackals.

Although relatively small, Pilanesberg is in a transition area, so the landscape, vegetation and wildlife quickly changes from one part to another of the park.

I only visited the park, in a 1-day trip from Johannesburg, arriving early morning and leaving by late afternoon, it was a still an enjoyable experience, though a weekend would be certainly better. It is possible to visit the park with a private car and a guide, roads were excellent.

The tour with the park truck is probably a better option to view the wildlife - just be aware that there are limited rides (especially during the low season).

Although a relatively small Reserve, Pilanesberg is popular due to its proximity to the Sun City resort. Very scenic with a mountainous section and a large dam which is a refuge for local birds. Lots of Wildlife present and one may be lucky enough to catch sight of one of the large carnivores which are scattered across the park.

The wild life we saw was limited to Zebras and Springboks mostly. We had fun during our Brazil lunch in the middle of the game reserve.

Close to Big cities, Good Camps and Good Roads , Big 5 , an Plenty of Bush veld birds , and Bird Hides

Pilanesberg was my first experience visiting a game reserve. That was in 1998 and it was a nice experience. Many of the larger animals I saw were at quite a distance away so it wasn't like visiting Kruger, but I did see lions trying to chase down their dinner without success which was my only experience of the chase. So each experience can bring something new.