Pilanesberg Game Reserve
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Pilanesberg Game Reserve - Sightings Data |
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The table below gives you a rough idea when and where you should be looking for some of the species during March, April and May. (Based on 3 years data from ParkControl©)
| SPECIES |
MORNING(AM) COMPARED TO AFTERNOON(PM) SIGHTINGS |
MOST SIGHTINGS |
FREQUENCY |
| LION |
AM 53% / PM 47% |
Most places near water. Resting
up in the shade during the day. (See map below) |
Common |
| LEOPARD |
AM 44% / PM 56% |
In rocky areas and near water.
(See map below) |
Rare |
| CHEETAH |
AM 56% / PM 44% |
Most of the open areas of the
park, but avoiding the lions (See map below) |
Rare |
| BUFFALO |
AM 51% / PM 49% |
On Tlou drive between Ntswe and
Moloto, on Tshukudu e Ntsho at Tlou dams, on Ntswe between Kukama and
Tlou drive, on Sefara opposite the Lenong access road. Lone bulls
occasionally seen on Kubu near the mine. (See map below) |
Extremely rare |
| ELEPHANT |
AM 43% / PM 57% |
Throughout the park. |
Very Common |
| WILD DOG |
AM 53% / PM 47% |
Near water and near the gates
early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Resting up on high
ground during the day. |
Extremely rare |
| RHINO |
AM 43% / PM 57% |
Throughout the park |
Very Common |
I would hereby like to express my thanks to Northwest Parks,
the Game Department and management of Bakubung and all others that have
been involved, for their support in this project.
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Top Ten Things to Do in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve |
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 A big-five African safari is a dream holiday for many people and the bottom-line is that whether you are a tourist from another continent or a local visiting the Pilanesberg game reserve in South Africa, you want to return home having enjoyed the safari experience. Think of this article as your unofficial advisor, providing tips to make your trip more exciting and memorable! Here are our top-ten things to do when visiting the Pilanesberg: 1. Guided safari - all the lodges and resorts in the Pilanesberg offer morning and afternoon guided game drives. In the morning the guide brings coffee and rusks and in the afternoon there are cool drinks and beer/wine for sun-downers, depending on which lodge you are staying at. 2. Self-drive safari - we prefer self-drive as you get to decide when you go, which route you take and how long you stay at a sighting. 3. Guided Bush walk - most of the lodges offer guided bush walks. These are really exciting as they provide you with a whole new outlook on nature. You could come face-to-face with a rhino or buffalo, but these walks are more about the smaller things that you would miss when driving around the park. 4. Self-guided Camp walk - Manyane lodge has a huge enclosed area where zebras, tsessebe, ostriches, wildebeest, impala and warthog roam freely. You don't need to book and maps are available at the information centre. We love this walk as you get to experience closeness with the animals. In summer you should take a hat, comfortable walking boots, a flask with water and a camera of course! 5. Picnic on the hills - there are five picnic spots located throughout the park. Three of them are great as you are high-up on hills and you have magnificent views of the plains or lake below. The one is Fish Eagle picnic spot overlooking Mankwe dam and the other two are located on Baile Drive. All the picnic spots have braai (barbeque) facilities, water, shade, toilets and are fenced. 6. Sit at bird hides - there are seven hides distributed through the park. To us the Pilanesberg is all about sitting at these bird hides instead of driving around the park for hours. You can get some great photos if you visit these hides at the right time of day - the hides that face west have good photographic lighting in the mornings (Rathlogo and Mankwe) and the hides that face east are great in the afternoons (Mankwe, Ruighoek and Malatse). All the hides are safely fenced and have toilets. 7. Elephant back safari - this is an exciting adventure! You have a choice of a morning or sunset safari that lasts three hours - one hour riding on the back of an elephant and the rest of the time is spent getting to know the elephants and having a light champagne breakfast or sundowners with snacks. Imagine photographing game from the back of an elephant! 8. Hot air balloon - this is another great adventure! The balloon takes off from Mankwe Dam before the sun rises and then you spend an hour floating above the Pilanesberg. This is a great opportunity to photograph Africa's 'super-seven' (the big-5 plus cheetah and wild dogs) from the air - and when you land the table is set for a lovely champagne breakfast in the veld! 9. Sun City - this famous resort forms part of the Pilanesberg crater complex and it has everything in terms of entertainment, from restaurants, the valley of waves water park, a cinema, health spa, golf course, live shows, casino, various sports from tennis to quad-biking and of course daily guided game drives into the Pilanesberg game reserve. 10. Walk-in aviary - there is one at the Manyane complex and another one at Sun City. This is a great opportunity for you to photograph bird species, such as kingfishers, without needing a long lens. |
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Pilanesberg Game Reserve, South Africa |
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The fourth largest park in South Africa, Pilanesberg is a melting pot of topographies--which include syenite koppies, forested ravines, bush veld and rolling grasslands and lightly wooded areas--all contained in the crater of an extinct volcano that covers 55,000 hectares. Much of the beauties find reflection in the Mankwe Dam, the central water feature here. This is also a great place to spot wildlife, including the Big Five--the elephant, lion, leopard, rhinoceros and the cape buffalo.
Thabayadiotso, "the Proud Mountain", offers fitting relief to the panoramas of the park. Apart from the large mammals, the park is home to over 300 species of birds and they can be sighted while on the one-of-a-kind self-guided trail in the Walking Area at Manyane Complex. If the wild ones are not showing up, you can rest assured you'll see at least 80 species of birds at the walk-in aviary along the way. |
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Page 1 of 6 |
Pilanesberg Specials
 Pilanesberg Specials. Read More
Pilanesberg Activities
 Pilanesberg Activities. Read More
Pilanesberg Bush Lodges
 Pilanesberg Bush Lodges. Read More
Pilanesberg Game Reserve Species List
 Wildlife: Since late 1979, thanks to Operation Genesis - the largest game translocation ever undertaken at the time, tourists have been able to take note of nature's alphabet - from aardvark to zebra. The park boasts healthy populations of lion, leopard, black and white rhino, elephant and buffalo - Africa's "Big Five". A wide variety of rare and common species exist with endemic species like the nocturnal brown hyaena, the fleet-footed cheetah, the majestic sable, as well as giraffe, zebra, hippo and crocodile...
 Bird-life: Bird watching is excellent with over 300 species recorded. Some are migrants, others permanent inhabitants; some eat carrion or live prey, others eat seeds, fruit or tiny water organisms.There is a self-guided trail in the Walking Area at Manyane Complex in the east, which offers environmental education whilst enjoying game viewing and bird watching on foot. Also at Manyane is a walk-in aviary with over 80 species of indigenous birds.Read More
 Madikwe Game Reserve Madikwe is a Big Five Game Reserve covering some 75,000 hectare. It is one of the largest game reserves in South Africa. Read More
 Sun City Resorts and Hotels Deep in the rugged bushveld, in the heart of an ancient volcano, lies the world's most unique resort. This is the internationally acclaimed Sun City. Read More
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Welgevonden Game Lodges
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Addo Elephant National Park
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Johannesburg Hotels
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Kruger National Park
The Kruger National Park is the primary destination in South Africa for many international tourists. Each year more than half a million visitors are registered...Read More
Madikwe Game Reserve
Madikwe is a Big Five game reserve covering some 75,000 hectare. It is one of the largest game reserves in South Africa.The rich diversity of vegetation ensures a wide range of game and the topography offers ideal game viewing opportunities.Read More
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Lion
Big 5 - The Lion
 ( Panthera leo) Most people will hope to see a lion or three while on safari in Africa. Luckily they are not quite as difficult to spot as the rhino or leopard. You have a good chance of seeing lion at most of the major game parks in southern and eastern Africa. Unlike most felines, lions are actually quite social and live in prides of up to 15 members. So, you can get the chance to watch the little ones play and interact with their bored looking mothers. There is nothing quite so chilling as hearing a lion roar in the night while you are camping but they are actually not prone to attacking humans unless you're unlucky and come across a man-eating lion.
Leopard
Big 5 - The Leopard
 (Panthera pardus) While leopards are more numerous than rhino in the Big 5 pantheon, they are sometimes just as difficult to spot while on safari in Africa. Leopards use trees as observation platforms and for protection, so you have to remember to look up to see this solitary, beautiful cat. Leopards are shy and nocturnal, quite modest for a cat that can climb, swim and live in a wider range of habitats than most other wild cats.
Elephant
Big 5 - The African Elephant
 There are two distinct species of African elephant: African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) and the African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana). The largest mammal in the world is remarkably adaptable; you can see elephants in rain forests, deserts and savannahs while on safari in Africa. Elephants are usually quite peaceful if left alone, but if they feel threatened, watch out. There's nothing quite like being charged at by 12,000 lb's of animal, flapping its ears and trumpeting loudly. Did you know that an elephant's trunk has more than 40,000 muscles?
Buffalo
Big 5 - The Cape Buffalo
 ( Syncerus caffer) When you spot the Cape Buffalo while on safari in Africa, you usually don't spot them alone. They tend to appear in very large (and intimidating) herds. Even when looking at them through binoculars from a distance, the males always seem to be staring right at you with intense dislike. Weighing in at over 700 kg's (1540 lb's) even lions don't dare take a chunk out of this beast. Cape Buffalo are said to have killed more big game hunters than any other animal in Africa. Hence they have earned their place in the Big 5.
Rhino
Big 5 - The African Rhino
 In Africa, there are two distinct species of rhinoceros; the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and the White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). Both of these species have two upright horns on the snout.
Rhinos are large mammals (only second in size to the elephant), shortsighted, bad tempered but magnificent to look at. Unfortunately there aren't too many to look at these days due to poaching. Rhino horn, used for medicinal purposes, is much prized in the Middle East and the Far East where it is more valuable than gold.
There are two species of rhino in Africa, the Black rhino and the White rhino, both of which you can see while on safari. Black rhinos have suffered the most drastic reduction in population in the last 20 years.
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How to get here
From Johannesburg/Pretoria take the N1 north towards Polokwane. Take the N4 Rustenburg split. A signboard indicates Pilanesberg to the left on route 91.
Where to stay
Pilanesberg offers a variety of affordable accommodation, like the self-catering Manyane, Bakgatla and Metswedi camps. The Tshukudu, KwaMaritane and Bakubung game lodges are also situated in the reserve.
Best time to visit
Summers can get hot, but visitors to Pilanesberg will enjoy the park all year round.
Around the area
Sun City, with its entertainment centre, golf course, water world and casino, is right next door.
Tours to do
Activities include game drives, either self-driven or guided, game walks and birding. Pilanesberg also operates balloon safaris.
Did You Know?
There is an initiative underway to join Pilanesberg with Madikwe, creating a new superpark.
Location
Pilanesberg Game Reserve is in the Bojanala Region of the North West Province, adjacent to Sun City.
Tariffs from 1 february 2009
Adults: R45,00
Children: R20,00
Pensioners: R20.00
Vehicles: R20.00
Bus (17-25 seater): R60.00
Bus (25-50 seater): R80.00
Bus (50+): R170.00
Gate Times
March & April
06h00 - 18h30
May - September
06h30 - 18h00
September & October
06h00 - 18h30
November - February
05h30 - 19h00
Pilanesberg Wildlife Trust
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