A Travellers Guide To The Pilanesberg

The Pilanesberg region of the North West Province in South Africa is a tourists playground with the unpretentious Pilanesberg National Park providing the backbone to this thriving tourist destination. Luxury game lodges, family-friendly resort complexes and numerous adventure activities both in and out of the park all come together to offer guests a unique, diverse and memorable holiday.

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The area is named after the Tswana Chief Pilane of the Bakgatla tribe who owned and occupied the land before agreeing to include it as part of the greater Pilanesberg National Park when the then Bophuthatswana government decided to re-introduce wildlife.

Although species, such as leopard, occurred naturally in the Pilanesberg area, it was decided to re-introduce the species that had previously occurred in the area historically. Nicknamed Operation Genesis – the project involved the translocation of over 6000 animals which were placed in quarantine enclosures, where they could acclimatise, before being released.

How to get there

The Pilanesberg National Park is situated approximately 170km from Johannesburg. It’s a comfortable two to three hours drive if you wish to self-drive or let MANKWE GAME TRACKERS drive you there in one of their comfortable air-conditioned vehicles. They offer private transfers from OR Tambo International Airport, Lanseria Airport or Pilanesberg Airport, Madikwe Game Reserve as well as Mabula Game Reserve.

If driving seems a tedious affair, then you can fly from either OR Tambo International or Cape Town International Airport directly to Sun City airport. The flights from Johannesburg run three days a week on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday while from Cape Town they run twice a week on a Monday and Friday. Airfares start from approximately R1200 return from Johannesburg, subject to availability.

Accommodation