Big Five Safari Near Johannesburg: Our Pilanesberg Week

In episode 105 of the Global Travel Planning Podcast, Doug joins Tracy to share what happened after Cape Town. After three weeks in the city (covered in episode 102 and episode 103), they flew to Johannesburg and spent a week at Kwa Maritane Lodge inside Pilanesberg Game Reserve, where Doug went on his first game drive.

Pilanesberg is two and a half hours by road from Johannesburg and sits in a non-malaria zone, so there are no light aircraft transfers and no malaria tablets to think about. Tracy has been visiting since her teens, and this time she saw it through the eyes of a first-timer, from elephants at the lodge waterhole to a full day out with a private guide that delivered the Big Five.

If you have ever written off a safari as too hard or too expensive, this one is for you. It suits anyone planning a first trip to South Africa, anyone pairing Cape Town with a game drive, and anyone weighing up a guided drive against driving themselves.

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Episode 105 – What you’ll learn in this episode

Why Pilanesberg Game Reserve works so well for a first safari, including the two and a half hour drive from Johannesburg on surfaced roads and its non-malaria status
How Pilanesberg compares with Kruger National Park, which is around 30 times bigger but home to the same Big Five
What the Big Five are (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo) and which animals people often assume are on the list
The story behind the reserve, which sits inside the remains of an ancient volcano and was stocked through Operation Genesis, when around 6,000 animals of 22 species were moved in
What it is like to stay at Kwa Maritane Lodge, from the self-catering chalets and Wi-Fi good enough to work on, to the pools, spa, bar with an open fire and the boma dinner
How much wildlife comes to you at the lodge, including the herd of elephants at the waterhole by the restaurant that Tracy missed while she was having a massage
Why keeping your chalet door shut matters, and how a monkey made off with Tracy’s crisps
How the hide works, reached through a long tunnel, with a live camera feed on your chalet TV so you know when to head down
What to expect from a private game drive with Heinrich, including the 5.30 am starts, the enclosed and heated vehicle, and the snacks, drinks and binoculars he provides
Why the first half-day drive was quieter than hoped, and why their daughter’s advice to book a full day was right
The highlights of their full day in the park, including a pride of lions on a kill, a leopard at close range, elephants, buffalo, rhino and a black rhino sighting on the way out
Why going out with a guide or on a lodge drive can beat self-driving, and what their neighbours saw the same day in their own car
What to pack for a winter safari, and how that changes between an open vehicle and an enclosed one
How to pair Cape Town with a game drive for a two-centre South Africa trip