Pilanesberg Game Reserve - New website

We have just launched our newest website marketing the Lodges of the Pilanesberg Game Reserve.
Easy to book, fast response time and best prices.
Big Five Game Park

BOOK HERE - http://www.pilanesbergreservation.co.za/

 
From budget venues, the Manyane and Bakgatla Resorts, to the luxury private Lodges in the Pilanesberg  Game Reserve such as Tshukudu Bush Lodge, Shepherd's Tree Lodge or the larger Ivory Tree Lodge.
Also recommended would be Bakubung annd Kwa Maritane Bush Lodges. Recent additions to the accommodation in the Pilanesberg are venues in the Black Rhino reserve which is open to the Pilanesberg Game National Park. The Lodges there offer game drives on the Black Rhino Reserve property as well as in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve. We offer accommodation at the Black Rhino Lodge as well as the Pilanesberg Private Lodge. All these venues have accest to and are close to Sun City !

For those who wish to selfcater at a luxury Lodge there is Buffalo Thorn Lodge in the Black Rhino Reserve

Book all these Pilanesberg accommodation venues from this new website !

BOOK HERE - http://www.pilanesbergreservation.co.za/

Black Rhino Lodge - Pilanesberg

Our drive from Clifftop Lodge in Welgevonden, in the Waterberg to Black Rhino Lodge in Pilanesberg, took us approximately 4 hours from lodge to lodge, on our arrival we were shown to our room which comprised of twin beds which could be made into a king sized bed, a lounge area, huge bath and both indoor and outdoor showers. Our unit shared a pool and lounge area with another room, so it was not quite private but for 2 couples traveling together it would be great. As Black Rhino Lodge wasn’t full there was no one else in the other unit so we had the whole area for ourselves.

After a quick lunch we were ready for our afternoon game drive in Pilanesberg where we saw the usual such as impala, Blue Wildebeest, warthog, banded mongoose as well as a very brief sighting of a meerkat, we then found a herd of elephant, well at least the stragglers of the heard, it was a mother with a baby but then on closer inspection we saw she actually had 2 babies, the second baby was so small you could only just see the top of its head and ears over the long grass, such a cutie, unfortunately they moved off into the bush. We tried to circle around on another road to see if they would come out again but alas the stayed where they were, we then stopped for sun-downers and enjoyed a beautiful sun set. On the night drive back to Black Rhino Lodge we come across a herd of Elephant but couldn't find the lion we were searching for, so it was back to the lodge for dinner to warm us up.

The next morning we were off for a full days drive in the Pilanesberg National Park so breakfast was at 08h00 and we set off for the day at 09h00, we only got back to the lodge at 15h00 our full day game viewing in the Pilanesberg Park was quite good. We saw plenty of giraffe, zebra, springbok, Blue Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, impala, warthog, waterbuck, Elephant, plenty of hippo, all out of the water sunning themselves – it really was a cold day – banded mongoose, a Kori bustard which is the largest flying bird and to top it all off we spotted our very first black rhino! Unfortunately the rhino was a fair distance off in the bush but through the binoculars you could definitely see it was a black rhino! We stopped at a view site for a drink and to soak in the beautiful view. This also the main center for something warm to drink and to stretch our legs, we made it back to the lodge a little later than expected so had lunch at 15h00 instead of the normal 14h00, also as there were new guests in camp we were back on the vehicle at 16h00 for the afternoon game drive! It literally was a full day of game driving.

The afternoon drive was just as eventful as we managed to find the herd of Buffalo along with Elephant, Kudu, impala and a mother white Rhino with a small calf nicknamed ‘peanut’ who was so very cute running around his mum and in the road in front of us, unfortunately it was just too dark to take a picture but it was so sweet to see him bounding around, eventually his mum decided that was enough excitement and moved him off into the bushes.

On our final morning at Black Rhino Lodge we were up super early and on the vehicle by 06h00 as we decided to go to the view point to watch the sun rise over a cup of hot chocolate, all I can say is I was pretty much frozen the entire drive to the view point! I have never been so cold on all my game drives and this was through my thick ski jacket, boots, gloves, a scarf and a beanie! But it was most definitely worth it as the sun rise was spectacular and although pictures never do it justice I have included one below. Once we had all warmed up a little we were off again spotting Elephant, Wildebeest, Zebra, Impala and Black Backed Jackal, we were back at the lodge by 08h30 and breakfast was waiting for us, after breakfast and packing we left Pilanesberg National Park and were off to our next lodge – Jaci’s Tree Lodge in the Madikwe Game Reserve.

KWA MARITANE in the Pilanesberg reopens on 25th Birthday

The reopening of Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge, situated in the malaria-free Pilanesberg National Park, on May 1, after the devastating fire last year, was met with great jubilation from both staff, and guests who have made the lodge their holiday home over the last 25 years.

Jaci’s Tree Lodge - Madikwe Game Reserve

Our drive from Black Rhino Lodge in the Pilanesberg, to Jaci’s Tree Lodge in the Madikwe Game Reserve, took us approximately 2 hours, on arrival we were met by the staff and shown around the main area of the lodge, we were then shown to our room, all the rooms at Jaci’s Tree Lodge are raised on stilts with board walks connecting all of them together, our room was literally built around one of the huge trees at Jaci’s Tree Lodge as our roof was thatched around one of the branches of the tree, the room itself was very comfortable with a big bed, large bath, toilet and outdoor shower. As it was extremely cold they had all the heaters going and walking into our room was lovely and warm, there were also electric blankets on the bed which made the world of difference as we were kept lovely and toasty all night long.

Once settled into our room at Jaci's we went through to high tea and then we were off on our afternoon game drive in Madikwe, the afternoon was a little slow as we headed to the south of the park in search of the Wild Dogs, which we unfortunately didn't find, but we did see Elephant, Zebra and Wildebeest, it was then back to Jaci's lodge for a scrumptious dinner under the stars with blankets and fires to keep us warm.

The next morning our wake up call was at 06h00 with the game drive departing at 06h30 and we were back just before 10h00. Jaci’s Tree Lodge had moved onto their winter schedule, so we would have Brunch, High Tea and dinner, the early morning start meant that we were served muffins and porridge with tea & coffee and juice before heading out on our morning drive in Madikwe Game Reserve. Waiting for us on the vehicles were blankets and hot water bottles to keep us warm on the morning drive. This morning we were in luck as we had a lovely sighting of 2 lionesses just as the sun was rising, and then as we were leaving this sighting the call came in – the Wild Dogs had been spotted! We drove off to where they were last seen, we didn't need to go too far, where we came across them in the main road, they were of course hunting and so were moving very fast, unfortunately I wasn't quick enough with my camera, but still we had seen them and were soon following after them, traveling as fast as we could to keep up, they actually ran straight past the 2 lionesses who were still sleeping. After we had lost them in the thick bush we ended up driving back past the lionesses who were now looking very alert at all the commotion. Besides those 2 spectacular sightings we saw the usual line up including White Rhino and even a Fish Eagle.

Brunch was a huge affair with a buffet of fresh fruit, a stunning lamb curry with couscous, cold meats, cheeses etc. all followed by a hot English breakfast and the best toast I have ever tasted – made from their home made bread. With our tummies full we dropped our things off in our room as we had decided to take a walk across to Jaci’s Safari Lodge to have a look at the rooms and that lodge, the walk is a lovely amble through the trees along the river. Jaci’s Safari Lodge chalets are quite different to Tree Lodge as the units are thatched Tents with solid walls, canvas Door and a thatched roof.  Jaci’s Safari Lodge also has a different layout & feel and caters best for children with their very own indoor play room, Jaci’s Tree Lodge guests are also able to utilize the play room as well as the gym which are both situated at Jaci's Safari Lodge.

After our lovely walk and a shortcut back through the staff village we had our afternoon siesta, then it was time for high tea and the afternoon game drive which saw us heading north in Madikwe where we found Lion. This time 1 adult female with a sub-adult male and 2 cubs, they were all looking very fat and lazy as they had made a kill that morning. We also saw 6 Rhino, Elephant, Giraffe, Kudu, Impala, Black backed jackal, Zebra etc.

The next morning saw us up again at 06h00 and off on our game drive after some hot oats and drinks. This morning was a little quieter but we still saw Elephant, Giraffe, Impala, Mongoose and we even managed to see the back end of a brown hyena! We were then back to the lodge for another huge brunch and to pack as we were off to Etali Safari Lodge also in the Madikwe Game Reserve. 

Clifftop Lodge – Welgevonden

Our drive from Marataba to Clifftop Lodge in the Welgavonden Game Reserve, Waterberg, was a short drive and only took us 1 ½ hours as we were only driving to the other side of Marakele National Park, I did find out from some other guests staying at Clifftop Lodge that their drive from Johannesburg took them 3 ½ hours as there were some road works along the way. On our arrival at the Eastern Gate to Welgevonden we were directed to the car park where we were required to park and leave our vehicle - and for good reasons too - we were then welcomed by our ranger with a glass of bubbly and some snacks, after the luggage was loaded and the snacks were consumed, we hopped on the Game Vehicle and set off for Clifftop lodge, the first part of the roads were normal dirt roads and quite flat but as soon as we took the Right turn to the lodge the road pretty much went up at a 90 degree angle and became pretty bad from then until we reached the lodge – although a small feat for the Game Vehicles I would shudder to try and take a normal vehicle up and over that road! Well all the steep roads and hairpin turns are most definitely worth it as the view from Clifftop Lodge is spectacular, built on the side of the cliff looking down at the river it really is a stunning view.

We were met by the lodge manager Wiets and shown around Clifftop and to our suite which has all the amenities one could ask for – air-conditioned room with a large king sized bed, en suite bathroom consisting of a large bath, his & hers basins, indoor and outdoor showers, a hairdryer, telephone, mini bar and tea & coffee facilities all this together with a private deck with thatched sala and our own private plunge pool.

After settling into our suite we had Lunch and then we were off on the afternoon Game Drive, we saw all the usual suspects (Rhino included) but the stand out was actually on our way back to the lodge whilst using the spot light, we come across 2 male lion who were walking in the road, so we carried on following them as they were pretty much leading us back to the lodge, they suddenly started stalking and you could see the tactical maneuvers they were making, we knew from earlier in the day that there were some Blue Wildebeest on the open plain ahead of us so we started to get excited to see if they would follow through with the hunt! The younger of the 2 lion moved off to the side whilst the older lion continued to walk forward in the road, the next thing you could hear stampeding hooves and the herd was running directly at the younger lion who sprang up and managed to snag a young wildebeest, one cry and then it was over – the herd however was still in chaos and another little wildebeest had gotten separated from them, the older lion went after the little one but it managed to escape and rejoin its mother, it was truly an amazing and very rare thing to see. I have seen quite a few lions stalking but they either never follow through with it or they give a half attempt and end up missing. What an exciting Game drive!

The next morning wake up call was at 06h00 and we had a quick cup of tea/coffee and then were off on the morning game drive at 06h30, the Game Drive was not quite as eventful as the night before but we had the very rare sighting of a Roan Antelope. Apparently there is only 1 in the Welgevonden and we saw him walking along, unfortunately the sun was not in the best position for a picture, we also spotted zebra, Duiker, black backed Jackal, Rhino etc. then on our return to Clifftop Lodge we enjoyed a hearty breakfast of fruit, cold meat, cheese, muffin & croissant followed by a hot English breakfast, the afternoon was spent relaxing in our room reading and having a little afternoon siesta. Unfortunately it was a little too cold to make use of our pool, then it was time for Lunch and then onto the Safari Vehicle for our afternoon drive where we had a lovely close sighting of Giraffe as well as a young cheeky Elephant bull who charged our vehicle. I guess he was not to happy with us interrupting his afternoon snack. It was then back to the lodge for dinner and some sleep, the next morning we were off early as we had a long drive to Black Rhino Lodge in the Pilanesberg.

My Visit to Phinda – Keith Marallich

I was fortunate to visit the Phinda Private Game Reserve during early December. This was a belated birthday present, but a number of factors played a role in choosing the date. There had to be availability of course, and then reservations could only be made at very short notice – 24 hours before taking up the occupation! What was good about this short notice thing was I then had a chance to look at the weather forecasts for the next two to three days prior to making the reservation, and unfortunately this is where things fell apart a bit. As from early November the weather seemed to be against me. My primary reason for going was for photography, and to complicate matters more, my main aim was to photograph cheetah and black rhinos – quite a tall order, but I was confident that Phinda could deliver! However, I did not want a cloudy sky or rain - the light I hoped for had to be perfect, with blue skies and low sun. I was maybe a little too demanding, but at short notice, with the benefit of weather forecasts, I felt that this could be done. Little did I know that the best laid plans of mice and men…

Every week I was diligently checking availability and weather, and as the month of November grew longer, so nothing changed - 40%, 50% and more prediction of rain (and you don’t have rain without clouds) for all weekends in November. The first weekend in December looked great, but then I hit a snag – that was the one weekend that I could not go. So, what about the next weekend of the 8^th to 11^th December? The following weekend after this was a long weekend and I had a tour at this time in any event, and Phinda was pretty full from then on. January, February and March was just too hot for me, so it was now or never (Never…? too strong a word!). The weekend of the 8^th to 11^th December would have to do, so I duly made my reservation. I also would have liked to have stayed at just one single lodge for the duration of my stay, but with the COP17 conference in Durban coming to an end at this time, this was not possible, so I stayed the first two nights at the Phinda Vlei Lodge and the last night at the Phinda Forest Lodge.

Phinda is a short three hour drive from Durban and easily accessible to any type of vehicle. Upon arrival I was greeted and shown around Vlei Lodge, before being shown my room. I was also warned that I should keep at least my screen doors closed as there were vervet monkeys about, and they did tend to monkey around a bit, but who listens to these warnings? Whilst setting up my camera to take some photos of the suite (I was in the bathroom at this time), I heard a racket from the adjoining bedroom and rushed through, only to find a monkey helping himself to the wrapped nougat which was on offer. He got away with some nougat and sat in the tree above the room; artfully unwrapping the candy and enjoying it. This of course meant less nougat for me. The suites at Phinda Vlei Lodge are free standing, and fringe the reserve’s unique vlei (wetland) system along the edge of the rare sand forest and are intimately integrated into the surrounding African bush. This lodge comprises six thatched suites which each come complete with a luxurious ensuite bathroom, dressing room, private plunge pool and game viewing deck, all overlooking the grassy vlei.

The public areas consisted of a lounge, an inside dining area for when the weather was bad and an outside dining area for when the weather was good. With the weather conditions as they were, this meant that half my meals were inside whilst the other half were enjoyed outside.

Hereunder some photos of the Vlei Lodge.

The game drives at Phinda Vlei Lodge were usually pretty good, but unfortunately for me they were mostly in bad light. The Friday morning drive was done in some light drizzle and for the afternoon drive I did not even take my camera along, such was the rain. Probably the last drive at Vlei was the “worst” of the four, as we travelled all the way to the furthest reaches of Phinda to find elephant. We did in fact find a herd of about 50 to 60 animals, as well as other general game, but for the four hours that we were out, the light did not play along, so I did not take any photos of these magnificent beasts. We also spent quite a long time during my stay here trying to find leopard, as there was plenty of evidence of their presence by the number of fresh tracks that we found, but apart from one very “small” sighting, we could not find them. I will hereunder detail some of the more exciting sightings that were seen and general animals that were seen on both the Vlei and Forest lodges’ game drives included white rhino, and lots of them, nyala by the ton, reedbuck, impala (and many had lambs that were recently born), zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, baboons, the odd duiker, monkeys, wart hog, buffalo, hippos and more.

Some of the sightings from Vlei Lodge, in no particular order, that stood out for me were the following:

- A lactating lioness laying on top of a mound fully at ease, with an odd yawn every now and then. Her cubs were nowhere to be found, but they should have been fairly close by.

- Two large male lions (and even in reasonably good light) that I was told are the two dominant males of the reserve – a large area for them to cover.

- A black rhino and her sub-adult calf. A few days later we also saw a black rhino and calf and maybe this second sighting was of these same two animals. Phinda has roughly about thirty black rhinos on their property and this highly endangered animal seems to be doing well here – long may it continue. Just on that note, with all the rhino poaching currently being experienced in South Africa at the moment, Phinda have not lost a single rhino to poachers, neither the black or white variety.

- Five cheetahs, made up of two males, one female and two sub-adult cubs. The males were obviously trying to impress the female, but she was having none of them. I must also say that every time one of the males approached the female, the cubs would give voice to their displeasure with strange bird-like mewing sounds (very difficult to put into words, this strange bird-like mewing sound).

- A very young white rhino calf with its mother. This little animal reminded me somewhat of an aardvark, with its large ears and small body. One of those animals that all on the vehicle ooh’d and aah’d about.

- A wildebeest that was trying to give birth, but with little privacy. The baby’s front legs were already protruding from the mother, but every time she settled down to do what had to be done, she was surrounded by more wildebeest from her herd and sometimes even some zebra. We never did see here complete her birth.

- On that same morning we were watching a mother cheetah and her two sub-adult cubs, just lazing about on a termite mound. All of a sudden the mother perked up and looked off into the distance, this intense look soon to be followed by both cubs. What they had seen, and which we saw a few seconds later, was a male lion bearing down upon them from a distance. Needless to say, the cheetah left in a hurry, being chased by the male lion, which never caught them, because we saw these animals again.

- Two male cheetahs devouring an impala lamb. We had found the remains of an impala lamb that had been killed and eaten a short time before we came upon them, just starting on their meal of a second impala lamb in probably as many hours. They had just started and within 20 to 30 minutes it was all over – all that was left of the impala was the bottom bit of four legs, some skin and a few bones. We even watched them crunch their way through the impala’s skull and I suppose a two week old impala still has a soft skull. All this on the afternoon that I did not take my camera!

After my visit to Vlei Lodge, it was off to Phinda Forest Lodge for my last night. Set deep in the heart of a rare and beautiful dry sand forest, the spectacular Forest Lodge fuses architectural design and conservation. The creation of this safari lodge was an exemplary exercise in building eco-sensitive structures with a light footprint (not one tree was felled during construction). Inventively designed in Zulu Zen style, each handcrafted, glass encased suite is a combination of glass, wood and minimalist design incorporating high-gloss wooden floors, richly tactile fabrics and crimson Zulu artefacts. These sixteen private stilted suites each feature luxurious ensuite bathrooms with double vanity hand basins, and viewing decks. There is also a sparkling rim flow swimming pool and lodge sitting areas with expansive viewing decks affording panoramic views of the game-filled plains. What one finds quite a lot of at Forest Lodge is the red duiker, browsing within close proximity to guests.

Hereunder some photos of the suites and general areas of Forest Lodge.

That afternoon I went out with my new guide, Wayne, and we went looking for leopard. We did find a leopard, or more accurately, we found about a ¼ or less of a leopard. No, let me rephrase that, we saw only the tail of a leopard. This animal had crawled into deep undergrowth and only its tail was visible – but it was a leopard sighting. There are obviously quite a few leopards at Phinda, but these are not often seen, being the secretive animals that they are. Had we been prepared to wait there a few hours, we would in all probability have seen the leopard eventually move off, but there were other animals to find.

We also found two male cheetah, and lo and behold, the light was improving, in that the sun was shining, albeit a bit watery, but I did manage to get some half-decent photos of them in various poses. We did learn later from the other guide that was also viewing them that they made a kill (yes, you guessed it – another baby impala) and this was witnessed by the people on the other vehicle - lucky them, unlucky impala. So, as far as I was aware, the score was cheetah 3, baby impala 0! What we later did find was the two dominant male lions, but this was in the dark twilight and they were disinclined to move, so we did not stay with them for too long. The following morning produced quite a lot of general game and again two black rhinos, but again the light let me down, but hey, one does not see black rhino ever day! We also saw the two male lions, but they had followed the leopard’s example of the night before and had ensconced themselves into a deep thicket where they had settled for the day.

Phinda is a superb destination. Set within easy reach of the Indian Ocean coastline and the famous iSimangaliso Wetland Park (St. Lucia) in northern KwaZulu-Natal and is known for its abundant wildlife, diversity of habitats and wide range of activities. Thanks to its coastal rainfall pattern, Phinda enjoys a lush green environment that contains seven distinct ecosystems - a magnificent tapestry of woodland, grassland, wetland and forest, interspersed with mountain ranges, river courses, marshes and pans. With six lodges sharing an area of 23 000 hectares (56 800 acres) guests are assured an exclusive game viewing experience.

If one has the time, and if one has the money, and if one has the passion for wildlife, you can quite easily tailor-make an itinerary to suit your viewing preferences. For example, if cheetah and black rhino are high on your list of animals to see, Phinda is the place to go. If it is leopard that you have to see, Phinda has four sister lodges in the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve which will undoubtedly produce an abundance of leopard, but very, very few cheetah and surely no black rhino. If it is lion, elephant, buffalo and more, either of these areas, i.e Phinda or the Sabi Sands, can take care of this. In fact, depending on what type of animals you want to see, South Africa with its vast expanses can offer you much in terms of wildlife, from the abundant elephant herds of Addo, the marine wildlife off our southern Cape coast, the one hundred and forty seven mammal species of the greater Kruger Park, the dry Karoo and desert regions, the rhino populations in KwaZulu-Natal, the cross-over between Kalahari and bushveld in the Pilanesberg and Madikwe areas, the options are almost limitless, and as for the birding…..we’ll leave this for another time.