Pilanesberg Game
Reserve Overview
Covering
an area of 560km2/216mi2 (in
an
extinct volcano) and situated about 2 hours'
drive from Johannesburg and Pretoria in the North West
province
of South Africa, the Pilanesberg game reserve is a wildlife watchers
mecca.
The facilities, accommodation and road network is first class too as
can be seen on this satellite map of the reserve. The icons provide a
description when clicked and you can navigate the map using the
controls in the top left hand corner or by double clicking to zoom in.
The
definition is so good that you can actually see the swimming pool at
the Manyane Rest Camp and the cars in the parking lot in front of
reception. Try for yourself and get a birds eye view of the whole
nature reserve.
Pilanesberg
Game Reserve Map
View Larger
Map
Pilanesberg
Distance Calculator
Based on an average speed of 30km/h (19mph)
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Even
though the reserve is
relatively small it's
still useful to know the distances between the rest camps and how long
it will take you drive there.
I
haven't specifically mentioned the gate distances because all the gates
are located at the camps themselves so for all intents and purposes the
distances will be the same to the relevant gates as to the camps.
The road between Bakubung Lodge and Bakgatla
Camp is tarred, as well as from Manyane Camp past Mankwe Dam to the
intersection close to the Pilanesberg Centre. All the other roads in
the reserve are gravel but they are well maintained so you can drive
them effortlessly with a normal sedan vehicle, eliminating the need to
rent an expensive 4x4 when you visit Pilanesberg Game Reserve.
Traffic can sometimes become a little
congested around the Mankwe Dam area because of its location in the
centre of the reserve. The far western part of the park attracts a lot
less traffic so if you are looking for a little bit of isolation and
want to get away from the hustle and bustle make your way there.
Best
Time To Go
The average annual rainfall in Pilanesberg
is 622mm (24.5") and most of it falls during the summer months of October to
March. Temperatures at these times hover around 26–30°C (79-86°F) during the day. The winter months run from April to
September and you can expect clear, warm days and cold nights.
Wildlife viewing is good all year round but
probably the best time is during the dry winter months when there is
less undergrowth to obscure vision and many of the animals congregate
around the waterholes to slake their thirst.
Pilanesberg
Game Reserve History
Prior to 1979 when it was proclaimed as a
reserve, the indigenous game populations were severely depleted due to
commercial farming in the area. Then, “Operation
Genesis” swung into action, which was an ambitious project to
restock the land with game, remove the scars of human settlement and
develop tourism infrastructure.
A 110 kilometer (68mi) peripheral big game fence
was erected; 188km (117mi) of
visitor roads developed and 6000 head of game re-introduced. This
constituted the largest and most expensive game stocking and land
rehabilitation project ever undertaken in any African game reserve at
the time.
Today the reserve contains 55 species of
large mammal including the “Big Five”, 354 bird, 65
reptile, 18 amphibian, 132 tree and 68 grass species.
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