Imagine
Pilanesberg National Park
Safaris Reimagined
Among Southern Africa’s fascinating game reserves, Pilanesberg National Park is possibly the most accessible. This Malaria Free Game Reserve is home to the Big 5 and offers a variety of affordable accommodation, from camping to chalets &
luxury 5 Star Lodges.
It is over 55 000 hectares in size and is located in the North West Province of South Africa, 150 km north west of the Gauteng metropolis and 60 km north of Rustenburg.
The history of Pilanesberg is also unique amongst national parks in Africa. The park's special features of rugged landscape, well-watered valleys and attractive dwelling sites have made it a preferred site for human settlement for thousands of years.
What our Guests Say
Meghan Lewis
California
Kruger itself is amazing, but throw in a spectacular guide like Bruce and it becomes the best trip ever! Stayed inside the park and took two long drives per day and saw everything! Big 5 success ,4 Rhinos chilling at the watering hole. We opted to do an additional excursion of a walking tour also and that is not for the faint of heart, but seriously the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done, came within meters of a herd numbering at least 150 of Cape Buffalo!
About Pilanesberg
The Pilanesberg is named for chief Pilane of the Kgafêla people, who ruled from Bogopane, Mmamodimokwana and eventually Mmasebudule during the 1800s.
Early inhabitants
Humans have been in the Pilanesberg area since the Middle Stone Age. Many artifacts from this period can be found throughout the Park.
Iron Age
During the later Iron Age period, the ancestors of the Batswana and Basotho people occupied the area. They were cattle farmers and pastoralists who also worked copper and iron.
Tswana period
Major Tswana towns were established during the late 18th century. Most of these towns were destroyed during the Difaqane wars that raged in the Pilanesberg/Magaliesberg region in the late 1820s, when Mzilikazi broke off from Shaka Zulu and occupied the region.
Prior to its proclamation as a reserve in 1979, the Pilanesberg National Park Complex was degraded and depleted of indigenous game populations due to fairly intense settlement by commercial farmers. At considerable expense, the land has been restocked with game, the scars of human settlement were removed and tourism infrastructure was developed during the first 15 years (1979 and 1993). This constituted the largest and most expensive game stocking and land rehabilitation project ever undertaken in any African game reserve at the time.
A 110 kilometer peripheral Big Game fence was erected over some very rugged terrain, 188 kilometer of visitor roads have been developed and more than 6 000 head of game were introduced during the Operation Genesis game trans-location program. Thus, while wildlife resources are rapidly declining in most developing countries in Africa, Pilanesberg National Park is one of the few areas where this trend has been dramatically reversed. For this far-sighted action the North West Province (Previously Bop Parks) and its people have received worldwide acclaim and recognition.
Ground Floor, West Wing, 6 Kikuyu Drive, Sunninghill, Johannebsurg 2191
4088 Leeu Road. Marloth Park, Kruger Park
info@balantatours.com / Tel. +27 72 091 5771 SA / +1 404 563 1631 USA