For everyone craving to be enchanted by the wilderness, captivated by landscapes, and mesmerized by adventures, Johannesburg is nothing but the Promised Land! This heaven of spotless and exquisite vacation opportunities is also the largest city in South Africa, located elegantly to access all the game reserves. Within hours of travel, you come across the hypnotic and irresistible beauty of the wilderness. With the O. R Tambo International Airport nearby, the city is also the anchorage for all tourists to South Africa. If you desire to be pulled towards the beguiling yet untraversed wildness, we spotted 11 must-visit game reserves in the heart of Johannesburg, the city of gold for you!
Top 11 Game reserves near Johannesburg in 2023
Pilanesberg National Park
Pilanesberg Game Reserve is located between arid Kalahari and the lush Lowveld in the Bojanala Region of North West. The Pilanesberg National park offers one of the best safaris in Johannesburg. It is the fourth largest in South Africa. Pilanesberg offers a wide variety of flora and fauna for visitors. The place is especially suitable for self-drivers. as a malaria-free region, it is a perfect choice for a day trip from the city. Specialities of the area include lions, zebras, elephants, black rhinos, white rhinos, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, and Cape buffaloes. It is one of the most popular game reserves near Johannesburg.
Distance from Johannesburg – 217 km, which takes 3 hours
Cost per person – Game drives start from R580
Best time to visit – the middle of July to the centre of October
Accommodation: Everything is available, from budget chalets and safari tents to luxurious hotels. Some of them are the black rhino game lodge, ivory tree game lodge, and lush private lodge.
Activities include game drives, African music experiences, photography from wildlife hides, Walking safaris, bird spotting, and hot-air balloon rides.
Mabula Private Game Reserve
Mabula game reserve is filled with beautiful bushes with many different animals located in the malaria-free Waterberg area of Limpopo. Lions, elephants, leopards, cheetahs, honey badgers, red hartebeest, elands, hyenas, and jackals live in the reserve. There are also many birds to see, such as the Amur falcon and the lilac-breasted roller. Mabula private game reserve is the closest game reserve near Johannesburg.
Distance from Johannesburg – 209, which takes two and a half hours
Cost per person – R327 as entry fee
Best time to visit – September, October, March, and April
Accommodation – tented camps, family villas, and lodges are there.
Activities: Game drives, spa treatments, dam picnics, quad biking, bird walks, stargazing drives, tennis, bush walks, horse riding, and hot-air balloon rides.
Dinokeng Game Reserve
The Dinokeng Wildlife Reserve, located near an urban neighbourhood, is the first free-roaming Big five residential game reserve in Gauteng Province. This is the closest game reserve to Johannesburg. The Big Five are only found in this one Game Reserve, which is accessible via a half-day excursion from Gauteng Province. There are cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, brown hyenas, wildebeests, red hartebeests, tsessebe, eland, kudu, impalas, antelopes, and the Big Five animals (lion, leopard, elephant, cape buffalo, and rhinoceros).
Distance from Johannesburg – 115 km which takes one and a half hours
Cost per person – R125 per day
Best time to visit – May to September
Accommodation: Dinokeng has lodging options to meet every need and preference, ranging from camp and caravan sites to tented camps, self-catering chalets, and luxurious lodges.
Activities – Guided game drives, self-drive safaris, bush walking, hot air ballooning, fishing, and picnics
Welgevonden Game Reserve
A 37,000-hectare private game reserve, Welgevonden Game Reserve is located in South Africa’s Limpopo Province’s Waterberg District. Welgevonden provides a unique safari experience to a small number of visitors. Among the 50 animal species in Welgevonden, the Big Five are visible.
In addition, there are about 300 species of birds and rarer creatures like brown hyenas and honey badgers. Welgevonden is closed to day visitors. With the wide variety of animals and species present, Welgevonden offers you the best safari in Johannesburg.
Distance from Johannesburg – 292 km, which takes nearly 4 hours
Cost per person – The reserve doesn’t allow day visitors. Accommodation price starts from R6000
Best time to visit – May to September.
Accommodation: Self-catering to fully catered accommodations are available in small, upscale lodges. Although it is pricey if you can fit it into your budget, do so.
Activities: Game drives, walking safaris, horseback safaris, stargazing, and San Bushman rock art tours.
Waterberg game park
The Waterberg game reserve (from the Waterberg to the Soutpansberg region), located in the spectacular Waterberg Mountain Range of Limpopo, is the ideal retreat where the tired traveller may unwind and enjoy the immense natural beauty of the bushveld savannah and its rich wildlife history. The Waterberg game reserve is home to various animals such as Bushbuck, zebra, antelope, Buffalo, leopard, brown hyena, hippo, and giraffe.
Distance from Johannesburg – 276 km which takes three and half hours
Cost per person – R500
Best time to visit – May to September
Accommodation: Waterberg game park offers various accommodation facilities, including a lodge
rooms, private self-catering units, and a nyala house.
Activities – game driving, bird watching, cycling, golf, and star gazing
Plumari private reserve
The Plumari Private Reserve separates the Hartebeespoort and Magaliesberg regions of Gauteng. This is one of the nearest Big Five game reserves to Johannesburg. The climate here is gorgeous. Visitors can anticipate seeing a leopard, a white rhino, a buffalo, a hippo, a giraffe, a zebra, a waterbuck, a wildebeest, a hartebeest, a warthog, a bushpig, a kudu, a nyala, an eland, a gemsbok, an impala, a bushbuck, a reedbuck, a duiker. The reserve has a significant bird life, which will excite serious birdwatchers. Apart from its scenic beauty and rich collection of games, Plumari private reserve is the closest game reserve you can find in Johannesburg.
Distance from Johannesburg – 83 km which takes one hour and fifteen minutes.
Cost per person – R1980 with accommodation and food.
Best time to visit – May to September
Accommodation: The four-star Askari Lodge and warthogs are near the location
Activities -Game drives, horseback riding, clay pigeon shooting, hiking, birdwatching, trail running, 4×4 trails, mountain biking, and spa treatments are all popular outdoor activities.
Mziki private game reserve
Mziki Safari Lodge offers a natural retreat for tourists looking for a lucid, genuine interaction with the African bush. Mziki Private Game Reserve, located on 6000 ha of superb bushveld free of malaria, is home to four of the “Big Five,” as well as more than 50 mammal species and 372 bird species. It is one of the top birding spaces in South Africa. This place is ideal for families, offering a variety of fun activities for kids of all ages. Elephants, Buffalo, rhinos, and leopards are primarily seen in this area.
Distance from Johannesburg – 168 km which takes two hours
Cost per person – Varies according to the options you choose
Best time to visit – July to October
Accommodation: Mziki Safari Lodge is the reserve’s only accommodation.
Activities – Game drives, mini-ranger courses., birding, fishing, barge cruises, archery, and bush walks
Nkomazi game reserve
Mountains and riverine valleys encircle Nkomazi Game Reserve in Mpumalanga. This area, which spans over 15,000 hectares in the southwest, is ideal for getting back in touch with nature. Nkomazi game reserve is also known as the place of water. The environment in this area is home to both Lowveld and Highveld game animals, as well as a large variety of birdlife. This results in breathtaking animal viewing and a distinctive safari experience.
Distance from Johannesburg – 316 km which takes three and half hours
Cost per person – Varies according to the options you choose
Best time to visit – During the rainy season, which starts in October
Accommodation – You can pick options from Deluxe, Luxury, and Family Tents.
Activities – Drives, bird-watching, fly-fishing, and stargazing.
Nambiti game reserve
On 23 000 spectacular acres near Ladysmith, in KwaZulu-Natal, is the Nambiti Private Game Reserve. The only reserve in the region to include the Big five attractions, Nambiti’s biodiversity (which provides grasslands, riverine bush, savannah, and thornveld) guarantees an exhilarating and unheard-of variety of games. Nambiti is the only game reserve in the region that boasts all five of the Big 5 and over 40 other species of wildlife, including the majestic kudu, cheetah, giraffe, hippo, hyena, impala, and hyena.
Distance – 317 km which takes three and a half hours
Cost per person – R 100
The best time to visit is – the winter season
Accommodation – Nambiti lodge, Ndaka safari lodge, cheetah ridge lodge, etc., are some of the nearest
Activities – bushwalking, picnics, fishing, Guided game drives, Spa treatments, and historical site seeing.
Moolmanshoek Private Game Reserve
The majestic beauty of the Wittenberg mountains surrounds the Moolmanshoek game reserve. The Fouriesburg-based Moolmanshoek Private Game Reserve offers a restaurant, a shared lounge, a bar, a garden, a patio, and a playground for kids. The reserve is home to various game species, including black wildebeest, red hartebeest, springbuck, blesbuck, zebra, steenbok, eland, waterbuck, lechwe, fallow deer, impala, sable, gemsbok. Black-backed jackals, caracals, porcupines, mongooses, and meerkats are also frequent visitors.
Distance from Johannesburg – 350 km, which takes three and half hours
Cost per person – Varies according to the options you choose
Best time to visit – May to September
Accommodation: There are several en-suite guest rooms in the elegant Sandstone Lodge.
Activities – Game Drives, Night Game Drives, horse riding
Mongena Private Game Lodge
Mongena Private Game Lodge offers lodging with a garden, free private parking, a communal lounge, and a terrace in Rust de Winter, 10 miles from Dinokeng Game Reserve. The 18,500 hectares game reserve is a magnificent big five game reserve within the Gauteng province, home to lion, cheetah, elephant, buffalo, rhino, and leopard.
Distance from Johannesburg – 114 km, which takes one and half hours
Cost per person – R510
Best time to visit – May to September
Accommodation – single, double, or family accommodation is available
Activities – Bush safari, game drives, sightseeing.
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