Pilanesberg Nature Reserve: Awesome nature viewing from the comfort of my car

It is a crying shame that many of Africa's children have not viewed our awesome array of animals whilst others from the far corners of the globe make it a lifetime goal to come here on Safari to achieve this very goal. In preparation for the big one, my pending trip to Kruger National Park, I decided to do a nature reserve trial run by visiting the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve in the North West Province of South Africa. Yes I am a complete novice when it comes to viewing our animals in the wild and yes I have cried shamefully that I have not exploited these opportunities far earlier in my life.

Pilanesberg Nature Reserve is an attractive proposition for the novice game viewer for many reasons. The nature reserve is easily accessible from Johannesburg or Pretoria, it is malaria risk free, it can be done as a day visit, if you select your entry point carefully, you can view the wonders of nature from your fancy car whilst traveling on tarred roads with very little need to stray onto dirt and potholed tracks and the viewing is not congested by bumper to bumper traffic.

   
I set off from Sandton on Saturday 14th May 2011. I arose at 05h00, set my GPS at 06h00 and began an exciting day that took me through Diepsloot, Hartebeespoort dam, Rustenberg, Sun City and into Pilanesberg Nature Reserve. You are warned that your GPS may not have a listing for this park. In that event set your direction for Sun City. The trip would take you approximately three hours with stops for food and breaks which would include viewing of the magnificent scenery along the way. I stopped to capture the sunrise and the scenery and birdlife at the Hartebeespoort dam. This location itself requires at least a day to give it adequate viewing time.

The going was slow due to the rain that began falling midway through the trip. I passed the gates of Sun City just before 09h00. Give the Bakubung and Kwa Maritane gates a miss if you intend conserving the wear and tear on your vehicle. If your mode of transport is a 4x4 vehicle, then try the other routes.The only option for comfortable game viewing on tarred roads is to enter through the Manyane gate. Is your BMW, Mercedes, Lexus or hired car safe on these roads? If you stick to the tarred roads through the park, then yes. I attempted a few kilometres of dirt road traveling to get to the observation hides. Traveling at between 20-40 kilometres an hour would ensure that you negotiate some of the bad road patches safely, apart from giving yourself the best chance to spot the animals in the reserve. I borrowed my Son Rushiel's BMW 1 series vehicle for the trip and acknowledge him here for his generosity in lending me his car for this trip. As you can see, I had the added responsibility of taking care of his car in addition to negotiating the roads and spotting the animals.

 

A recommended day visit would then proceed from this entry point to the Pilanesberg Centre, located in the middle of the park The park entry fee was one hundred rand for one person and vehicle. Traveling this route of approximately 12 kilometres can take up to one to two hours depending on the game that is on offer on any given day. I spotted and stopped to view and photograph all sorts of antelope, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, a bull elephant, giraffe and some of the most beautiful birds, many of which I had not seen before. I saw a crimson breasted shrike, glossy starlings, speckled, white backed and red faced mousebirds and the majectic african fish eagle either perched on trees or foraging alongside the road.

Food can be purchased at the Pilanesberg centre. The food centre, rather than calling it a restaurant which it is not has a partly covered platform which allows game viewing at the waterhole close to the centre. On this day, antelopes, birds and a group of warthogs were cavorting in or near the waterhole. The rock strewn mountains, the plains and the watering holes make for some very beautiful landscape viewing. Allow at least one hour of viewing at the centre. There is a curio shop at the centre but I guess that this facility is more geared for the overseas tourists as far as pricing goes.

 
I saw African olive pigeons with their distinctive yellow beaks eye rings legs, red faced mouse birds, other pigeons and small brown birds in large numbers at the centre. The infrastructure and fencing at the centre needs attention. I left the centre and proceeded to the Mankwe dam area, a distance of approximately six kilometres which includes a one kilometre stretch of dirt road to access the hide.

As a novice birder, I spent approximately four hours at this hide entertained royally by the large numbers of pied kingfishers dipping into the waters to feed themselves fully on the fish in the well stocked dam. I observed a green backed heron, malachite kingfisher, cormorants, african darters, hippo's in the water, a crocodile, turtles and canaries. The banks of the dam were teeming with hippos, buck and giraffes. The antics of the pied kingfishers were the most absorbing feature at this hide.

There were butterflies, huge dragonflies bulbuls and flowering waterlillies in abundance. I had to extricate myself with difficulty from this spot, drove around and did more watching around the dam and at approximately 3pm decided to make my way back to the point of entry at Manyane complex. I did the hippo loop and stopped at the Fish Eagle picnic spot on my way back. On the hippo loop which is a detour on the main Tshwene route from the centre back to the Manyane gate, I saw giraffe, hippos and many birds including large numbers of cormorants. Needless to say that the trip back to the exit point was slowed with ample game viewing and photographic opportunities. The rivers were flowing full of water and the vegetation was lush.

I read somewhere that if one goes alone on a self drive Safari, then the best days to do this would be on public holidays and weekends. The reason advanced for this relates to the spotting of animals. I can confirm this as the congregation of cars at at one spot usually indicates the presence of some interesting animal or bird. The route that I followed represents just one small fraction of the Pilanesberg nature reserve. I am almost certain that I would have seen the big five if I chose to drive the many routes in this park. As this was not my objective during this trip, I am very satisfied with the route that I chose and the viewing opportunities that presented themselves.

I spent two hours at the Manyane complex which is just outside the Manyane gate. The complex has a good restaurant, a walk in aviary and facilities for day visitors including a park and swimming pools. The walk in aviary is a must view for visitors to the park. There is an abundance of hornbills, starlings and drongos in the aviary. The surrounding park and wetland is stocked with buck, plovers, pigeons, crows, brown hooded kingfishers and many other birds. I remained transfixed by the offerings her till just before a magnificent African sunset cresting the nearby hills brought a close to my trip to the Pilanesberg Nature reserve. I do recommend that you make this trip.

     
The Pilanesberg Nature Reserve
Recommended point of entry: Manyane Gate
Recommended as a day visit for the novice game and bird viewer
Entry fee: R100 for one vehicle with one occupant
Driving time from Sandton: two and a half hours with temperate driving and at least two rest and viewing spots, approximately 200 kilometres one way.

I hope you enjoyed this blog as much as I did in visiting the reserve and then writing about it. Please note that all materials contained in this blog are subject to strict copyright. Please leave a comment if you wish to contact me.