For most Jo'burgers, Pilansberg National Park represents the most convenient wildlife getaway. Not only is it close to the metropolis, but it can be combined with a trip to Sun City, the glitzy Vegas-style resort located within the park's southern border, made up of casinos, cinemas, theaters, hotels, restaurants, two world-class golf courses, man-made jungles, lakes, and the Palace of the Lost City, the most over-the-top five-star hotel in Africa. Its proximity to what some locals refer to as "Sin City" means that many visitors find Pilanesberg too commercial and the game-viewing experience marred substantially by day-trippers who primarily want to hit the one-arm bandits but sacrifice a few gambling hours "to take the kids on safari," but it is one of Africa's most picturesque parks and -- as it's a mere 90-minute to 2-hour drive -- a good place to visit if you're stuck in Jo'burg with limited time.
Some 1.4 billion years ago, the Pilanesberg plains were bubbling away in the second-largest alkaline volcano in the world. Today the rim of this ancient crater, eroded by time, forms the natural boundary of undulating Pilanesberg National Park. Typified by concentric rings of rocky hills, and centered on a large hippo- and crocodile-filled lake, Pilanesberg is home to 364 different species, and among its 35 large mammals are the Big 5, as well as leopards, cheetahs, and brown hyenas. The park's natural beauty, abundance of wild animals, and lack of malaria have made it one of the area's strongest drawing cards, though most visitors here are based at Sun City. Pilanesberg's proximity to Sun City and Gauteng means that its well-maintained network of roads can get very busy, and first-time visitors to the bush should note that this is not the kind of untamed wilderness you'd encounter at, say, Welgevonden or Madikwe -- and both these reserves are also malaria-free and also relatively accessible -- 2 1/2 and 4 hours from Johannesburg, respectively.
