Ranging from an authentic South African bush safari experience, to high glamour of casinos, The North West offers tourists great variety on their South African holiday. Boasting some of this must see destination has some of the finest game reserves, archaeological treasures and adventure activities in South Africa and is a wonderful setting for a fantastic holiday. One of the great advantages of the North West for tourists is its location - only a couple of hours away from the major centres of Gauteng.
The province offers some heavyweight tourist attractions and activities, and a great variety of accommodation options to suit all pockets - from camping in a game reserve to living it up in five-star luxury at the Palace of the Lost City. The North West province offers tourists several national parks of which the largest, Pilanesberg Game Reserve, is located in the crater of an extinct volcano.
Owing its rare rock types and structure, Pilanesberg National Park rates high amongst the world's outstanding geological phenomena. Another game reserve in the province is Madikwe, one of South Africa's prime safari destinations, home to 66 large mammal species including the Big Five and approximately 300 resident and migrant bird species.
So what makes North West a special safari destination? With safaris to suit all pockets, from shoestring to palatial, as well as all needs, this is perfect safari country!
POPULAR GAME RESERVES:
Madikwe Game Reserve
Madikwe Game Reserve is situated in the North West Province and is bordered by Botswana in the north, the Dwarsberg Mountains to the south, and the Marico river to the east. The diverse habitat in the reserve, from acacia savannah to riverine, ensures a unique combination of species, including wild dog, cheetah, lion, white and black rhino, buffalo and elephant. The birdlife is spectacular and it is also one of the few reserves in South Africa that is malaria free.
Madikwe Game Reserve serves as home for cheetahs, wild dogs, hyenas, lion, elephant black and white rhino, buffalo, zebra, giraffe and any number of antelope.
There are day and night game drives within Madikwe Game Reserve, bush walks and over 350 species of birdlife, including a number of interesting raptors. Lodges within the Madikwe reserve are privately run and offer fantastic opportunities to experience this unique location on the edges of the Kalahari.
Game viewing, however, is Madikwe's main activity, and the reserve is the fourth largest game reserve in South Africa, boasting the second largest Elephant population.
Game Drives and Bush Walks are conducted daily by our excellent rangers, and although children under the age of 8 years are not permitted on game drives, specialised Children's Drives are offered.
Pilanesberg National Park
This malaria-free park is perched on the eroded remnants of an (one of only three worldwide) alkaline volcanic crater. Pilanesberg encompasses two types of landscape/zones: dry Kalahari and wetter bushveld. Owing t o this, the park has a huge overlap of mammals, birdlife and vegetation. Springbok, brown hyaena, the redeyed bulbul, and camel thorn trees usually found in desert areas are found co-habitating with moist-area-limited impala, blackeyed bulbul and Cape chestnut trees.
The park boasts abundant "Big Five" populations. A wide variety of rare and common species exist with endemic species like the nocturnal brown hyaena, the fleet-footed cheetah, the majestic sable, as well as giraffe, zebra, hippo and crocodile. This National Park’s potential for diversity of game species as a small sized reserve, is very high, as well as the potential for supporting rare and endangered species.
Molopo Game Reserve
This is one reserve about which people remain relatively quiet about, partly because it lies off the beaten track, but also because people want to guard this jewel of a safari destination!
Set on the Botswana border, the Molopo Game reserve boasts flourishing herds of wildebeest, gemsbok, eland, red hartebeest, kudu, zebra, waterbuck, springbok, duiker, and warthog. Predators comprise of cheetah, hyena, caracal, the African wildcat, honey badger and black-backed jackal.
This quiet reserve is beautiful with its gently sloping red Kalahari dunes peppered with bushman grass, forming and ideal home for wildlife and birds. The fossilised Phepane River bed, which can also be explored, is another special feature of the park.Read more on:
GAME LODGES & SAFARI ACCOMMODATION IN THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE
OTHER GAME RESERVES IN NORTH WEST:
Bloemhof Dam Nature Reserve
Borakalalo National Park
Boskop Dam Nature Reserve
Botsalano Game Reserve
Faan Meintjies Reserve
Kgaswane Mountain Reserve
Lichtenburg Game Centre
Mafikeng Game Reserve
Rustenburg Nature Reserve
SA Lombard Nature Reserve
Vaalkop Dam Nature Reserve
Wolwespruit Dam Reserve |
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