Page 329 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - South Africa

GA UTENG AND SUN CIT Y  327

Hot-Air Ballooning in the Pilanesberg
Hot-air balloon trips over Pilanesberg
Game Reserve are a popular safari
option. Drifting in total silence over the
herds of wildlife that peacefully graze
within the rim of the extinct volcano is a
remarkable experience. The trips are
operated by Air Trackers (tel 014 552
5020, www.hotairballoonsafarisa.co.za),
and can be booked either through the
Pilanesberg accommodation or at the
Welcome Centre in Sun City. Rates
include a one-hour balloon ride from the
centre of the reserve and a game drive A hot-air balloon glides over
before breakfast at one of the lodges. the bushveld
The man-made rainforest at Sun City
8 Pilanesberg staying overnight, there is also Madikwe Game Reserve
Game Reserve the excitement of night drives. abuts the Botswana border
The Pilanesberg is also home three-hours’ drive northwest
Road map D2. Follow signs from to a number of birds, notably a of Gauteng and two hours
Sun City on R565, or take the variety of raptors. Cape vul tures from Sun City. The reserve
Mogwase turnoff from R510. nest on the steep cliffs of the was established in 1991
Tel 014 555 1600. Open 6am– mountains and a number of following a government
6pm daily (times may vary). & 8 feeding sta tions have been
O } ∑ parksnorthwest.co.za/ study that indicated what
pilanesberg established to encourage the was then an unproductive
survival of this endangered bird. tract of former ranchland
The circular layout of this park Pilanesberg Game Reserve could be utilized more
can be traced to pre historic offers a choice of accommo- profitably, with greater
times, when this area was the dation, from the luxurious benefits to local communities,
crater of a volcano. Around the Kwa Maritane Resort, Tshukudu for conservation. Over the
central Mankwe Dam lie three Bush Lodge and Bakubung subsequent decade, around
rings of little hills – mounds of Lodge, which overlooks a 8,000 head of game were
cooled lava – and the whole hippo pool, to bungalows introduced, including an
area is raised above the plain. and pleasant camp sites. elephant herd from drought-
The decision to establish a stricken southeast Zimbabwe.
reserve here was economic: to Today, giraffe, plains zebra,
benefit the local people, and to greater kudu, springbok,
complement the nearby resort red hartebeest and tsessebe
of Sun City. Re-stocking the are conspicuous among the
overgrazed farmland turned reserve’s 65 mammal species.
into one of the most ambitious Of the Big Five, lion, elephant
game reloca tion ventures ever and white rhino are seen by
attempted in South Africa. most visitors, while buffalo
Appropriately called Operation and leopard are uncommon.
Genesis, it involved the release Madikwe is possibly South
of 6,000 mammals of 19 species Africa’s most reliable reserve
into the new reserve. To ensure for sightings of the endangered
the success of the challenging African wild dog.
venture, alien plants were Young elephants in Pilanesberg The 250 species of birds
removed and replaced with Game Reserve found here include many
indigenous ones, tele phone Kalahari woodland specials,
lines were diverted, farming among them crimson-
structures demolished and the 9 Madikwe Game breasted shrike and pied
ravages of erosion repaired. Reserve babbler. Madikwe caters
Elephant, black rhino and primarily for the middle and
leopard head an impressive list Road map D2. Tel 018 350 9931, upper end of the safari market,
of wildlife that can be seen at 071 687 2782. Open Access to studded as it is with around
Pilanesberg today. More than overnight visitors only. ∑ madikwe- 15 exclusive bush camps
200 km (125 miles) of good game-reserve.co.za offering all-inclusive guided
gravel roads traverse the park, South Africa’s premier malaria- safari packages, comparable
and there are a number of walk- free safari destination, the to the private reserves
in viewing hides. For visitors 750-sq-km (290-sq-mile) bordering Kruger.

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