Pilanesburg National Park

Pilanesberg National Park (area 58,000ha/143,000ac), to the north of Sun City lies in a hilly region, whose highest point is the Pilanesberg (1687m/5535ft), in the border area between the arid Kalahari and the moist lowveld of the Transvaal.

When the National Park was established in the 1960s the farmers who worked the land here had to be resettled elsewhere. A tall fence was erected round the area and animals from elsewhere in Africa were introduced into the park. Its denizens now include steppe zebras, rhinos, elephants, leopards, giraffes, buffaloes and many species of antelope, as well as 300 species of birds.

The animals can be observed either from your own car on the park's 150km/95mi network of tracks or on a guided walk.