On Saturday morning I collected my guest from Sandton at about 07:00am and we made our way to Pilanesberg National Park for an overnight safari. We reached the park at about 09:00am and after a cup of coffee we went for our first game drive.
We didn’t drive very far before getting a herd of the Pilanesberg’s Elephant. They were very close to the road when we spotted them and after viewing them for a couple of minutes the entire herd approached the vehicle and they practically surrounded us as they crossed the road. This allowed for some very close-up photos which my guest and I loved.

During the next hour of our game drive we also saw a lot of Blue-wildebeest, Zebra and Impala. We also spotted some Hippo, Sprinbok and Waterbuck, and before we reached Mankwe dam we got another large breeding herd of Elephant. My guest was very impressed with the amount of game we already saw and especially the two herds of Elephant. He didn’t expect Pilanesberg to give him so much in just the first couple of hours of his African Safari.
My guest wanted a photograph of a Giraffe or two in silhouette and sure enough, during our afternoon drive we saw plenty Giraffe. At Mankwe dam we also saw yet another large herd of Elephant drinking and enjoying the cool of the mud.


A Black-backed Jackal was seen on the night drive and the guide also managed to spot a Brown Hyena.
Sunday morning was once again filled with sightings of Elephant, Rhino, Giraffe, Jackal and many more mammal and bird species.
We managed to squeeze in a visit to Pilanesberg Centre during our sunrise game drive and after brunch we had a last short drive before we headed back to Johannesburg.
Thank you to all the animals of Pilanesberg National Park for yet another safari filled with great sightings and photos!