Dag 4 Sterren Pilanesberg Safari

We booked the 2-day Pilanesberg Safari with MoAfrika through Viator, and it turned out to be one of the absolute highlights of our South Africa trip. If you’re deciding between Kruger and Pilanesberg for a shorter stay, we couldn’t recommend this experience more. From the very beginning, everything was perfectly organized. The early hotel pickup, smooth transfers, great communication, and overall logistics made the trip completely stress-free. What really made this tour exceptional, though, were the guides. Timen and Martin were simply outstanding. Their passion, knowledge, sense of humor, and ability to track wildlife made every game drive exciting. They constantly positioned the vehicle perfectly, explained animal behavior in fascinating detail, and made sure everyone had the best possible experience. You could genuinely tell how much they cared. We deliberately booked this tour because it uses the smaller open safari vehicles, and we’re so glad we did. The experience feels much more personal and immersive compared to the large safari trucks. Across the four game drives, we saw an incredible variety of wildlife: elephants (including adorable babies walking right past our vehicle), rhinos, hippos, zebras, giraffes, hyenas, wildebeest, monkeys, countless antelopes, beautiful birds, and even two leopards—a sighting our guides described as very rare. The biggest highlight came on the second morning when we found a pride of lions with cubs. Watching them move through the grass and witnessing a real hunt unfold just meters away was something we’ll never forget. Seeing wildlife behaving naturally in their own environment was an experience that simply can’t be described in words. The tour also included comfortable accommodation, great food, and even a traditional South African bush lunch. As a pleasant surprise, we even received an additional game drive on the final day, meaning we experienced four different safaris instead of the three we originally expected. If we had to mention one small point for improvement, it would only be that the sunrise drive operated by the lodge wasn’t quite at the same exceptional level as the MoAfrika drives. However, that hardly affected our overall experience, which was outstanding from start to finish. This tour exceeded every expectation we had. Professional, well organized, incredible guides, unforgettable wildlife encounters, and memories that will stay with us forever. Without hesitation: 5/5 stars. We’d book with MoAfrika again in a heartbeat.

It was perfect. Our guides were Moloco and Petrus, and they are sensational, always looking for everyone's comfort, and the best experiences. I'd come back a thousand times

We had a fantastic experience on this two-day trip and would thoroughly recommend it. We were picked up promptly from our hotel by Nicki and taken to the park for the first of four open-vehicle game drives. Each drive was incredible, and all the guides were knowledgeable and informative. Our first two drives with T-Man and D were brilliant. They both went above and beyond—answering all our questions and ensuring we had the best possible experience. T-Man expertly and safely navigated the park, even managing to track down the lion we’d been hoping to see all day, which was a real highlight. We stayed at Bakubung Lodge, which was excellent. The room and food were both fantastic, and we had a brilliant view overlooking the park. On our second morning, we had an early start for a lodge-organised safari with Maea, who was also incredibly informative. Having drives at different times of day really enhanced the experience, as we were able to see a wider variety of animals depending on the changing conditions. We were very lucky to see a cheetah, lion, leopard, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, and many more animals. Throughout the trip, the staff were attentive and made sure we were well-fed, hydrated, and comfortable. We especially enjoyed the lunchtime meal and drinks provided in a beautiful setting within the park, which was a lovely touch. Their knowledge and professionalism meant we always felt safe, even when animals were very close. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone.

We made several tours at different times which allowed us to see many animals. The hotel is more for a resort. Amazing! Beautiful, comfortable, clean and, as it was Saturday dinner was in a boma with barbecue and African show. It was exciting

We did the 2 day safari. The tour guides were great and drove safely, and were so kind. We saw lots on our game drive through Pilanesburg. Our only complaints were that after being picked up in JoBurg at 5am, we did not eat until we were checked into our lodge after 3pm. The lodge we were told our stay was booked at through MoAfrika also never received the reservation, so there was a lot of confusion and worry with that, but Black Rhino was able to accommodate us thankfully. We are grateful for a lovely experience worth the money, but next time we will book directly with a game lodge as it seemed MoAfrika was mostly just transportation to and from JoBurg.

Most; We saw the big 4 -The meal at the Lodge was suitable Less: The lodge is very poorly maintained. The room was nothing like a four-star -The safari offered by the Lodge was passable (which is a shame when you get up at 4:30) - Unreliable: I received a whatsapp message telling me that they would pick me up at 12:00 on the second day, they arrived at 11:15 to take me to an area with little to do or I waited until 1:30 for a safari that ended at 2:50 They made me wait until 4pm to leave the park and return to the hotel after 7pm In short the price quality ratio is not at all there. Go your way.

I am completely satisfied with the services offered by MoAfrika Tours. The price is more or less in line with other agencies. The reliability, punctuality, and quality of the services were all there for this 2-day safari in the Pilanesberg. Thank you.

What an awesome experience! Better smaller buses than the lodges provide so you can interact with the tour guides easily. Gustav & Petrus were a lot of fun while being so informative! Between the lodge tour and the Mo—Afrika tour, MA was my favorite!

Our 3 generational group had a great time on our 2 day Pilanesberg safari with Mo Afrika. Our driver Carlson was very friendly and helpful in delivering us to Pilanesberg and found us some great animals during our first closed car safari. At sunset our guide Gustov took us out and found so many different animals, he was incredible. We even saw 2 of the 4 cheetahs in the park! The ponchos provided on the sunset tour kept us toasty warm and dry in the rain - or all the safaris our family have done these ponchos were the best! Highly recommended

We travelled as a family of 8 and stayed in the beautiful Kwa Maritane hotel as part of this special family reunion trip. Our two wonderful driver/guides Shumba (day1) and Thomas (day 2 ) were excellent during the two covered drives in the park and spotted lots of animals including impala, zebras, elephants and giraffes and rhinos amongst the trees. They were very knowledgeable, good fun and knew their way around the large Pilanesberg area. The private transfers enabled us to travel in a large mini-bus with a separate luggage trailer so the van was very spacious for us all. We had lots of time for photos and a comfort stops both days on all 4 drives. The late afternoon and early morning drives, provided by a different company but included in our package, allowed us to see giraffes and elephants up close as they surrounded our truck and we even saw a leopard basking in the evening sun. The sun-set on day 1 was magnificent. We had the pleasure of seeing hippos out of the water on the day 2 drive with Thomas as it was overcast as well as two baby giraffes. The hotel was lovely and the staff were even nicer especially at lunch and dinner. The food at dinner and breakfast was very good and there was a good selection available in the buffet/carvery for both meals. There is a lovely terraced area to dine on and we had both lunch and dinner there. We saw a herd of impala come in to use the watering hole just below the hotel dining room terrace whilst we had dinner. My only tip is that if you have elderly/people with limited mobility people in your party that you request a room close to the dining room/reception area as the complex is quite hilly. Overall we enjoyed our hotel and drives in the park and the time as a family to experience the gorgeous Pilanesberg and its beautiful animals with Shumba and Thomas as our guides.