2-Day 4-Star 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.