Joubert and I spent last weekend (23 and 24 November) in the Pilanesberg National Park with my brother Niel.

Pilanesberg scenery

Our weekend started early, leaving Pretoria at 03:00 in the morning in order to be at Kwa Maritane Gate before it opened. Shortly after entering we encountered a bunch of adorable, but shy, jackal puppies holed up in a culvert underneath the road. Not a kilometre further, we had an exciting sighting of a young male lion attempting to hunt, unsuccessfully, a group oz zebras and a lone wildebeest. An excellent start to the day, and our good luck continued as we slowly traveled through the reserve, notching up another lion sighting, herds of elephants, white rhinos and giraffes, a good variety of antelope, and several bird species before arriving at Bakgatla Resort, where we’d be camping for the night.

Hiding jackal pup

Lion on the hunt

Lioness

Lionesses

Grey Go-away-bird

Spotted Thick-Knee

Speckled Rock Skink

White rhino bull

Giraffe

Mom and baby

Pilanesberg scenery

After setting up camp, we stretched our legs walking through the camping area, inspecting the facilities (none of which we could fault) and intent on buying an ice cream for Joubert, but unfortunately the tiny shop’s supply had already been sold out.

Red-billed hornbill in Bakgatla

Camping in Bakgatla

Leaving camp earlier than planned for our afternoon drive, we first headed to the Pilanesberg Centre, a historical building that served as the Magistrate’s Court before the Park’s proclamation but today is a popular little restaurant and shop well frequented by visitors, in the hopes of finding Joubert that ice cream he was craving so. Meeting with success on that quest, we set off again looking for Pilanesberg’s wild inhabitants, and again were not disappointed.

White rhino

Lilac breasted roller

Laughing dove

Tiny, lost warthog piglet

Massive crocodile at Lake Mankwe

Black rhinos

At the Fish Eagle Picnic Site we got a close-up glimpse into dung beetle life before spending some time at the photographic hide at Lake Mankwe, enjoying the cool shade and great photo opportunities.

Dung beetle at work

Photographing a dung beetle at work

Fish Eagle Picnic Site

Elephant tracks in the mud

Yellow-billed stork

Weaver

Inside Mankwe Hide

Mankwe Hide

Excitement at Mankwe

Sunday morning we had a couple of hours to explore some more before having to head home. We explored the western sections of the Park and were struck by how exceptionally dry it still is. With summer being the rainy season, we hope the Park will soon see some good rainfall in order to replenish the dams and streams.

Giraffe

Black backed jackal

Black backed jackal

Tsessebe searching for fresh growth following a fire in the Pilanesberg

Rock-climbing the white rhino way

Elephant

Black-backed jackal

Waterbuck

Kudu

Ruighoek Dam almost dry

Large-leaved Rock Fig

All-in-all a very enjoyable boys camping weekend at Pilanesberg, which we hope to enjoy again as soon as possible.