Game Reserves, Johannesburg

If you cannot make it to the KNP or Pilansberg's game reserve and you want to experience a bit of the wild life this is it. Just 30/45 min away from the airport (give an hour or more in peak traffic) you can spent a night in their tent camp. Hear the lions roar and the hyenas laugh. the camp is semi-luxurious and sleeps four people in a tent.

A new feature to the lion park is the cub section. They are between 5 and 7 months old. You can go inside and play with the cubs.

Kids love this. They are like big dogs and very tame. Well as tame as a lion cub can be.

They do get aggresive if you touch their tails, heads and ears though.

There are 4 cubs per camp and 8 people are allowed in at a time. So over weekends and holidays you can wait for a while. The wait is not boring because you can watch how they react to the people inside.

I have mixed feelings about this. It's great for the kids but I'm not so sure the cubs enjoy this as much, They must get irritated with all these people all the time. The rangers say no, they sleep most of the time. I don't know maybe they don't know better.

This is more of a park than a reserve but not a zoo. The lion's are kept apart from the antelopes and get fed. The lion camps are not to small but it is not the same as in the reserves where they roam freely and are responsible for their own survival.

How would we know if they are happy?

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This is great place to go to get a close up of the lions. Besides the lions , there is various other animals like cheetahs , wild dogs , hyaensa and many more.

The Entrance fee is R65 per Adult , Children between 4-12 is R40 and Children under 4 is free. This includes a drive through the park.

Game Drives is R100 per person and Night Game Drives is R300 per person.

If you plan on taking your kids to a place whereby you can get close to the Lions then the Lion Park is your place.

Be sure to checkout my travelogue of the Lion Park

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The Kruger National Park, in South Africa is best known for the 'Big Five' - Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Buffalo and Rhino - and is truly the flagship of Africa and South Africa's game reserves. With a range of accommodation and game drive safaris to suit all preferences and budgets, the Kruger National Park offers, you, the visitor, an exceptional experience in Africa at its best.

Game viewing at Kruger National Park has been described as a 'spine-tingling experience'. Watch in absolute awe and wonder as the Lion stalks its prey, or at the Cheetah chasing fleeing antelope at breathtaking speed. You might come across the Park's big and tall, the gigantic and stately Elephant, and gaze at the dizzying height of Africa's tallest creature, the Giraffe.

Kruger National Park is the place to go if you want to combine luxury with wildlife. Indulge in the sterling service and hospitality offered at the Park's luxurious lodges. There are few other places where you can enjoy a five-star meal while watching game from the comfort of your verandah.

Be more in touch with nature, stay at one of the various bush camps, camping / caravan sites, cottages, furnished safari tents, thatched rondavels and bungalows available within the Park.

The Kruger National Park is very big , well when I mean big , I mean as big as small countries. It borders Mozambique , Zambia & Zimbabwe .So there is absolutely lots to see.

This is must see if you wanna get the true feeling of safari.

Private reserve not far from Joburg.

Well to be honest the actual driving through the park is nothing compared to a proper game drive in a full size reserve.

The lions are not allowed to hunt. The reason why I think it is a must see is that you can actually go in the pens with the young cubs. I found it a really fantastic experience.

One of the yound lions gave me a playbite, it didnt go through the skin.

Please note the picture shown isnt the really young cubs were you can go into the pen. The lions in the photo are about 13 months old.

In the pen there were several 3 months old and one 9 month old cub.

This isn't a traditional game reserve but a research centre. As its main aim is to research the Cheetahs it is only open on Tues, Thurs, Sat and Sundays and must be booked in advance (space for about 16 people per tour)

It is a great oppertunity to see the Cheetahs and wild dogs up close. I have down several proper safaris and you are very unlikely to get this close in the wild.

There is also a photo oppertunity with one oft he young cheetahs. Tours start at 8.30 AM and last for approx 3 hrs. You will be driven round in a game truck.

Price 135 Rand per person in 2004. You can also adopt a cheetah.

We took a tour to this park,,it`s a 55.000ha.it took us about 2 hours to get there from Sandton.
We saw :
Giraffes,Elephants,Hippopotamuses,Zebras,
Ostriches,and one fox!!
We were not lucky enough to see any lions!!!
Here is a picture of the Giraffes,I`m sorry but I had to mark the picture so you can actually see them.