Pilanesberg Game Drive

Pilanesberg Game Drive: Tailored for you.

The Pilanesberg National Park is located north of Rustenburg in the North West Province of South Africa. The park borders on the Sun City entertainment complex. It is currently administered by the North West Parks and Tourism Board.

The area lies in the root zone of an extinct volcano, and is defined by alternating ridges and valleys forming concentric rings, a geological formation that rises abruptly in the form of hills 300–600 metres (980–1,970 ft) above the surrounding plains. The Pilanesberg is named for chief Pilane of the Kgafêla people, who ruled from Bogopane, Mmamodimokwana and eventually Mmasebudule during the 1800s. The ‘Pilanesberg Alkaline Ring Complex’ is the park’s primary geological feature. This vast circular feature is geologically ancient, being the crater of a long-extinct volcano – the result of eruptions some 1,200 million years ago. It is one of the largest volcanic complexes of its type in the world, the rare rock types and formations make it a unique geological feature, and a number of rare minerals occur in the park.

Scattered throughout the park are various sites that are assigned to the Iron and Stone Ages and illustrate the presence of man during those early periods.