Choose your country and language:

Africa

  • Global
  • Angola
  • Botswana
  • DRC
  • Ethiopia
  • Ghana
  • Kenya
  • Malawi
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Nigeria
  • South Africa
  • Tanzania
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe
  • shotLeft

Americas

  • USA
  • Argentina
  • Brazil

Asia Pacific

  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • Australia

Europe

  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • United Kingdom
Back

PPolokwane Game Reserve is one of the most notable municipal reserves in the country. Unusually large, it protects a comparatively rare vegetation type and is home to some fairly finicky eaters like sable antelope. It’s a lovely wildlife experience, not far from Johannesburg, and you can even explore it on horseback.

Just a three hours' drive from Johannesburg, Polokwane Game Reserve guarantees a high-quality, low-cost wildlife experience where you can see plenty of game, forests of aloes and unusual birds.

In fact, Polokwane Game Reserve is something of an open secret among the birding fraternity. This is probably the easiest place to spot South African specials like the short-clawed lark as well as the Kalahari scrub-robin, ashy tit, zitting cisticola and burnt-necked eremomela. You might also see the unreasonably beautiful violet-backed starling.

Did You Know?
WWild animals tolerate horse riders closer to them than they do vehicles or people on foot.

MMost of the rich grasslands around the city of Polokwane in Limpopo have been converted to agriculture. This reserve is one of the last places you’ll find particular kinds of vegetation like the fertile Pietersberg Plateau False Grassland habitat.

TThat’s because the fertile soils it grows on have mostly been snapped up by surrounding agriculture. But the nutritious grasses support some very rare species, like sable and tsessebe antelope. You could also see less finicky creatures like the white rhino. There are also giraffe, zebra, impala and more than a dozen more mammal species.

Polokwane Game Reserve is 3200 hectares in size and is one of the largest municipal reserves in the country. It has an excellent network of roads, so you can easily drive yourself around for game viewing. If you prefer your wildlife experiences on foot, there’s a 21km-long hiking route. If you’re really energetic, you can do it in a day, but there are overnight facilities too.

Polokwane

Food
When to visit
How to get here

TThere’s also a less strenuous 5km trail, perfect for a morning’s ramble, or you can book a morning or evening game drive.

But if you’re up for something more exotic, you can do some horse riding through the reserve with a local operator. And not just any amble through the bush either. Apart from morning rides, lunchtime rides (including a sumptuous spread) or sunset rides with sundowner snacks, you could also opt to ride by full moon through the bush – an experience you will never forget.

Who to contact
Best time to visit
Tours to do
Get around
Length of stay
Where to stay

Related articles

Wildlife safari

Vervet monkeys: the mischievous primates with long tails are plentiful in many South African habitats

Wildlife safari
Vervet monkeys: the mischievous primates with long tails are plentiful in many South African habitats
Vervet monkeys are playful, mischievous primates that can be found all over eastern South Africa and are hugely entertaining to watch – as long as you keep the kitchen windows closed.
Wildlife safari

Thakadu River Camp in Madikwe Game Reserve: conservation uplifting local communities in North West and Limpopo.

Wildlife safari
Thakadu River Camp in Madikwe Game Reserve: conservation uplifting local communities in North West and Limpopo.
Thakadu River Camp is a Fair Trade Tourism-certified, 5-star lodge in Madikwe Game Reserve, a malaria-free park that brings social and financial benefits to the local Tlokwa community that owns it.
Wildlife safari

The South African savanna – spotting the teeming life in bushveld grasslands

Wildlife safari
The South African savanna – spotting the teeming life in bushveld grasslands
The Big 5 and a bewildering array of life can be found on South Africa’s savanna – regions rich in plant, bird, insect and animal diversity protected in parks like Hluhluwe-Imfolozi and Kruger.
Wildlife safari

South Africa to Mozambique: ready for a trans-border adventure?

Wildlife safari
South Africa to Mozambique: ready for a trans-border adventure?
A trans-border adventure from South Africa to Mozambique will take you from game viewing in the bush to idyllic Indian Ocean playgrounds, via the urban delights of Maputo: ‘the Havana of Africa’.
Wildlife safari

The R518 through the Waterberg in Limpopo: see the ancient Waterberg Red Beds

Wildlife safari
The R518 through the Waterberg in Limpopo: see the ancient Waterberg Red Beds
The R518 from Mokopane to Marken in Limpopo province runs through the Waterberg Mountains and their famed Red Beds, with nature reserves, cultural attractions, adventures and family fun along the way.
Wildlife safari

The Makuleke and Kruger National Park: how local people can benefit from South African tourism

Wildlife safari
The Makuleke and Kruger National Park: how local people can benefit from South African tourism
Pafuri Camp and The Outpost – 2 luxury Kruger National Park camps in a Limpopo landscape teeming with life – also generate income for the Makuleke people dispossessed by apartheid.
Wildlife safari

Marataba Safari Lodge in Marakele National Park, Limpopo: style and sophistication in bushveld tented camps

Wildlife safari
Marataba Safari Lodge in Marakele National Park, Limpopo: style and sophistication in bushveld tented camps
Marataba Safari Lodge in Marakele National Park, Limpopo, pampers guests in luxury tented accommodation, with the natural and historical attractions of the Waterberg to sample all around them.
Wildlife safari

Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area: home to elephants, baobabs and a pre-colonial African civilisation in Limpopo

Wildlife safari
Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area: home to elephants, baobabs and a pre-colonial African civilisation in Limpopo
The Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area brings together protected regions in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe, preserving rare vegetation, endangered wildlife and cultural heritage.

South Africa on social media

Copyright © 2023 South African Tourism
|Terms and conditions|Disclaimer|Privacy policy