A hand-picked selection of lodges and camps. Click through their name to visit their own website directly.
Mbazo Safari Lodge
A luxury lodge surrounded by the unsurpassed natural beauty of Pilanesberg National Park, replete with indigenous wildlife. Mbazo Safari Lodge sits inside South Africa’s most accessible malaria-free Big Five reserve.
Lush Private Lodge
Owner-run by the Lupini family, on a stand inside the Black Rhino Game Reserve — a private concession on the western side of Pilanesberg, malaria-free, with traversing rights over 55,000 hectares and access to the public park as well. Eight suites for sixteen guests: five Suites, two Deluxe and one Superior Deluxe, each with a private splash pool, a freestanding bath and an outdoor shower. The lodge is only partially fenced, and the Deluxe suites have no fence line at all in front of them. Italian influence runs through it — a wine cellar set up for private dinners, Italian-influenced cooking. Twice-daily drives, guided walks, a spa and gym. Children from ten. Under three hours from Johannesburg.
Umoya Safari Lodge
Five 67 m² Deluxe King rooms, ten guests at full house, on the Black Rhino Game Reserve — the private concession on the western side of Pilanesberg, malaria-free. Umoya opened in late 2024 and is owned by Wynand and Lize Odendaal, under the Serene Safari Lodges banner. Rates are all-inclusive: meals, house drinks and two guided drives a day, the drives led by Rassie Booysen, who has guided in Black Rhino for over twenty years. Each room has a private patio and a bath and shower. There is a swim-up bar, a games room and a private boma. Around two and a half hours from Lanseria.
Shepherd’s Tree Game Lodge
Shepherd’s Tree is a concession in an exclusive-use zone in the south-western part of Pilanesberg, off the R565. Rooms range from standard suites with an outdoor shower and patio to family suites that sleep up to six, executive suites with a private heated pool and two-bedroom private villas. Meals are served in the restaurant or at the boma, and open vehicles go out on two guided drives a day, with a coffee stop in the morning and sundowners in the evening. The lodge also has a spa. We stayed here in October 2026 and wrote about it in Pilanesberg, 25 Years Later.
Ivory Tree Game Lodge
Ivory Tree lies inside Pilanesberg, with its entrance at the Bakgatla Gate on the north-eastern side of the park. Its 70 rooms range from standard and deluxe suites to family suites with a private plunge pool, luxury suites with a fireplace and the Royal Pilane Suite with its own boma. Besides game drives, there is quad biking, archery, drumming sessions and a spa.
