Dinokeng Game Reserve

Dinokeng opened its big-five section in 2011 and is unusual for being a free-roaming reserve inside Gauteng, the country's smallest and most urban province - about 21,000 hectares of bushveld forty minutes from Pretoria where lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard move freely and you can drive your own car. It was assembled from private farms whose owners dropped internal fences to create a single reserve, which is a model that took years of negotiation. Because it is close to two cities it works as a day trip: gate, gravel roads, a few hides and picnic spots, and lodges inside for people who stay. Game densities are lower than in the big parks and the bush is thick in summer, so sightings need patience. There have been incidents with people leaving vehicles, which the reserve treats seriously.

History

In 1997 the Premier of Gauteng announced a project to create Big Five sanctuaries north-east of Pretoria and bring ecotourism to the area, and the reserve was built up by the provincial government together with more than 170 landowners (Wikipedia, Dinokeng Game Reserve).

What's there

• The city-adjacent big five - free-roaming game forty minutes from Pretoria.
• The dropped fences - private farms combined into one reserve after long negotiation.
• The self-drive access - your own car on the internal gravel roads.
• The hides - waterhole viewing points for people prepared to wait.

When to go

April to September - winter thins the bush. A day, or overnight at a lodge.

Before you go

Game density is much lower than Kruger and a day can pass with modest sightings. Roads are gravel and rough in places. Do not leave the vehicle - lion are present and people have been hurt ignoring that. Weekends are busy with day visitors.

Nearby

Pretoria is south-west; the Tswaing crater is west.

Key facts