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 18,500 hectares of bushveld an hour 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.

What you actually see

• The city-adjacent big five - free-roaming game an hour 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.

Honest expectations

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.