A holiday in the crater of a once active volcano ... Pilanesberg Reserve

When a friend of mine sug­ges­ted that our next hol­i­day in South Africa should be in the crater of a once act­ive vol­cano, I wasn't sure it was a good idea. I've seen way too many dis­aster movies to not know that people say “it’s been inact­ive for mil­len­nia” about fif­teen minutes before the thing erupts and the main char­ac­ters spend the rest of the movie fight­ing for their lives.

Turns out the main char­ac­ters in this adven­ture (a group of friends and myself) spent our time explor­ing and relax­ing for our lives. The long extinct vol­cano crater in ques­tion is now home to the Pilanesberg Game reserve and was well worth the vis­ions of dis­aster ... Continued

Tshukudu Bush Lodge — a perfectly indulgent bush getaway

Tshukudu Bush Lodge

Imagine lying back in a sooth­ing bubble bath with a sweep­ing view of the malaria-free Pilanesberg National Park, where over 80 spe­cies of animal roam the savan­nah. Imagine no more. Built high on a rocky out­crop, Tshukudu Bush Lodge has been designed to offer you a per­fectly indul­gent bush getaway ...

Overlooking its own water­hole, set in rolling plains that abound with flora and fauna, Tshukudu Lodge allows the vis­itor a spe­cial glimpse of Africa as she was: untouched, unspoilt, unfor­get­table ... Tshukudu Lodge, "Place of the Rhino" in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve, offers 6 lux­ury cot­tages and 2 cab­ins nestled on an isol­ated rocky out­crop in the heart of a 55 000 hec­tare, mal­aria free, wild­life para­dise ... Continued

Winner 2 Night Getaway to the Big 5 Pilanesberg Park

CONGRATULATIONS to Brett Lee of South Africa who has won a 2-night get­away to Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge in the malaria-free, Big 5 Pilanesberg National Park, in the North West Province of South Africa, sponsored by South African Golfing & Safari Tours. The prize includes accom­mod­a­tion in a Family Room for 2 adults AND 2 chil­dren (under 18 years) OR accom­mod­a­tion in a Double Room for 2 adults (depend­ing on winner’s pref­er­ence) for 2 con­sec­ut­ive nights, break­fast and din­ner daily and 4 game drives (morn­ing and after­noon depar­tures) sub­ject to check-in and check-out times.

Brett, your voucher is on it’s way. Please con­tact South African Golfing & Safari Tours to redeem the voucher (valid until 31 December 2009). We’re sure you’ll enjoy your stay! Continued

Win a 2 Night Getaway to the Big 5 Pilanesberg Park (closed)

WIN a 2-night get­away to Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge in the malaria-free, Big 5 Pilanesberg National Park, in the North West Province of South Africa, sponsored by South African Golfing & Safari Tours and SA-Venues.com. The 4 star, family-friendly Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge is situ­ated approx­im­ately 2 hours drive from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and close (only 8 km) to the pop­u­lar Sun City, on an ancient alkaline vol­cano, hence its name, which lit­er­ally means "Place of the Rock".

The prize includes:

• accom­mod­a­tion in a Family Room for 2 adults AND 2 chil­dren (under 18 years) for 2 con­sec­ut­ive nights
  OR accom­mod­a­tion in a Double Room for 2 adults for 2 con­sec­ut­ive nights (depend­ing on winner's preference)
• break­fast and din­ner daily
• 4 game drives (morn­ing and after­noon depar­tures) sub­ject to check-in and check-out times

Continued

Zebra in Pilanesberg National Park Photo

These Zebra were pho­to­graphed in the Pilanesberg National Park on a recent trip to Tshukudu Lodge. Did you know — Zebras are con­stantly wary of lions and hyenas. If a Zebra is attacked, its fam­ily will come to its defense, circ­ling the wounded zebra and attempt­ing to drive off pred­at­ors Continued

Lesser Striped Swallow Photo

This pho­to­graph of a Lesser Striped Swallow was taken in the Pilanesberg National Park. According to the Wikipedia entry for this bird, the Lesser Swallow is 15–10 cm long, has dark blue upper­parts with a red rump and a rufous-chestnut crown, nape and sides of the head. The under­parts are white with dark streak­ing, and the upper wings and under­wing flight feath­ers are blackish-brown ... Continued