Some of you may well have seen the recent debate about overcrowding and bad guide behaviour that has been raging on the Pilanesberg – Gem in the North West Facebook page.
For those of you who haven’t, here’s a little summary:
It all started with one Heinrich Schmidt, who claimed that though he has been visiting the park for 20 years, his most recent visit would probably be his last and that he wouldn’t recommend the park to anyone ever again in future.
So what exactly got Heinrich’s goat? Two things it seems. Firstly, he explains:
“The main reason is the game drive vehicles of the resorts around the park which have become a law unto themselves. They disregard speed limits ,totally disregard any other vehicles on the road and will pass anywhere and shove you off the road. At sightings they totally block the road and the worst of all is that park officials just ignore this.”
He then adds:
“My second gripe is that they allow to many vehicles in to the park, which makes you feel like driving down Church Street in Pretoria rather than being in a game reserve”
The debate that ensued dragged in a range of members of the Pilanesberg-going public as well as a few rangers and guides themselves. The opinions that were aired varied dramatically. Some seemed to agree with Heinrich outright, while others felt he was exaggerating his apparent “gripes”; one former Pilanesberg guide went on to claim that the main issue was in fact “arrogant” and inexperienced private drivers who “clogged” the roads and made life difficult and frustrating for the guides and even for the animals themselves. As you can imagine, this didn’t go down to well with the private drivers.
Anyway, we thought we would take it upon ourselves to give our own well-informed answer to the debate, with our wealth of experience of all the park’s in and outs.
A Good Guide
Firstly, with regards to the guides, my own personal experience is very favourable overall. Any of the guides I have encountered either on the road, at the Pilanesberg Centre or in the various bars around the park’s camps have always been friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. The aggressive and unruly picture of the guides that Heinrich paints is a very unfamiliar one to me. He also fails to acknowledge that the guided cars are very few in number compared to the privates, and tend only to be visible early in the morning and late in the afternoons.
Having said all of this, if you saw some of the foolish behaviour that the guides have to put up with from some privates, you might excuse them the occasional display of belligerence, particularly when the park is at its busiest. Sadly, at such times too many privates and the bigger tourist buses do not pay enough attention to the rules. Nevertheless, the guides seem to just carry on about their business as far as I can see, and quite right too.
Beat the Crowds
This brings me to Heinrich’s second point. There is no denying that Pilanesberg can get exceptionally busy, especially at weekends and during school holidays. It’s not hard to see why this might be the case when you consider the park’s proximity to Johannesburg, the beautiful landscape and the abundance of great game all within a fairly small and accessible area.
But use a little bit of nouse and there is no reason the park’s popularity should put a dampener on your trip. First and foremost, for those that have the luxury, you can avoid visiting during holidays and weekends altogether (especially long weekends). This shouldn’t be so difficult for some, with a little bit of forward planning and date-checking.
Also, try summer rather than winter (the winter season runs roughly from October to March). Though the game is sometimes harder to spot due to the long grass (rain is heavier in summer), the vegetation is spectacular and so is the bird life. But most of all, there is a lot less traffic in the park, so when you do fid the animals you most want to see, it will feel all the more special.
For those that have no choice but to visit on weekends or during the busy holiday season, there are still ways to beat the crowds.
Firstly, many of the vehicles that visit the park, particularly the big buses, don’t venture off the main tar roads, though most of the smaller roads are fine even for regular sedans. So get off the main drags and head instead for these smaller and considerably quieter dirt tracks.
You can also make sure that you get through the gates at the absolute crack of dawn, as soon as they open. It can be tough to get up so early, but it will certainly be worth it. In Pilanesberg, the early bird certainly catches the worm. This is often the best time to see the park’s big predators. Then you can head back and enjoy a hearty breakfast with a beautiful sunset and a good few hours of game driving already behind you, while the crowds sweat it out in the rising heat.
Take these simple tips on board and whatever approach you choose to take, I have no doubt that your Pilanesberg experience will be a memorable one for all the right reasons.
Article By: Chris Clark (visit his site http://www.cawclark.com)
Do you also have an experience that you would like to share? Send us your story or leave a comment below.
I agree with your editorial in many aspects but what worries me is the speed of the game drive vehicles. When they get info on a sighting I have seen vehicles speeding to the sighting. The roads are a disaster especially around Mankwe dam. Why dont they just forget about the tar and grade it. It would be far easier to drive on. I still would never not go to the Pilanesberg. It is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Kind regards.
Chris thank you for this article!
It was very necessary!
You know how I feel about this!
I have just returned from a weeks visit to Bakubung during which time we drove into the Park almost daily. There were times when we drove for half an hour without seeing another vehicle and when we did encounter a game drive vehicle we had no issues with their behaviour. Our best siting was from the top of the Lenong Hide where we were able to look down on a herd of about 25 elephants and their babies. We spent about and hour and a half watching them and had the hide to ourselves the entire time. It was a hugely rewarding experience and obviously a good time of year to go. Its just a concern that the roads have deteriorated so badly.