Big 5 Game Drive and Elephant Interaction

About this tour

Visiting Johannesburg without the time to do the game lodge "thing"? Join African Timeout for a one-day experience in an open game drive vehicle in a Big 5 reserve.

We leave early, around 05:30, as game drives are best in the morning before the heat arrives (breakfast packs are on board). On arrival you are welcomed with coffee before boarding an open game drive vehicle with a local ranger. The private game reserve boasts the first Big 5 in Gauteng, just over an hour from Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg. It is a pristine, malaria-free wilderness of over 4,000 hectares with abundant plants, birdlife and wildlife, and because it is smaller than the national parks, the sightings are great.

Back at base, you freshen up and join an interaction with the reserve's two elephants. The lodge's elephant manager gives an educational session, then you go to the viewing area to touch and feed the elephants.

You are then treated to a scrumptious lunch on the deck and some relaxation, before travelling back to Johannesburg via Chameleon Village, if time allows, to buy African souvenirs.

What to bring: a camera, a hat or cap, sun block (all year round), a light warm jacket from May to August, and comfortable walking shoes.