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A short 75-minute drive from O. R. Tambo International Airport and Johannesburg, within the greater metropolitan area of Gauteng Province, you’ll find an unexpected surprise – Dinokeng Game Reserve.
Discover the magic of the African bush and the chance to spot the Big Five – lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, and buffalo – on a guided game drive, or during a self-drive along 140km of roads suitable to sedan vehicles. You can also explore Dinokeng Game Reserve on foot, during a three-hour guided walking safari, or on horseback.
In the Tswana and Bapedi languages of the indigenous people who traditionally inhabited the area, Dinokeng means ‘a place of rivers’. It truly is a convergence point, a coming together, for nature conservation efforts in Gauteng Province.
Responsible eco-tourism supports sustainable development
Established in 2011 as the province’s only Big Five game reserve, this 210km2 protected ecosystem is a symbol of collaborative conservation efforts between the Gauteng Provincial Government and over 200 passionate landowners. These visionaries believe in responsible eco-tourism that simultaneously supports sustainable development.
Eighty of these are hospitality product owners, who run tourism operations, big and small – from three picnic spots and camping sites to self-catering chalets, family-friendly tented safari camps, and intimate, 5-star game lodges. Between them, they employ more than 800 permanent staff, support sustainable skills development and create economic upliftment for communities adjoining the wildlife reserve.
Dinokeng's first and foremost focus has always been to nurture sustainable conservation, to be a place where people and wildlife coexist in harmony.
By creating long-term employment opportunities and buy-in from surrounding communities, there are fewer economically-impoverished individuals meaning fewer threats to the reserve’s wildlife.
Protecting critically endangered rhinos
Because Dinokeng Game Reserve is within such close proximity to the city and nearby rural communities, it faces threats from illegal poaching that specifically targets critically endangered rhinos and animals for the bush meat trade.
In response, the game reserve has implemented a comprehensive anti-poaching strategy. This includes daily anti-poaching patrols with the help of a K-9 unit, the use of surveillance drones, and close collaboration with various law enforcement agencies.
Mostly importantly, however, is the need for active and consistent community engagement. In this way, the game reserve has significantly reduced poaching incidents in recent years. At the same time, this has played an important role in preserving other wildlife species and the area's biodiversity.
These efforts also mean that the rhinos you’ll see at Dinokeng Game Reserve have not been dehorned, as is the case at many other national parks and private game reserves across South Africa. This allows all travellers to admire these majestic creatures in their natural form.
The future of collaborative community conservation
Dinokeng Game Reserve is also a leader in collaborative community conservation. It invites the public to participate in conservation activities through its Observing Conservation Programme. This affords anyone the rare opportunity to gain insights into the day-to-day conservation activities involved in maintaining the game reserve and ensuring the survival of its wildlife.
Dinokeng also relies on partnerships with prominent conservationists and various public and private organisations – all of whom are committed to conservation and the protection of the reserve’s rich biodiversity. The reserve believes that if we take care of nature, nature will take care of us.
This wildlife sanctuary offers ‘a world of experiences in one day’, and to think that it is a stone’s throw from two of South Africa’s largest cities – Pretoria and Johannesburg.
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