Just in case you have the chance to pass by Johannesburg, South Africa, take the time to visit Pilanesberg National Park, within short distance from the city. Even one day is sufficient to visit the park and have the privilege of meeting some of its residence! I made the visit during a Saturday, while in a Business trip in the capital of South Africa, very convenient one day trip, but you can chose the spend the night in the park, there are special camp places! More details on the park infrastructure: HERE

The park is also one of the largest volcanic complexes of its type in the world, the rare rock types and formations make it a unique geological feature. A number of rare minerals occur in the park. Pilanesberg Game Reserve rates high among the world’s outstanding geological phenomena.

Regarding the wildlife, as of December 2010 the total count of large mammals was approximately 10,000, including:

• 50 lions
• 30 leopards
• 12 cheetahs
• 220 elephants
• Black rhinoceros
• White rhinoceros
• 5 sable antelopes
• 220 African buffaloes
• 600 kudus
• 1700 zebras
• 3000 impalas
• 170 giraffes

From this list, I checked some elephants, impalas, zebras, giraffes and my favorite, the White rhinos, including a mother and her baby! I felt really lucky, considering how rare these animals have become, due to illegal poaching for its horn, used in Asian medicine, whereas this is nothing more than keratin, same material the human hair is made of…Hope the conservation efforts will be sufficient to still have white rhinos in national parks, and for this tourism is an essential source of funds and thus a source of essential support!