Game drives
Pilanesberg National Park is 11 km away: Big Five, malaria-free, open vehicles at dawn and dusk. More
On the estate, and just off it.
The hotel sits inside Sundown Country Estate, so guests have the run of the estate as well as the hotel: the waterpark - which is free if you are staying - the quad trails, the sports fields and the estate's own game reserve are all inside the same gate. Nothing below needs a tour operator or weeks of notice - ask at reception the day before and it gets arranged.
Quad biking
Out through the estate's own reserve and up to the viewpoint, with a guide in front.
The pool
Long, blue, and quiet by four o'clock. The bar is under the thatch at the far end.
The waterpark
Slides and a splash pool on the estate - free for hotel guests, for the days the children win.
For people who cannot sit still.
- Fully equipped gym
- Mountain bike trails
- Hiking trails
- Soccer field
- Volleyball
- Cricket nets
- Obstacle course
- Archery
- Swimming pools
- Quad biking
The trails run through the estate's own reserve rather than along a road, so a morning ride or walk is in the bush from the first minute. Bring a bike if you have one; ask at reception about hiring.
The boma, and a beer at the dam.
Sundowner drives go out through the estate's own private reserve in the late afternoon, stop at the dam while the light goes, and hand out a cold beer while you watch it. No gate fees, no rush back, and you are home in time for dinner.
Boma dinners are the other half of that evening: dinner under the open sky around a fire, which is what most visitors picture when they imagine eating in the bush. Both are arranged at reception, and both work as well for a conference group as for two people.
Ask about a boma dinnerThe spa, and the rest of it.
There is a spa on the estate for the afternoon after a dawn game drive, and African drumming for the evenings when a group wants something to do together. The restaurant and bars are a walk across the lawn - see dining.
In the evenings there is the 1980s Bar - a sports bar with a pool table and the screens on, more pub than hotel lounge. See dining.
Everything on this page is booked at reception, including the spa. A day's notice is usually plenty.
Things that wear them out.
- The waterpark - free for hotel guests
- The space jump
- Splash pool
- Jungle gym at the hotel
The space jump is a trampoline with bungee cords clipped to you, so you go considerably higher than you can on your own - it is usually the first thing they ask for and the last thing they leave. There is also a jungle gym in the hotel itself, which is the one that matters when you want to finish a cup of coffee.
Pilanesberg being malaria-free is the reason a lot of families choose this park over the lowveld - no tablets, and the animals are close to the road. See game drives.
Evening entertainment.
Group bookings can have entertainment laid on for the evening - worth arranging when you book rather than on the night, so tell us the date and the numbers and we will put something together.
Ask about a groupTeam building that isn't a trust fall.
Everything above doubles as a team-building programme, and most of it is more interesting than the usual exercises: the obstacle course, quad convoys through the reserve, archery, a game of soccer or volleyball, a cricket match, a mountain bike route, or a late-afternoon game drive in the Pilanesberg. Five conference venues and 101 rooms are on the same property, so a session can run into an activity and then into dinner without anybody driving.
Conferences and team buildingWithin half an hour.
Pilanesberg National Park - 11 km. The reason most people come. Game drives.
Sun City - 12 km. The Valley of Waves, golf and the casino, on a day pass. Staying here for Sun City.
Rustenburg - the nearest large town, for anything you forgot to pack.
Some activities run on set days or need a minimum number of people, and a few are charged separately. Reception has the current list and prices.
Ask what's on