You're in Africa, so you want to see game, especially the Big Five. Well, we've got plenty of it - and not too far from Mogale City either.

JUST 1.5km outside Krugersdorp in Mogale City is a quiet bushveld retreat from the rush of the outside world.

Sandwiched between the R24 to the south and the N14 to the north, the Krugersdorp Game Reserve is a peaceful sanctuary that is home to more than 30 mammal species.

Visitors can spot buffalo, hippo, giraffe and black wildebeest. Zebras graze on the plains, along with antelope including the rare roan and sable antelope, tsessebe and eland.

In the middle of the reserve is a 100 ha lion enclosure.

The 1500ha of the reserve varies from cool and shady riverine forest, hot savannah to the startling kikuyu pasture.

For more details, check the website.

Pilanesberg Game Reserve

The closest place from Mogale City to see the Big Five – elephant, lion, leopard, rhino and buffalo – is the Pilanesberg Game Reserve, a malaria-free reserve in the neighbouring province of North West.

Set in an ancient and extinct crater, the 55ha Pilanesberg Game Reserve has spectacular rocky outcrops, grasslands, wooded valleys and a large central lake.

Besides the big five, there are some 7 000 animals, including the nocturnal brown hyena, the cheetah and the sable. Bird watching is excellent with over 300 species recorded.

There are lodges, safari tents and chalets dotted throughout the reserve. It's about a two-hour drive to the reserve, or you can fly in to the Pilanesberg Airport.

Get all the details on the reserve from the website.

Plumari Lodge

The 3 000ha Plumari Game Lodge is a malaria-free, Big Five wilderness area with around 1 000 head of game including elephants, white rhino, leopard, hippo, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and most antelope, including the Namibian Gemsbok.

A special feature of the lodge is its elephant experience where you can wake up the two resident elephants, feed them, then take a two-hour walk through the bush with them.

You can chill on game drives, hiking trails, bird watching, or splash in a plunge pool. The lodge has one of the largest collections of ox-wagons and carts in South Africa. Nearby are 1 000-year-old San carvings, and you can gasp at stone-age tools and artefacts in an onsite history museum.

You can stay in chalets and there is a restaurant on the site. The drive to the lodge is around 45 minutes. Go to the website for the details.

De Wildt Cheetah Centre

Hooked on Africa's big cats and need to get more of them? Then you must visit the De Wildt Cheetah Centre in the foothills of the Magaliesberg mountains. The centre was established in 1971 with the aim of breeding endangered species. Over the years more than 750 cheetah cubs have been born at De Wildt, dramatically increasingly the numbers of this vulnerable species.

The breeding programme includes other endangered animals such as the wild dog.

It is estimated that the current cheetah population in South Africa hovers around 1 450 - some 500 in captivity, 350 in protected areas, and 600 roaming on farmlands.

The programme also focuses on conservation of free-roaming cheetah. Efforts are made to capture the cheetah and to relocate them into suitable protected areas.

Three-hour guided tours of the centre are conducted, and you can even adopt a cheetah. On Tuesdays and Thursdays you can observe the fastest animal on earth being taken out to run.

You can stay at the De Wildt Cheetah Lodge, a rustic stone house set in expansive gardens.

Learn more from the website.

Rhino and Lion Park

Situated in the Cradle of Humankind on some 1 600ha of land, the reserve boasts an impressive collection of animals. You’ll be able to see hippos, white rhinos, black wildebeest, crocodiles and lions and cheetahs. Bucks include are gemsbok, impala, springbuck and blesbok. Several birds of prey live here too; the black eagle, lappetfaced vulture, and the blackshouldered kite.

Besides offering game drives to view the magnificent animals, there are a range of activities available: there are braai areas, a swimming pool, a volleyball court, hiking and horse trails, astronomy shows and, for relaxation, a pub overlooking a small pond containing several crocodiles.

There is also a luxury safari camp and chalets.

Find out more on the website.