Bakgatla Resort
Campsite, chalets, executive tents and a villa · At Bakgatla gate, north-east side, near Saulspoort (Moruleng) · Golden Leopard Resorts (state company reporting to the North West Parks and Tourism Board)
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of Bakgatla Resort yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (North West Parks)
The northern rest camp at Bakgatla gate, on the Saulspoort (Moruleng) side, run by Golden Leopard Resorts, the state company that reports to the North West Parks and Tourism Board. It is the one place in Pilanesberg where the operator's own page prints a rate: camping from R322 a site. Beyond the campsite there are chalets that sleep up to five, executive tents and a three-bedroom self-catering villa. Kgabo Drive, one of the four tar spines, starts at the gate. Choose it for a self-drive trip with an early start on the quieter northern side; skip it if you want guided drives included, since none are.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Camping from about $20 a site, a rate printed by the operator itself
- Chalets sleep up to five, useful for a family
- Kgabo Drive (tar) starts at the gate
- Mankwe scheduled drives leave from Bakgatla at R612 ($37) a person for 3 hours
- Malaria-free, so it works for young children
Cons
- No guided drives in the rate; you self-drive or pay Mankwe
- Golden Leopard Resorts reported fire damage and falling revenue in 2025
- The north-east is the longest drive from Johannesburg, 171 km from Sandton
- Daily park fees per person and per car come on top
What's here
- Family rooms
- Campsite
- Self-catering
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
We could not reach a website for Bakgatla Resort, so this list is incomplete by definition. Ask them directly.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Pilanesberg National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryR748 per international adult per day at USD 1 = ZAR 16.36.
- $46per person, per day
- VehicleR168 per car per day, about $10.
- $10per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $306 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Guests at lodges inside the park usually pay the fee through the lodge; several private-reserve lodges include it in their rate.
The full fee schedule for Pilanesberg National ParkRates at Bakgatla Resort
From $20 per site. Golden Leopard's own page (read 24 Sep 2026) gives camping from R322 (about $20) per site per night, for up to 6 people and 2 vehicles. The agent grid on pilanesbergnationalpark.org splits it: non-electrified R322 midweek and R390 weekend, electrified R345 and R422, electrified caravan site R380 and R477. Chalet for two R3,138 ($192) bed and breakfast; Bakgatla Villa R3,500 ($214) self-catering. The park conservation fee is extra: R748 (about $46) per foreign adult and R168 ($10) per South African adult and per car, per day. VAT treatment is not stated. Rand at R16.36 to the dollar.
It depends which package you book. This camp sells more than one basis, from self-catering up to fully inclusive. The rates note says what each one covers.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked against our research of 24 September 2026 and converted at R16.36 to the dollar. Where a lodge publishes its own rate we use it with its date. The per-person figures for Ivory Tree, Shepherd's Tree, Kwa Maritane, Bakubung Bush Lodge, Tshukudu, Tsholo, Umoya, Mbazo and Dzombo are a named agent's or reseller's and say so; the guesthouses, The Kingdom and Tlou come from one Booking.com night (14 to 15 October 2026) or LekkeSlaap's list. The price filter and sort use per-person rates only: campsites, rooms, villas and whole lodges show their rate in the text but carry no sortable figure. The park conservation fee comes on top outside the gate: R748 per foreign adult, R168 per South African adult and R168 per car, per day since 1 December 2025, card only, and a new tariff could start on 1 December 2026.
Questions about Bakgatla Resort
How much does it cost to stay at Bakgatla Resort?
Camping starts at R322 a site per night on Golden Leopard's own page, for up to six people and two vehicles; the agent grid puts weekends at R390. A chalet for two is R3,138 with breakfast and the three-bedroom villa R3,500 self-catering. Park fees are extra: R748 per foreign adult and R168 per car, per day.
Is Bakgatla Resort good for families?
The unit mix suits one: chalets sleep up to five and the villa has three bedrooms. North West Province is outside every malaria risk zone on the NICD map of December 2025. We found no published child policy, so ask about cots and age rules when you call Golden Leopard Resorts on 014 555 1000.
How far is Bakgatla Resort from Johannesburg?
About 171 km and 2 h 42 from Sandton, or 212 km and 3 h 03 from OR Tambo, on the OSRM route planner without traffic. Take the N4 or R512 to the R556, then the R510 north through Mogwase to the junction near Saulspoort. Allow more time on Gauteng weekends.