Shepherd's Tree Game Lodge
Game lodge with suites and a villa · Exclusive-use zone in the south-west of the park; private entrance off the R565 · aha Hotels and Lodges, on a North West Parks concession
Top-end
Inside the park
Safari company
An aha Hotels and Lodges property on a North West Parks concession, in an exclusive-use zone in the south-western part of the main park with a private entrance off the R565. One agent portal places it on the private reserve on the western side; aha, the operator, says it is in the park itself, and we follow the operator. The rate covers all meals and two guided drives a day: R6,750 a person sharing in the 2026 winter season through an agent. The old shepherdstree.co.za address now redirects to aha. Choose it for a guided stay in a part of the park day visitors do not reach; skip it if you need a published rate from the lodge itself.
Pros and cons
Pros
- An exclusive-use zone of the main park
- All meals and two guided drives a day
- Its own entrance off the R565, away from the public gates
- Run by aha, which also manages Ivory Tree
Cons
- No rate on the operator's own pages in our source
- Room counts differ between agents
- An agent portal misplaces it on the private reserve, so expect conflicting descriptions
- One of the pricier lodges inside the park
What's here
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
We could not reach a website for Shepherd's Tree Game Lodge, 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 Shepherd's Tree Game Lodge
From $413 pppn (reseller rate). Agent rate read 24 Sep 2026: R6,750 (about $413) per person sharing, all meals and two activities a day, 1 May to 30 September 2026. SA-Venues quotes R8,000 ($489) per room full board for South African residents. The lodge's own pages (aha.co.za) publish no rate in our source. Lodge guests inside the park pay the conservation fee through the lodge; confirm whether it and VAT are in the figure. Rand at R16.36 to the dollar.
Full board. Meals are included; drinks, activities and park fees are not.
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 Shepherd's Tree Game Lodge
Is Shepherd's Tree inside Pilanesberg or on the private reserve?
Inside the main park. aha, the operator, places it in an exclusive-use zone of the park's south-western part, with a private entrance off the R565. The pilanesbergnationalpark.org listing puts it on the private reserve on the western side, which the operator does not.
What does Shepherd's Tree cost in 2026?
An agent sells it at R6,750 a person sharing from 1 May to 30 September 2026, with all meals and two activities a day. SA-Venues quotes R8,000 a room, full board, for South African residents. Note that one portal prints a high season of 1 October 2026 to 30 April 2026, which is a date error.
Is Shepherd's Tree good for families?
The villa is the obvious family unit. We found no published child policy in our sources, so ask aha about ages on game drives. The park is malaria-free.