The Lion and Safari Park Johannesburg


Page created : 21st October 2013
Page updated : 24th August 2024


Explore the REAL Johannesburg

” We were blown away with an experience such as this, so close to Johannesburg “

” . . . got close to a variety of beautiful animals, especially the big cats, on the self drive safari at the Lion and Safari Park! “

” . . . lunch at the Wetlands Restaurant whilst my toddler feeds the giraffes with food I buy for R70. So peaceful. No charge for entry! “

The old statue of a male lion stands proud at the new Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
The entrance and welcome area at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
Please be aware that the Lion and Safari Park in Johannesburg is not a traditional safari experience where lions roam freely and hunt for their prey.
Instead, you’ll drive close to various lion prides, each housed in separate, fenced enclosures—similar to the safari parks you might find in Europe and other parts of the world.

In keeping with the moral and ethical issue of people handling carnivores, this website supports organisations such as the Endangered Wildlife Trust in this regard.

We will give you the necessary information to make up your own mind, and, if you choose, visit the Lion and Safari Park, Johannesburg, but we won’t promote the human interaction with carnivores in any way.

As a tourist, please do not cuddle, walk with or volunteer to work with any lion or carnivore.

Read about the captive lion industry in South Africa here

Follow this link to the ‘Blood Lions’ Film website

THE LION AND SAFARI PARK

I’m probably not the right person to critique a captive collection of African wildlife at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg, as I do feel that such beautiful and majestic creatures belong in a natural environment, and not behind high fences.

Having said that, the need for homo sapiens to dominate wildlife is a fact of life, and as lions do spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping, the probability – if you do see them in the wild, is that they will behave in the much the same way as they’d behave in captivity – inactive or sleeping!

I’ve included the Lion and Safari Park on this website, as, despite the heavy criticism that they come under.

When the old Lion Park moved to these new Lion and Safari Park premises, they discontinued the petting of lion cubs!

Sadly, because of this commendable and ethical stand, money oriented tour companies took their business, with their ignorant customers, to less ethical parks elsewhere, and the Lion and Safari Park was forced, for financial reasons, to re-introduce cub-petting.

A friendly female giraffe at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
That long tongue feels like wet, coarse sandpaper, whilst feeding that friendly giraffe at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg

INFORMATION CORRECT
August 2024

LION AND SAFARI PARK OPENING TIMES :
Open every day of the year!
Monday to Sunday : 08h00-17h00 (8.00am-5.00pm)

LION AND SAFARI PARK ENTRY FEE :
Entry to the grounds, including restaurants, is FREE.
You only pay for any Big Cat activity.

LION AND SAFARI PARK ACTIVITY RATES :
There are over 20 Activities on offer – too many to mention here.
To see the activities, click here to go to the link to the Lion and Safari Park website below.

LION AND SAFARI PARK ADDRESS :
The Lion and Safari Park, Johannesburg
R512 (13kms north-west of Lanseria Airport)
Broederstroom

LION AND SAFARI PARK GPS Co-ordinates (hddd.ddddd):
S25.832246° E027.887803°

LION AND SAFARI PARK CONTACT :
Landline : +27 (0)87 150-0100
E-mail : info@lionpark.com

School children head over the Animal Encounters walkway at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
It's that friendly giraffe again, on the road to the predator camps at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg

ENTRANCE IS FREE . . . .

Entrance to the Lion and Safari Park is free, so the retail shops, the restaurants and kiddies play area, the small mammals and feeding of the giraffes can be done without having to pay an entrance fee!

You only pay for activities that involve the big cats, and these are some of those activities –

GUIDED TOURS

A number of different guided tours, that include the Lion and Wild Dog Tour, Mini Safari, Night Tours (with predator feeding) and Private Exclusive Tours.
On the 3-hour Safari, guests stop for drinks and snacks on the bank of the Crocodile River.
You’ll also see numerous, and different, species of antelope on these guided tours.

SELF-DRIVE TOURS

Another option is to drive your own Self-Drive Tour, which is what we chose.
You see the same species as the guided tours, but obviously without the knowledge of a trained guide.

RESTAURANTS (free entry)

The ‘Bull ‘n Buck Grill‘ is a fancy restaurant that has, not surprisingly, game (venison) as a speciality. It also has a good wine list.
The ‘Wetlands Restaurant‘ is a casual spot for a quick bite, overlooking the area where the giraffe (which can be fed from here), antelope, ostriches and blue wildebeest roam, but they are not always there, as they are able to wander off throughout the property!
The Lion and Safari Park also offers conferences and functions, but I haven’t experienced either of them.

CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND (free entry)

The little ones haven’t been forgotten, and a well kitted playground, close to the restaurants, should keep them occupied and content!
School visits are popular, and kids are given an opportunity to learn more about Africa’s magnificent fauna.

SHOPPING (free entry)

There is a photographic centre where you can preserve the memories of your visit with options such as photobooks, mugs, keyrings, puzzles etc.
On the way out, you follow a path that leads you through 5 different shops – selling curios, art, homeware, clothes and kids.
It’s a clever way of using ambush marketing, but it does allow you to pick up a memento or a gift for those you’ve left behind in the real world.

The entrance to the first predator camp at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
A young male, one of 5 lions we saw, in the first predator camp at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
A beautiful, inquisitive  male lion at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
An alert young male lion eyeing its dinner in the adjoining antelope camp, at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg

WORLD CLASS PREMISES

The Lion and Safari Park left their very tired and outdated previous property in 2016, and moved to these beautiful, state of the art premises, with camps that do ‘sort-of’ allow the animals space to move.

The drive takes you through three predator camps, where we saw 5 lions in #1, 6 lions in #2 and 7 lions in #3.

We then drove through the antelope camps for a couple of kilometres, and saw large numbers of plains game – giraffe, impala, gemsbok, red hartebeest, blue wildebest, zebra, springbok and blesbok.

We didn’t drive down to the Hyena enclosure, but drove the new 4 km route instead!

After the antelope camp, we drove through the 4th predator camp, where we saw 13 lion.

Then through the 5th predator camp, where we couldn’t determine how many wild dog there were as they were all sleeping on top of each other!

The sixth predator camp had 3, very static cheetah.
Sad that an animal that needs space to run, probably never moves faster than a walking pace!

A romantic interlude between a white male and a tawny female lion, at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
The huge front paws of the white male lion at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
A beautiful black maned lion, one of 13 lions, seen in the fourth predator enclosure, at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
The specialised safari vehicle that is used for game drives at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg

FEED THE GIRAFFES

Back from our game drive through the predator and antelope camps at the Lion and Safari Park, we had a good light meal at the Wetlands Restaurant, and then had a look at the various cages that house the small mammals – not particularly nice, and much like an outdated zoo.

A really popular activity is to feed the giraffes. They’re free to roam, and obviously only eat from your hand when you offer food that is more attractive than what is available elsewhere!
R40 buys you a decent sized bag of giraffe pellets.

If it’s busy, you need to choose your time well!
If the giraffes have eaten, you get to take the bag of food home, but if they are hungry and eating, there are typically a lot of people on the platform trying to get their photographs with these serene, gracious animals!
The giraffes choose whose hands to eat out of, so there are always opportunities for feeding them.
Persistence and patience is key!

A young gemsbok at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
 Blesbok at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
One of a number of rare, and endangered, wild dogs seen in the fifth predator enclosure, at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
The world's fastest land animal, the cheetah, listed as vulnerable, in the sixth predator enclosure at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
Zebra, amongst a number of different antelope seen during our self drive through the Antelope Enclosure at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
Springbok at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
The view, showing the extent and size of the buildings, at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg
An atrocious billboard, advertising the petting of lion cubs at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg, showing how happy the family is with a lion cub, but showing no respect, empathy or regard for the feelings of the lion cub being taken away from its mother! So sad and just awful!

HAPPY FAMILIES & (SAD LION) CUBS!

I have to mention this old, but scandalous, long gone advertising billboard promoting the petting of lion cubs at the Lion and Safari Park near Johannesburg.
It shows how happy the family is handling the lion cub, but shows no respect, empathy or regard for the feelings of the lion cub that has been removed from its mother at a very young age!

To post this advert on a billboard on a public road is deplorable!

The message given to the masses of conservation ignorant passers-by is that the unethical and immoral handling of a young lion cub, taken away from its mother at a very young age, is acceptable!

So sad!
This type of advertising is, at best, dreadful and borders on outrageous!

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