For decades the Lion Park at Lanseria was a fixture of Johannesburg sightseeing. In 2016 it closed and reopened as the Lion & Safari Park on a far larger property — around 600 hectares — beside the R512 near Broederstroom, on the road to Hartbeespoort Dam and just beyond the north-eastern boundary of the Cradle.
The park is built around large drive-through predator camps housing lions (including white lions), cheetahs, wild dogs, and spotted, brown and striped hyenas. A separate antelope area holds giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, kudu, gemsbok and other plains game. It is a managed park rather than a nature reserve, and it does not pretend otherwise; its value is that you are virtually guaranteed close, clear views of big cats within an hour of the city.
Top things to do: Lion & Safari Park
Join a guided game drive
Ranger-led drives in open-sided, mesh-protected vehicles last from one to about three hours depending on the option. Guides explain the animals’ histories and behaviour, and the high seats give far better photographs than a car window. The one- and two-hour guided tours are among the best-reviewed activities in the region.
Self-drive the camps
You can also take your own car through on a self-drive ticket. Keep windows up in the predator camps — lions regularly walk right past the vehicles. Night drives are offered at times and show a completely different level of activity.
Feed a giraffe
A raised platform near the main complex lets you feed the giraffes at eye level, and there are walk-in areas with meerkats and other small species. Policies on hands-on animal encounters have tightened in recent years, and cub petting has been phased out — a change most visitors welcome. Check what is currently offered.
Eat and shop
The main complex has a good restaurant overlooking a waterhole, a wood-fired pizza spot, a children’s play area and one of the better curio shops outside Johannesburg — useful if this is your last stop before the airport.
How to get to Lion & Safari Park
- By car: about 40–50 minutes from Sandton via Malibongwe Drive and the R512, 15 minutes beyond Lanseria Airport. From Maropeng allow 35–45 minutes; from Hartbeespoort Dam about 15 minutes.
- By tour: half-day tours with hotel pickup leave Johannesburg daily and are the most-booked wildlife trip in the area — see the best tours.
- Combining: the park fits neatly between a morning at Maropeng and a late afternoon at Hartbeespoort.
Insider tips
- Predators are most active early and late; on hot afternoons lions sleep in the shade.
- Pre-book guided drives at weekends and in school holidays; they sell out.
- Soft-top convertibles and motorcycles are not allowed in the predator camps — take a guided drive instead.
- Bring a zoom lens: the mesh on guided vehicles has openings for cameras.
Best tours: Lion & Safari Park
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Lion & Safari Park:
Half-day tour from €124 From Johannesburg: Lion & Safari Park Half-Day Tour
The most-booked wildlife outing in the area. A guide drives you from Johannesburg to the Lion & Safari Park on the edge of the Cradle, where a caged vehicle takes you through enclosures of lions, white lions, cheetahs, wild dogs and hyenas, with free-roaming giraffe and antelope elsewhere in the park.
- Hotel transfers from Johannesburg
- Guided drive through the predator camps
- Giraffe, zebra and antelope in the antelope area
Guided game drive from €33 Hartbeespoort: Lion and Safari Park Guided Tour
If you have your own car, this is the cheapest good way to do the Lion & Safari Park. You meet at the park and join a ranger-led drive through the predator camps and the antelope area. Easy to combine with Maropeng in the morning or Hartbeespoort Dam afterwards.
- Guided drive in a park vehicle
- Lions, cheetahs, wild dogs and hyenas
- No transfer — meet at the park
Guided game drive from €27 Hartbeespoort: Predator Safari with a Guide
The quickest and cheapest guided option at the Lion & Safari Park, and one of the most-reviewed. An hour in a ranger’s vehicle is enough to see the big predators well — useful when you are fitting the park in between Maropeng and Hartbeespoort.
- Short guided drive through the predator camps
- Lions, white lions, cheetahs and wild dogs
- Easy add-on to a self-drive day
Full-day combo from €190 From Johannesburg: Cradle of Humankind and Lion Safari
The classic two-in-one day west of Johannesburg: human origins in the morning, big cats in the afternoon. After the Cradle of Humankind you carry on to a nearby wildlife park for a guided drive past lions, cheetahs, wild dogs and plains game. A perfect 5.0 guest score at the time of writing.
- Fossil sites in the morning
- Game drive among lions and other predators
- One driver-guide for the whole day
