Book Weekend Getaways to Escape to from Johannesburg

Let’s start at the very beginning. Located at the foothills of the Zwartkops Mountains less than an hour from Joburg, Kloofzicht Lodge & Spa is part of the Cradle of Humankind site, where fossils and tools of early humans were discovered. If the anthropological significance doesn’t blow your mind, the views from the suites certainly will – six serene fly-fishing dams and the Blaauwbank Spruit cutting through Zwartkops Gorge are enough to excite any holidaymaker.

It won’t take you long to shake off the city at this remote lodge in Mpumalanga – just three hours from Joburg. Stay here and you have more than 6,178 acres (2,500ha) of bushveld and highveld grassland as your playground. Go fly-fishing, biking, bird watching, join a 4×4 game drive or simply ramble through dramatic gorges and dense forests here. If you can fit it in amongst all the activities, there’s a spa to rest some weary bones and sore muscles.

In the Setswana language – one of the 11 official languages of South Africa – Mabalingwe means ‘spots of the leopard’ and the shy predator is indeed one of the animals you might see on a night game drive at this Limpopo nature reserve. For kids, a visit to Mabalingwe is both educational and fun. Mini-golf tournaments and face painting are interspersed with an eco-tainment programme that teaches tree identification, tracking skills and water purification.

A veritable Noah’s Ark of animals awaits at Mongena in the malaria-free, northwestern corner of the Dinokeng Game Reserve, just 90 minutes out of Joburg. Joining the five stars of the show – lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard – are a supporting cast of zebra, hippo, giraffe and crocodile that you can size up from an open-top 4X4 – or a boat as it cruises around the local dam. Don’t forget the binoculars: there are also 300 bird species, including fish eagles and martial eagles.

Perched at around 2,200m (7,217ft) above sea level – with sweeping views of the surrounding Maluti Mountains – the eight log cabins of the Highlands Mountain Retreat truly take you away from it all. If you wondered why the national park – where the retreat is located, about 320km (200mi) from Joburg – is called Golden Gate, just wait until the sun hits the sandstone cliffs and outcrops and everything becomes bathed in a warm yellow glow.

For those who don’t want to splash too much cash on their weekend getaway, Manyane in the Pilanesberg National Park, just over a two-hour drive from Joburg, offers a range of basic but undeniably charming budget options. Choose between a rustic safari tent for two, thatched African-style chalets with private patios and braai areas, or some modern studio rooms. Once unpacked, there’s a lot to keep you busy – including game drives, hiking trails and occasional tribal dance performances.

Don’t let the functional name fool you. The small village of Dullstroom – 262km (163mi) from Jozi – where Cherry Grove is located is anything but boring. In one of the country’s best fishing spots, you can hit the trout route past two waterfalls, or do some fly-fishing in a number of streams and dams. Hang with apex predators at the Bird of Prey Centre and pause at the coffee roastery, before blazing away at a clay pigeon shooting range and knocking back a few at the Anvil Ale Brewery – preferably in that order.

Expect a few wedding parties to blow through Villa Paradiso while you’re here – an on-site chapel and beautiful surroundings make this boutique hotel at the foot of the Magaliesberg Mountains a prized spot for nuptials. It might not be your special day but the local spa will make you feel like it is, while the Upstairs @ Villa Paradiso restaurant is one of the best spots in the region for lunch, offering wonderful views of the mountains and the Hartbeespoort Dam – all of this is just an hour’s drive away from Joburg.

Just 30 minutes from Johannesburg, Glenburn is the ultimate need-a-break bolthole – especially since the luxury lodge is an area that’s ideal for hot-air balloon safaris due to some favourable flying conditions. You’ll be floating over a landscape that’s both fascinating – the hotel is situated within the World Heritage Cradle of Humankind – and picturesque, thanks to the Zwartkops Mountains. And be glad you’re in the air: that’s the Crocodile River below you.