Mokala National Park
A malaria-free park near Kimberley known for rare antelope: roan, sable and tsessebe, with both rhino species and no large predators.
Wildlife species
Works offline
Languages
Offline maps
Inside the Mokala National Park app
A dedicated app for just this park — a complete offline wildlife guide, maps and ranger tips, built to work deep in the park where there is no signal. Download it before you go and use it the whole trip.
229 animals
A full illustrated wildlife guide with photos, calls and field facts for the species you will actually see here.
Works with no signal
The guide, maps and your sightings all work completely offline — download once before you set off.
Offline GPS maps
See exactly where you are and navigate the park confidently, even where there is no mobile network at all.
Self-drive routes
The best drives and loops for this park, plus gate times and camp information to plan each day.
Track your safari
Log every sighting and build your own species list — see how many animals you have spotted over the years.
8 languages
Available in English, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese and more.
Rare antelope
Meet Mokala’s locals
Plus every bird and reptile in the park — 229 species in all — each with photos and field notes, so you know exactly what you are looking at.
Rare antelope
Roan antelope
Scarce across South Africa, and one of Mokala’s specialities.
Rare antelope
Sable antelope
Scimitar horns and a jet-black coat — look along the Tessebe Loop.
Rare antelope
Tsessebe
Among the fastest antelope in Africa; the Tessebe Loop is named after it.
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Rhino
Both black and white rhino live here.
Good to know
No large predators
There are no lions or other big cats, so the plains game is relaxed near the road.
Plan your visit
Know before you go
Best time
Apr–Sep
The dry winter brings mild days and game near the water; summer regularly climbs above 35°C.
Getting there
Fly or drive
Reachable by a scenic self-drive or a short regional flight from the nearest hub.
Health
Malaria-free
No malaria in the Northern Cape.
Self-drive
Gates & times
Gates open at sunrise and close at sunset sharp; plan your loop around them.
“I have driven these parks for years and still open the app at every junction — knowing which road leads to which waterhole, and logging every sighting, completely changed how we travel.”
A Safari Guy regular
In short — Mokala map
- 13 named routes, each rated separately.
- 2 entrances: Main Gate and Lilydale Gate.
- 5 camps and lodges inside the park, 2 with a shop.
- Best route for wildlife: Tessebe Loop — tsessebe, roan antelope and sable antelope.
Mokala map: the roads, gates and camps
Thirteen named routes make up the 104 km of game-viewing road inside Mokala. All thirteen are gravel; there is no tar inside the park at all.
Two entrances let you in: Main Gate and Lilydale Gate. Which one you use decides your first hour, because the distance from each gate to the best early roads is not the same.
Inside there are five camps and lodges: Mosu Lodge, Lilydale Rest Camp, Haak-en-Steek Cottage, Motswedi Campsite and Kameeldoring Tree House. Of those, two have a shop and three take campers. There are also two picnic sites where you may legally leave the vehicle.
The animals our road data flags most often here are kudu, springbok, giraffe, steenbok and sable antelope. Tessebe Loop carries the highest wildlife rating of any route in the park over its 12.2 km, for tsessebe, roan antelope, sable antelope and black wildebeest.
What the paper map at the gate will not tell you is which of those thirteen routes is worth your morning. Our offline map rates every road separately for mammals, birds and landscape, and names the species recorded along it, alongside three marked sights. It works without signal, and without using your data abroad.
Mokala was born out of a problem. When the Vaalbos National Park near Kimberley was lost to a land claim, its animals needed a new home, and in June 2007 Mokala was proclaimed south-west of the city to take them. The name is the Setswana word for the camel thorn, and those broad, flat-topped trees shape the whole park: open savanna, red sand and rocky outcrops in the Northern Cape. It is malaria-free and one of the quieter parks in the SANParks system.
What makes Mokala worth the detour is its antelope. The park is known for three species that are scarce across South Africa — roan, sable and tsessebe — and both black and white rhino live here too. Buffalo, giraffe, eland, gemsbok, red hartebeest, black and blue wildebeest, plains zebra, kudu, impala and springbok fill out the plains. There are no lions or other big cats, which is part of why the rare antelope thrive, and why the game is so relaxed around a vehicle.
Thirteen roads run through the park, all of them unsurfaced. The Tessebe Loop has our highest wildlife rating, with tsessebe, roan, sable and black wildebeest all recorded along it, and the Kameeldoring Loop scores just as well. Most loops are manageable in an ordinary car when dry; three tracks are for 4×4 only. Summer here is hot, often above 35°C, so the dry winter months from April to September are the most comfortable time to go.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mokala National Park malaria-free?
Yes. The Northern Cape is malaria-free all year, so no antimalarials are needed.
What is the best time to visit Mokala?
The dry winter months from April to September are the most comfortable, with mild days and animals near the water. Summer is hot, often above 35°C, with afternoon thunderstorms.
Can you see rhino in Mokala?
Yes. Both black and white rhino live in the park, although the black rhino in particular are shy and keep to thicker bush.
The offline app
Inside the Mokala National Park app
Your offline companion for Mokala National Park — everything below keeps working with no phone signal, once you’ve downloaded the park.
- Offline maps & live GPS — detailed maps with your position, camps, gates, picnic spots and points of interest.
- 13 roads, each with an in-depth guide to the landscape and wildlife along the way.
- 5 rest camps & campsites — facilities, tips and what to expect at each.
- Wildlife encyclopedia — 229 species of mammal, bird and reptile, with photos, ID tips and where to find them.
- Safari logger — record every sighting with species, location and time.
- Achievements & insights — earn badges and track your own safari stats.
- Available in 8 languages — English, Afrikaans, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese and Italian.
Subscriptions
Made for how you travel
Every subscription unlocks the offline maps, the full road & camp guides, the wildlife encyclopedia and the safari logger. Take a single park for the length of your trip, or the whole of Africa:
- Weekly — perfect for a one-off trip, when the safari is part of a bigger holiday.
- Monthly — for the enthusiasts who get into the parks regularly.
- Yearly — for the true safari fanatics, and the best value at under €2 / $2 per month.
- Africa subscription — monthly or yearly, and it unlocks every park we cover in Africa, from Kruger to the Serengeti.
🔒 Your sightings are yours to keep. Everything you log stays on your device and remains available even if your subscription ends.
Camps and lodges
Mosu Lodge · Lilydale Rest Camp · Haak-en-Steek Cottage · Motswedi Campsite · Kameeldoring Tree House
Plan your trip
Frequently asked questions
What animals live in Mokala National Park?
Black and white rhino, buffalo, roan and sable antelope, tsessebe, giraffe, eland, gemsbok, zebra, kudu and springbok. The park is best known for its rare antelope.
Are there lions in Mokala?
No. Mokala has no large predators, which is part of why the rare antelope do well here and why the game is relaxed around vehicles.
What does the name Mokala mean?
Mokala is the Setswana name for the camel thorn, the tree that dominates the park’s sandy plains.
When was Mokala National Park established?
In June 2007, as a replacement for the Vaalbos National Park, which was deproclaimed after a land claim. That makes it one of the newest parks in the SANParks system.
