2027 not announced yet — last season shownRetreat center

Safari Pesach Retreat South Africa

Hunters Rest Resort

Rustenburg (Magaliesberg), South Africa

The operator’s website still shows last season. The details here are from 2026 and may change.

Visit the operator’s website Write the first review

Beach and ocean seen from a hill, South Africa — The area, not the hotel itself. Photo by Jean-Baptiste D. on Unsplash.

A Pesach retreat at a countryside resort in South Africa's Magaliesberg mountains, hosted by Chabad Rabbi Ari Kievman and his wife Batya. Days mix game drives at nearby Pilanesberg and bush walks with Torah classes, a kids' club and teen activities. Food is supervised by the Beis Din of South Africa and is glatt, cholov Yisroel, non-gebrokts and without kitniyot.

Dates: April 1-10, 2026 (early check-in March 31 available)
Price: Price on request
Operator’s track record: Site offers past programme guides for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022
Setting: Safari, Mountain, Countryside, Resort
Languages: English
Contact: PesachSA@gmail.com+27 79 434 1293 / +1 347 724 9955

Kashrut and standards

Taken from the operator’s own website. A dashed outline means the operator hasn’t said, not that the answer is no.

Supervision: Beis Din of South Africa
Who it suits: Families of all ages; led by Rabbi Ari and Rebbetzin Batya Kievman

Who is the supervisor?

The names below come from the operator. Each links to a page of what public sources say, with the sources.

Beth Din of Johannesburg / Kosher SA (Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa)
Kosher SA is the kosher certification division of the Union of Orthodox Synagogues (UOS), under the halachic oversight of the Beth Din
Member of AKOOn the cRc agency list

Worth asking the operator

Who signs the kashrut certificate for this program, and can I see this year’s certificate?
How many years has he supervised this operator’s Pesach programs, and this hotel in particular?
Does an agency or beth din stand behind the certificate, or is it his personal hechsher?
Is he in the hotel for the whole of Yom Tov, and how many mashgichim work under him?

Everyone named for kashrut supervision

Non-gebroktsCholov YisroelGlatt meatPas YisroelShmura matzahSeparate swimmingNo kitniyot

Ask before you book

The operator’s website doesn’t state these. If any matter to you, get the answer in writing:

Pas Yisroel
Separate swimming

Standards can change from year to year. Confirm with the operator and your own rav.

Videos and social accounts

The operator’s own channels, found on its own website. They are marketing, so weigh them alongside the facts above.

Posted by Chabad South Africa on YouTube. Open it on YouTube. It is the publisher’s own promotional video, it plays with sound and music, and it may show an earlier year.

Safari Pesach Retreat South Africa on social media

Instagram Facebook

The hotel

About the building itself, all year round. The Pesach program is run by the operator, not the hotel.

I don’t have confirmed details for this building yet. The map and reviews below come straight from Google.

Ratings and reviews of the hotel

These are year-round guests rating the hotel, not Pesach guests rating the program. For the program, see the guest reviews further down.

Google reviews Tripadvisor Booking.com

Food

Three meals a day with Ashkenazi and Sephardi dishes (no kitniyot), a South African braai in the boma, hand-made shmura matzah at the Seders and a 24-hour tea room.

Tea roomOpen all night tea roomBarbecuePrivate seder availableCommunal seder

Entertainment and activities

Concerts & live musicComedyMagic, mentalists & showsDay trips & touringSpaGolf

In the operator’s words: Game drives and guided bush walks, Community or private sedarim, Hand and machine shmura matza, Braai dinner in the boma, Spa and pools, Kids club for ages 3-12 and teen adventure program.

Speakers and scholars announced: Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, Bronya Shaffer, Rabbi David Masinter, Rabbi Ari Kievman, Ian Mann

Kids and teens

Day campTeen programBabysitting or infant care

Kids' Club with counselors; teens' adventure programs

Price

Rates on request

Check what’s added on top: many programs add taxes, service charges and tips of 20 to 25 percent. Work out your real total.

Getting there

Where are you flying from?

We found no nonstop flight from New York (JFK) in late April, so plan on one connection. A nonstop would take about 16 hours; with a connection allow several hours more.

Johannesburg lists year-round nonstops from Newark, London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle. No nonstops are listed from the other cities on the list.

North American travelers usually fly nonstop to Johannesburg from the US East Coast or connect once in Europe or the Middle East, then drive about two hours.

Routes come from each airport’s published route list, checked October 2026. Flight times are estimates from the distance. Airlines change schedules, so confirm before you book (route list we used).

From the airport

O. R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg (JNB): about 1.8 hours by carSouth Africa's main international airport.
Lanseria International Airport (HLA): about 75 minutes by carSmaller airport northwest of Johannesburg with domestic flights only.

Late April weather

Dry, sunny autumn days with highs around 75°F (24°C) and cool nights near 50°F (10°C).

Good to know

South Africa is six hours ahead of New York in late April.
The currency is the South African rand.
US passport holders do not need a visa for stays up to 90 days; other passports should check entry rules. Children traveling may need extra documents, so check the current rules.
A rental car is needed; the resort is in the countryside and South Africa drives on the left.

The hotel on Google Maps

Google’s star rating and reviews are for Hunters Rest Resort all year round, not for the Pesach program.

Read the reviews

This content is hosted by Google Maps, which may set cookies.

Safety and travel advisories

What governments say about travel to this country. Nothing here is this site’s own judgment.

US State Department travel advisory for South Africa

Level 2 of 4: Exercise increased caution

Reasons the advisory gives: crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping.
The level is for the whole country, not for the hotel or its neighborhood. Level 1 is the lowest of the four and Level 4 the highest.
Advisory dated May 26, 2025; I read it on October 4, 2026. Levels change, so open the advisory before you book and again before you fly.

Read the US advisory UK government advice

This is the governments’ own wording, not a rating by this site. Israel’s National Security Council also publishes travel warnings for Israelis abroad. Ask the operator what security the program itself arranges, such as guards and entry checks.

Things to do near Magaliesberg (near Rustenburg)

Ideas for chol hamoed. Check opening times before you go; some places close or get very busy during the holiday.

Pilanesberg National Park
Nature, about 60 min away
A malaria-free game reserve in an ancient volcanic crater where you can see elephants, rhinos, lions and giraffes on a drive.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents
Sun City
Family, about 60 min away
A large resort complex next to Pilanesberg with a wave pool and water park, gardens and a maze.
Good for kids, teens, couples
Kgaswane Mountain Reserve
Nature, about 15 min away
A reserve on the Magaliesberg ridge above Rustenburg with antelope, zebra and walking trails.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents
Hartbeespoort Dam and Aerial Cableway
Nature, about 50 min away
A cable car to the top of the Magaliesberg, with views over the dam and the surrounding hills.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents
Cradle of Humankind
History, about 60 min away
A UNESCO site of early human fossils, with the Sterkfontein Caves and the Maropeng visitor center.
Good for kids, teens, couples, grandparents
Magaliesberg Canopy Tour
Adventure, about 30 min away
A guided series of ziplines between platforms set into a rocky gorge.
Good for teens, couples
Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre
Jewish heritage, about 105 min away
A museum and memorial in Johannesburg, the heart of South Africa's Jewish community.
Good for teens, couples, grandparents

More about this destination

Guest reviews

No guest reviews yet. Ratings on this site only ever come from guests, so this program has no score until someone who went writes one.

Were you there? Tell other families how it went

The email opens with a short set of questions. We read every review before it appears, to keep out spam and reviews written by operators, and we only show the name you choose.

Where this information comes from

Checked on October 4, 2026. These are the pages we read:

Run this program, or spotted a mistake? Send a correction.

Other programs in South Africa

Retreat centerConfirm details with the operator

Exodus In The Bush

Soetdoring Kosher Game Reserve

Modimolle, South Africa

A small Pesach program at a private kosher game reserve in South Africa's Waterberg, about two hours from Johannesburg, organized by the kosher tour company Acacia African Adventures. It is listed for 2027 on a directory, but neither the organizer's nor the lodge's website mentions the Pesach program, so details are unverified.

Cholov Yisroel

Price: From about $2,700 per person

See full details