Wildlife and conservation new, wild travel information and links for booking
The white rhino recovery was a huge success story- from a low of just 60 animals the population rose to over 20,000, the biggest single population, lying within the huge Kruger national park.
Unfortunately, while China has slowly got their illegal wildlife trade under control (still a big problem, but for rhino, nowhere near the biggest) Vietnam and Laos, have seen a demand for rhino horn rocket.
Continue reading “White rhino population in the Kruger has crashed by â…” in a decade”The Northern white rhino, an animal that existed in the DRC and parts of the world like that, still had numbers of about 2000 in the 1980s. Unfortunately there are now only two.
Humans are belatedly trying to do something about this, and have managed to create 5 seemingly viable northern white rhino embryos.
These can then be put in the surrogate Southern white rhino mothers, giving the ability to increase the population from the current 2, to a potential 7.
Continue reading “5 viable northern white rhino embryos have been created”
Camp Ndlovu lies within the Welgevonden Game Reserve, and sits alongside the Marakele National Park in South Africa.
These protected areas and some other reserves are collectively called the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve, which covers around 4,000 square km of bush.
Sitting just two and a half hours from Cape Town, this is a perfect place to drop into for a few days during a Cape holiday. One of the big advantages of going on safari here is that there is no Malaria, which is rare for a safari destination.
As a Big Five reserve you will have an action packed visit (cheetah are also present).
For those interested in birds there are also over 300 species that are present including blue cranes.
Camp Ndlovu is a luxurious way to do safari, and with only guests of one of the lodges allowed onto the reserve the number of cars is kept relatively low. With just five suites (one of which is suitable for families, though children under 12 by arrangement only) even when the lodge is full, it will not feel crowded.
With each suite being very generously sized and being air conditioned, they will be a welcome refuge from the heat of the bush. Each has its own plunge pool and outdoor shower and bath. They each have extra long king sized beds, and a sitting room with a fireplace. Also included is a minibar and a nespresso machine. There is also a sizeable deck around the plunge pool with comfortable pool loungers, allowing you to relax in comfort and watch the world pass by.
Despite the camps remoteness there is also WIFI within the camp. They also have extras such as bathrobes slippers and forgotten toiletries.
Each air-conditioned luxury unit suite comes complete with its own plunge pool, outdoor shower and outdoor bath, air-conditioning and fan, king size extra length bed, a lounge with fireplace, Nespresso coffee machine with complimentary coffee pods, a mini bar, outdoor shower and bath and an extensive wooden deck with pool loungers and private dining areas. Extras include bathrobes, slippers and complimentary toiletries and Wifi.
This coupled with a history of wildlife never having been legally hunted here makes for far more relaxed animal encounters than you can experience elsewhere. Anti-poaching efforts continue behind the scenes to make sure that this remains the case as much as possible.
Apart from those animals listed so far the reserve hosts around 50 mammals in total. Night time safaries are usually the only way to see them and brown hyena, aardwolf, pangolin and aardvark are present to be looked for on night drives.
With a long history of human habitation within the area, there are also 2 san rock paintings within the reserve. There is a booking/questions form below the video, and below this is pricing information in south african Rand (at the time of writing £1 is about 20 rand
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To ask questions or enquire about availability or book please fill in the form below
Fitzpatrick at Jocks is a small lodge perfect for groups and hired exclusively to one group at a time. Consisting of 3 Luxurious suites each with its own viewing deck. This allows people to enjoy the luxury of a lodge, but with the intimacy of being just a small group.
Lying in the game dense south of the Kruger national park, this private concession covers around 23 miles which only your group and the main lodge will have access to. The lodge is built on the river bank, which means that often the wildlife will come to visit you so you can enjoy watching the world go by from the comfort of your suite.
Beautifully equipped and set up for a group of up to 6 to share, this is an incredible place for friends to go together or for family time away from everyone else.
With places to eat inside and out, and with its own staff, a visit can be fully molded around the group visiting- both in terms of food preference and activities.
Things to do include bush drives, bush walks (which will include learning the beginning of tracking) sun downer drinks in the bush, as well as time simply relaxing in the lodge.
Being in a game rich part of the park, it is also wonderful to lay back on a lounger and watch the animals move past.
The above video gives you a good introduction to the lodge and the area around it.
Below is a more detailed look at the lodge and the feel of the place.
Fully inclusive pricing starts at
If you are interested and would like to book or enquire about availability fill in the form below.
Madikwe game reserve is the 5th largest reserve (it covers 68000 hectares) in South Africa, but far less known than most other national parks.
Containing the big 5, as well as cheetah and wild dog there is plenty of wildlife to be seen. With a variety of biomes, including grassland, forest and the rocky Tshwene hills, the reserve plays home to a variety of wild animals. These include the big 5. The reserve also has a population of wild dog and cheetah, animals often not seen in smaller reserves such as this.
The reserve’s grassland, forest and rocky Tshwene Tshwene hills are home to a variety of wildlife and you can spend hours watching the local wildlife. Hundreds of bird species include ostrich, vultures and the large kori bustard. Animals often gather at the Madikwe Dam to drink at sunset.
It sits just 40km from the Botswana border.
Jamala Madikwe Royal Safari Lodge Is set in the Madikwe Game Reserve, a reserve covering 290 square miles. This malaria free reserve contains the big 5, as well as a range of other interesting animals waiting to encounter you each time you venture out of the lodge. It was used as a cattle ranch until 1991 before being transformed into the wonderful reserves that is there now. The big 5 are present, as well as some wild dog if you are lucky.
The lodge is well known for its fantastic food, it also has a wonderful location, right beside a watering hole. This means that even when not on a safari drive, there is a constant flow of animals nearby, so it is possible to sit in a chair and watch the as the animals come to you. As this is a private reserve, you can be sure that there will be few few other guests and that you will therefore experience the wilderness away from the crowds.
In terms of the lodge itself, it only has 5 villas each for two people. If you are travelling as a group the lodge can be booked for private use, but this is not necessary to have a fantastic time. The lodge is big enough for groups to spread out and have their own space if they wish.
If you don.t feel like leaving the lodge, you can sit in the shade, in the heat of the day as you watch the animals coming for a drink. Indeed some have said it is among the best “sofa safari ” destination there is.
With fantastic chefs, the food and drink you will eat will be impressive and will make you forget how wild a place you are in.
To see ask a question, there is a form below the video. Below the form is pricing information. Please note that while all efforts will be made to keep these up to date, pricing should be checked on booking. Pricing is in rand, which is currently valued at roughly 20 to a pound (14 to a USA dollar) though this will get out of date quickly.
Hermanus is one of the worlds best places to watch whales from the land, and therefore is well worth some time if you are visiting the Cape of South Africa.
Sitting on the beach watching the whales play in the bay is an experience that long stays in the memory. Generally the whales (in this instance Souhtern right whales) are present from June to December, though on occasion they do appear as early as April. However, the whales are not the only thing to enjoy in Hermanus.
We currently have one area for people to stay in Hermanus though it is rather special.Â
With a variety of flowers and birds found within the reserve and in the surrounding area, and whales and sharks viewable from the coast, this stay can be nature packed.
You can also simply spend time on the reserve and enjoy the beach.
A variety of activities including kayaking, biking, quad biking and shark cage diving (all sorts of marine wildlife can be seen on these trips) can also be undertaken. Boating and kayaking is also available
Beyond the border of the reserve, there are caves to explore and more beaches to visit among many activities.
There are two places to stay within the reserve, Mosaic lagoon house consisting of a family suite and a suite for a couple, and the Perivola house a 4 bedroom place for the sole use of one group at a time.
Mhondoro Lodge and villa is set within the Welgenvonden Reserve and is set on a hill looking out across the plains.
There is a watering hole in front of the lodge, and uniquely this is connected to the lodge by an underground tunnel allowing guests to visit the hide in safety, without disturbing the animals they are there to see. This allows incredibly intimate views of wildlife that is completely relaxed
The main lodge has 5 suites, two deluxe rooms for 2, two deluxe suites with 2 bedrooms each, perfect for families or friends travelling together and the separate Villa, which sleeps 6 (the Villa comes with its own staff and can be completely separate from the lodge).
Despite being in such a remote place, you can expect to be pampered during your stay, with fantastic food and drink, incredible wildlife encounters and a comfortable place to sleep. With a fantastic team of chefs and quality food and drink the wildlife is not going ot be the only thing you remember about your stay.
However, while your stay will be luxurious, that is not the reason you come to africa. As you see from the video above, there is significant amounts of wildlife that live on the reserve including the big 5 though there are 60 other mammals to look out for.
One of the advantages of a private reserve like this, is often you stand a greater chance of seeing rarely seen mammals, such as aardvark and aardwolf and brown hyena (an animal almost never seen in the Kruger)
Jock Safari Lodge lies in the south west of the Kruger national park, on a 6000 hectare exclusive concession.
This part of the park is one of the most game dense within the park. However, coupled with the exclusive rights given to guests of the property, you can experience them without the traffic jams that occur on the roads in the surrounding area.
This leads to a wonderful laid back life. Whether sitting in the lodge or out on a drive or on foot, you never know what is going to happen next.
The price for this place is all inclusive
If you have any questions, or would like to enquire about availability or book fillin the form below.
Chikunto Safari lodge lies within the South Luangwa national park of Botswana. with the whole lodge built on stilts, raising it about 1.5m above the plains, you get a particularly good view of the animals walking past and the Luangwa river.
With a wide range of activities to enjoy, and different ways to see the local wildlife, from game drives and boat rides, to eating outdoors watching the wildlife walk past, or a wonderful picnic when out on an excursion.
Alternatively for a change, you can go for a walk with highly experience guides. Not only will they be able to show you things that you would not usually notice, but they will protect you should you have a particularly close encounter with a wild animal. This is the place that walking safaris were pioneered, and as such they have huge amounts of experience running these.
The range of animals that live in this area is pretty impressive, and you are likely to plenty of exciting encounters with the local wildlife that will stick with you.
As well as all this, you will stay in a wonderful suite, that will be extremely comfortable
The price for this luxurious lodge starts at
If you are interested in visiting this luxurious lodge and would like to know availability, or have a question please fill in the form below.
The Kalahari-Zabmbezi Trans-frontier park is perhaps the most daring conservation effort in the world, Including several large national parks, as well as hunting areas and private reserves, this is one of the last great Savannah wildernesses of Africa and plays host to some of the most impressive natural specticles such as the Okovango breaking its banks, spreading life-giving water across the Kalahari desert.
Combining such a huge area into a conservation network is quite a challenge. As well as the huge range of wildlife there is also a significant human population of around 2.5 million.
The KAZA covers an area of 170,000 square miles (quarter of a million square km)Â and within its borders lives important populations of many animas.
For instance, around 250,000 elephants or about 60% of those on the continent live in this huge area. However these huge animals are not sensbly distributed across the area, and gradually barriers are being taken down to allow the huge herds to return to ancient homelands such as in Angola (where they have learnt to smell the landmines, and so can avoid them).Â
This is obviously a project that will take many years to complete. However it is clear that its success will greatly benefit conservation in africa.
For my part, over time I hope to list many activities and places to stay within this huge area to support its conservation, and allow people around the world to enjoy this special place.
Hwange National park Zimbabwe
The largest National park of Zimbabwe covering an area of  ‎14,651 km2 or 5,657 sq miles.
Initially formed as a reserve in 1922 it was made a national park in 1961. It is one of Zimbabwe premier reserves, with significant populations of the ecotourism big 7 (Big 5 plus cheetah and wild dog)
The hope is that as the Kalahari Zambezi transfrontier park becomes more than just a paper park, it will benefit the whole area. While seemingly large, a park of just over 5000 square miles it will only consist of around 2% of the Kalahari Zambezi transfrontier area, allowing animals to migrate in and out of areas during floods and droughts.
Spread around a watering hole, Camp Hwange is a traditional safari permanent camp, with all the rooms getting a perfect view of the watering pool and its visitors, allowing you to laze in the camp as the wildlife comes to you.
Being a seasonal camp it is open from the beginning of May to the end of November.
Click the picture or here to find out more
Hwange Bush camp is nestled under a group of trees, providing very welcome shade, it provides you with a comfortable place to rest deep in the bush.
With the small size of camp (it consists of 6 “rooms”), animals are less afraid allowing you to truly experience the wilds.
This is a seasonal camp as well so is open from the beginning of May to the end November
Click the picture or here to find out more