Cheetah Rehabilitation Project

	The Cheetah Rehabilitation and Conservation project is situated in the beautiful Karoo in South Africa and offers an opportunity to be part of a true conservation project. This project works mainly with the endangered cheetah and other smaller cats (caracal, African Wild Cat, Servals) which they rehabilitate to be placed in the wild again. By walking with the cheetahs, these beautiful cats are taught to hunt independently again. Be part of this unique piece of Africa and join this unique and incomparable project.
Minimum Duration:	1 week	Cost:	From R2800 per week
Where?	Eastern Cape, South Africa	Age:	16 years and older

Overview

Day to day activities
You will be part in the running of this 4500 hectare reserve and help with the conservation activities. You will be caring for and helping with the cheetah cubs, cheetah walks and hunts, looking after the African Wild Cat, Servals and Caracal and many more animals.

What’s included
Accommodation, all meals, drinks (excl alcohol), coordination, laundry.

What’s excluded
Flights, visas, insurance, personal luxury items, alcoholic beverages

Accommodation
Fully equipped cottages with the use of a comfortable farm home with bathroom, satellite TV, internet, linen and laundry

Requirements
Love for animals and conservation, physically fit.

Working Hours
Flexible, but we rise early most days.

Nearest town
Steytlerville is 20 km (Eastern Cape)

Guaranteed
Working and living close with cheetahs and several other cat species and experiencing the African bush!

About

A conservation and rehabilitation reserve is an enormous reserve that has one main goal; to help nature restore itself and transform back to its original state. This is a very lengthy process and after decades of excessive maltreatment by farmers it can take many years for flora and fauna to re-establish itself.

Founders of this amazing project are Will and Sharon who have worked together at several different parks, including the Kruger National Park and Amakhala Private Game Reserve. Their main objective is to rehabilitate and conserve bordering farms (which they have attained over the last couple of years).

They both possess an immense passion for the big cats e.g. Cheetahs, Caracal, Lynxes and Leopards, and have been safeguarding their existence these last years. Currently they have 4 kittens (born October 2010), three domesticated and four wild Cheetahs in their care, which requires daily training to, once again, become independent and skilled hunters and eventually return to their natural habitat.

Besides the Cheetahs, the reserve offers a home to Giraffes, Zebras, Vervet Monkeys, Baboons, 350 different bird species and several types of buck e.g. Kudu, Nyala, Red Hartebeest, Springbuck, Duiker and Bushbuck. Furthermore the introduction of the Buffalo, Elephant and Rhino to the area is planned as well.

Location

The conservation and rehabilitation farm is located in the Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve, which is a huge nature reserve situated in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

The Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve is a unique area in South Africa and almost unique in the world, for it boasts an unspoiled natural habitat for leopards. As a result, these magnificent creatures have been spotted numerous times in the area.

The farm is situated a mere 2 hours drive from the coastal town Port Elizabeth, the 5^th largest city in South Africa, and only 20 km away from the historical Karoo village of Steytlerville. The conservation and rehabilitation farm lies in between the Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve and the Karoo Nature reserve, which extends all the way to Cape Town.

Needs

There is an urgent need for volunteers, as the care and recovery of the flora and fauna takes a lot of time and energy. Especially the training of these big cats is a lengthy process which requires serious involvement.

Guidance and Supervision

You will be supervised and guided by Yuko on a daily basis. Yuko is a volunteer coordinator with lots of experience as a volunteer and working at this project as well. There is also a professional gameranger who will show and teach you about the conservation and all aspects of nature.

Their knowledge of the bush, the animals and nature in general will give you new insights.

Tasks

Morning walks with Cheetahs (hunt)
General caring for Servals, Caracal, African Wildcat and Cheetahs
Preparing meat and food for all animals
Cleaning and maintenance of reserve (removal of barbed wire etc.)
Building bridges, trails and roads
Planting of trees and removing non indigenous-vegetation
General care and maintenance of habitat of other animals Zebras, Giraffes etc.

Prerequisites

Obviously there are certain conditions applicable with regards to our volunteers to ensure the desired end result is reached.

It is therefore important that volunteers of the Project understand the importance of the following:

To be passionate about working with animals.
To feel passionate about nature.
To respect and guarantee the vision and mission of the project.
To be able to show flexibility with regards to tasks and duties.
To be able to work in a team.
To be able to bear responsibility.
To be reliable and trustworthy

Why?

This is an absolute unique experience, sought after by many animal lovers all over the world. You will come face to face with the incredible Cheetah; you will go on hunts with these animals, help and see them grow in their process of returning to their natural habitat; the wild. The close and personal encounters, the caring for young animals such as the Cheetahs, African Wild Cat and Caracal Zakumi and the opportunity to be part of this unique conservation program makes it an experience you can get nowhere else in the world.

You’ll have the opportunity to give back to nature which was almost taken away completely by mankind. During this amazing experience you’ll be supervised by professionals, living in comfort and closer to nature than you could ever imagine! The project only takes a maximum of 12 volunteers, which is rarely the number, so with a smaller group you will get lots of opportunities to experience and do a variety of tasks and activities.

Have a look and join the Khaya VOlunteer Projects Face book group to find many volunteers, look at their pictures and contact them for any feedback.

Accommodation

You will be living on the reserve itself where the volunteers are accommodated in cottages within 100 meters walk from the old farmhouse. You will be living close to nature with the convenience of the use of a comfortable farmhouse, offering two big living areas, a spacious kitchen, two braai (BBQ) areas, swimming pool, internet facilities and a table tennis and darts room. The cottages have 3 bedrooms each and rooms will be shared with the same sex, couples can have their own room. You will share a bedroom when needed with one or more volunteers, depending on how many volunteers are present.

You have the views of the bush and mountains around you and can enjoy star gazing from the veranda; what more could you wish for?

Fees and Dates

New Volunteers:

1 - 4 weeks R 4000 per week

All extra weeks will be charged R 3600 per week.

Returning Volunteers:

1 - 4 weeks R 2800 per week

All extra weeks will be charged R 2600 per week.

An extra booking fee of R500 is required if you need Khaya to arrange transfers, accommodation and bus tickets as well as external travel arrangements. This fee lets Khaya handle your travel arrangements completely.

Currency Converter

Amount:

From:

To:

Included in costs:

Accommodation
All meals
Activities on the reserve

Excluded from fee:

Transfers to and from the reserve from Port Elizabeth. All transfers are charged R 800 per person for one way .
Alcoholic beverages, snacks, coldrinks

Cost Breakdown

Accommodation & Meals	50 %
Project management	30 %
Admin and marketing costs	20 %

2012:

Transfers from Port Elizabeth to the project as well as returns are done on Mondays.

The transfer departs from Port Elizabeth airport at 1pm (at the latest) on the specified dates. If volunteers cannot find a flight arriving before 1pm it is advised that they arrive the day before and meet the pick up at the airport the next day.

2012 starting dates:

16 Jan, 30 Jan, 13 Feb, 27 Feb, 12 Mar, 26 Mar, 9 Apr, 23 Apr, 7 May, 21 May, 11 Jun, 25 Jun, 9 Jul, 23 Jul, 6 Aug, 20 Aug, 3 Sept, 17 Sept, 1 Oct, 15 Oct, 29 Oct, 12 Nov, 26 Nov.

Return transfers are also done on Mondays and arrive back in Port Elizabeth in the evening. We advise that you book accommodation in Port Elizabeth and book a flight departing the next day (Tuesday).

Gallery

Testimonials

Louisa - U.K.
"I’ve had an amazing two weeks and wish I could stay longer! Hopefully I’ll be back. You’ve made me feel really at home and I’ve loved every second. Keep in touch!"

Julia - The Netherlands
"These three weeks were really special to me! I had the best time ever. I already told everyone hope I’m coming back. Thank you so much!"

Penny - Western Australia
"I have had a fantastic experience and am so glad that I could contribute to conservation during my holiday. Hope to be back in the not too distant future."

Laetitia Corret - France
"Very good job for all what you all are doing here. I admire this project of conservation, and this confirmed my will to work in conservation, too."

Mike, Debbie & James - SA
You have the true essence of cheetah rehabilitation at heart. Very hard to leave here! We will be back & look forward to a long mutually beneficial relationship to both animals and mankind."

Victoria & Daniel - Australia
"Thank you so much for a splendid two weeks. Working with the cheetahs have been even better than we were hoping for. Thanks again, and sorry to be leaving.

Joanne - U.K.
"What a fantastic experience! I have enjoyed every second. I have not smiled so much in a long time. Great people with great vision. I hope to come back."