The cheetah is the fastest mammal that has ever set foot on our planet. In one form or another, cheetahs have been around for four million years, and the present species represents the pinnacle of felid evolution – there has never been a cat more finely tuned to it’s method of hunting – that being pure, blinding speed.
Join conservation photographer and National Geographic contributor, Marcy Mendelson, and famed safari guide and author, Peter Allison on a unique journey as we explore the best regions in Southern Africa to see cheetah in the wild. Luxury accommodations in spectacular settings include all game drives in open vehicles with experienced game rangers on private land that allow off road access and the ability to follow animals at night. This is truly the trip of a lifetime.
Limited to 12 guests, this eleven day rare, intimate experience will take us from South Africa’s Phinda Game Reserve to Kirkmans Kamp bordering the famed Kruger National Park and then on to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. We will be visiting areas known for wild cheetah, and will have lectures and hands-on experiences with cheetah researchers and experts. While these wonderful cats will be our focus, we will experience a great diversity of habitat and spend time tracking all the other magnificent animals and birds of the region, from the shy and elusive leopard to elephant, rhino and all the way down to the dung beetle!
There are a number of excellent cheetah conservation organizations in Africa, and some great places where their populations are relatively healthy, but across the continent they remain highly endangered. We have created an incredible cheetah-focused safari – the first of its kind – to not only experience these magnificent creatures in the wild, but to help in securing their tenuous future.
The cheetah’s adaptation, its specialized hunting method, makes it most deadly, but also the most fragile of the large cats. Added to this, a frightening period in their evolution some 10,000 years ago left only a few individual animals alive, from which all living cheetahs are descended. This results in very low genetic diversity across the species, and renders them highly vulnerable to changes in environment, human encroachment and disease.
Brothers on the hunt
In the spirit of protecting this graceful cat, we will donate a percentage of each guests safari cost to Cheetah Conservation Botswana. CCB works diligently to foster the coexistence of wildlife and people, and serves as a role model to newer organizations in best practices for a predator friendly future. More importantly, by visiting Africa and going on safari, we not only encourage the protection of cheetah habitat, but come back as ambassadors for the continent and the species.
A healthy cheetah population means a healthy ecosystem. We are committed to the cause of helping the cheetah survive.
***Full Details for the Cheetah Safari*** & to reserve your spot contact: October 5 – 16, 2011 Info@Cheetah-Watch.com
Phinda Forest Lodge
Day 1
Upon arrival at OR Tambo International Airport, flight details to be advised you will be met by an African Experience representative and handed your Personal Travel Journal.
You will be assisted onto your connecting flight to Richard’s Bay Airport, flight details to be advised.
Upon arrival at Richard’s Bay Airport you will be met and transferred to Phinda Private Game Reserve by road transfers.
Enjoy 3 nights at Forest Lodge on &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in a suite with ensuite bathroom. Your stay includes three meals daily, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits and beers, teas and coffees, scheduled safari activities, refreshments on game drives, nature walks (1 hour) accompanied by experienced armed trackers (subject to availability), emergency medical evacuation insurance and laundry.
Forest Lodge on &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve at a glance:
16 private stilted suites – air conditioned
Rim-flow swimming pool
Traditional outdoor boma and well-stocked Safari Shop
Twice-daily Big Five game drives in open 4×4 safari vehicles, boat cruises, canoe trips and guided nature walks
2009 – Phinda Private Game Reserve nominated for Most Innovative Guest Experience in Virtuoso’s third annual Best of the Best Hotel Awards
2009 – Phinda Private Game Reserve listed in Condé Nast Traveler US Gold List of the World’s Best Places to Stay (Africa & Middle East category)
Set deep in the heart of a rare and beautiful dry sand forest, the spectacular Forest Lodge fuses architectural design and conservation. The creation of this award-winning safari lodge was an exemplary exercise in building eco-sensitive structures with a light footprint (not one tree was felled during construction).
Inventively designed in Zulu Zen style, each handcrafted, glass-encased suite is a combination of glass, wood and minimalist design incorporating high-gloss wooden floors, richly tactile fabrics and crimson Zulu artefacts. These 16 private stilted suites each feature luxurious ensuite bathrooms and private viewing decks. Unwind in the lodge’s sparkling rim-flow swimming pool, or relax in the guest sitting areas with expansive viewing decks affording panoramic views of the game-filled plains. Visit the Safari Shop with its unique and colourful local Zulu artefacts. Dine in the traditional African boma, under a romantic canvas of stars, candles and lanterns.
You will be transferred to the airstrip for your Federal Air flight to Skukuza Airport for Kirkman’s Kamp.
Experience 3 nights at &Beyond Kirkman’s Kamp in a suite with ensuite bathroom with bath and shower. Your stay includes accommodation, three meals daily, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits and beers, teas and coffees, refreshments on game drives, laundry, scheduled safari activities, nature walks (1 hour) accompanied by experienced armed trackers (subject to availability), emergency medical evacuation insurance as well as transfers to and from the airstrip (where applicable).
&Beyond Kirkman’s Kamp at a glance:
18 air conditioned cottages with private verandas
Rim-flow swimming pool
Outdoor boma and well-stocked Safari Shop
Twice-daily Big Five game drives in open 4×4 safari vehicles and guided nature walks
Traversing 6 300 hectares
2009 – Profiled as one of Country Life magazine’s 6 Romantic Hideaways
Kirkman's Kamp Swimming Pool
Kirkman’s Kamp, with its spectacular views of the unspoiled wilderness, is regarded as one of the best loved lodges in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. It is a well known historic camp, originally built in the early 1920’s, and celebrates the atmosphere of an early South African lowveld homestead. The colonial atmosphere of gracious style and luxury has been retained, and guests step back in time upon entering the original homestead, which now houses the Lodge’s sitting, dining and bar areas. Each of the 18 guest cottages has a private veranda and is furnished in the same charming style with ensuite bathrooms.
The large sitting room, with a 1920’s ambience, leads through double French doors onto rolling lawns that provide a velvety contrast to the wild and tumbling bush surrounding the Lodge. Breakfast and lunch are served on shady verandas, and dinners are shared in the dramatic boma or in romantic lanternlit bush settings.
Day 7
You will be transferred to the Skukuza Airport for your scheduled Federal Air flight to OR Tambo International Airport.
Upon arrival at OR Tambo International Airport, you will be met by an &Beyond representative and assisted onto your connecting flight to Maun Airport, flight details to be advised.
Upon arrival at Maun Airport you will be greeted by a member from the &Beyond team who will assist you onto a Safari Air light aircraft. From here, you and fellow guests will be flown to Chitabe airstrip (Approx 15 mins). .
Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge
Experience 3 nights at &Beyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge in an African-inspired cottage with ensuite bathroom with outdoor shower only. Your stay includes accommodation, three meals daily, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits, beers, teas and coffees, refreshments on game drives, scheduled safari activities, emergency medical evacuation insurance, laundry as well as transfers to and from the airstrip (where applicable).
&Beyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge at a glance:
8 thatched cottages (overhead fans)
Swimming pool and well-stocked Safari Shop
Twice-daily game drives in open 4×4 safari vehicles, guided nature walks, Delta cruises and mokoro excursions
Traversing 270 km2
Sandibe Okavango Safari
&Beyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge is situated on a permanent channel of the Okavango Delta, adjacent to Moremi Game Reserve. With exclusive traversing rights over 270 km2 of wilderness in a private concession, this site was specifically chosen for its extraordinary beauty and proximity to the game-rich grassy plains.
Tucked away under a cool forest canopy, Sandibe is just a few metres from the water. The beautiful organic architecture of the thatched Lodge blends seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. Each thatched cottage features an open air shower, allowing guests to feel part of the forest. Walls are airy screens, admitting the refreshing Okavango breezes. Tall overarching trees inspire the soaring volumes of the guest sitting and dining area with quiet, hammocked decks offering breathtaking views. At night, a constellation of candles illuminate the boma with its al fresco Pan African banquet. The shaded swimming pool is a refreshing oasis for an après-lunch cool off.
Day 9
Enjoy a short game drive to Chitabe airstrip where a Safari Air light aircraft will be waiting to fly you, and fellow guests, to Pom Pom airstrip (Approx 15 mins).
Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp
Experience 2 night/s at &Beyond Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp in an East African safari tent with ensuite bathroom with shower only. Your stay includes accommodation, three meals daily, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits, beers, teas and coffees, refreshments on game drives, scheduled safari activities, emergency medical evacuation insurance, laundry as well as transfers to and from the airstrip (where applicable).
&Beyond Nxabega at a glance:
9 ensuite safari tents
Swimming pool and well-stocked Safari Shop
Twice-daily game drives in open 4×4 safari vehicles, guided nature walks, Delta cruises and mokoro excursions
Situated in a 7 000 hectare exclusive wildlife concession
2008 – Named the Best Safari Property in Southern Africa at the Good Safari Guide Awards
Nxabega Okavango
&Beyond Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp is located on the edge of the Okavango Delta in a 7 000 hectare exclusive wildlife concession bordering Moremi Game Reserve. The Camp is known for its elegant tented accommodation with breathtaking views of the ever-changing Okavango Delta. It is a skillful combination of luxury and integration with the environment. Nine exclusive tented suites on raised wooden platforms nestle under a canopy of African ebony trees, featuring ensuite bathrooms and private verandas overlooking the reeded molapo (floodplain).
The guest areas, made from the local timber, reed and thatch, include indoor and outdoor dining, a Safari Shop and a swimming pool with expansive deck. From this springboard of comfort, guests are able to appreciate the exquisite beauty of the Okavango Delta. Private bush dinners, breakfasts in bed, lamplit cocktails on a river island, or a walking safari with al fresco picnic are provided with pleasure by Nxabega’s warm and friendly staff.
Day 11
Enjoy a short game drive to Pom Pom airstrip where a Safari Air light aircraft will be waiting to fly you, and fellow guests, to Maun airport (Approx 15 mins).
Upon arrival at Maun Airport, you will connect onto your departure flight, flight details to be advised.
12 spaces
$8950 per person sharing
$3500 single supplement
October 5 – 16, 2011 To reserve your spot, contact: info@cheetah-watch.com
Safari – Fall 2011
The cheetah is the fastest mammal that has ever set foot on our planet. In one form or another, cheetahs have been around for four million years, and the present species represents the pinnacle of felid evolution – there has never been a cat more finely tuned to it’s method of hunting – that being pure, blinding speed.
Join conservation photographer and National Geographic contributor, Marcy Mendelson, and famed safari guide and author, Peter Allison on a unique journey as we explore the best regions in Southern Africa to see cheetah in the wild. Luxury accommodations in spectacular settings include all game drives in open vehicles with experienced game rangers on private land that allow off road access and the ability to follow animals at night. This is truly the trip of a lifetime.
There are a number of excellent cheetah conservation organizations in Africa, and some great places where their populations are relatively healthy, but across the continent they remain highly endangered. We have created an incredible cheetah-focused safari – the first of its kind – to not only experience these magnificent creatures in the wild, but to help in securing their tenuous future.
The cheetah’s adaptation, its specialized hunting method, makes it most deadly, but also the most fragile of the large cats. Added to this, a frightening period in their evolution some 10,000 years ago left only a few individual animals alive, from which all living cheetahs are descended. This results in very low genetic diversity across the species, and renders them highly vulnerable to changes in environment, human encroachment and disease.
Brothers on the hunt
In the spirit of protecting this graceful cat, we will donate a percentage of each guests safari cost to Cheetah Conservation Botswana. CCB works diligently to foster the coexistence of wildlife and people, and serves as a role model to newer organizations in best practices for a predator friendly future. More importantly, by visiting Africa and going on safari, we not only encourage the protection of cheetah habitat, but come back as ambassadors for the continent and the species.
A healthy cheetah population means a healthy ecosystem. We are committed to the cause of helping the cheetah survive.
***Full Details for the Cheetah Safari*** & to reserve your spot contact:
October 5 – 16, 2011
Info@Cheetah-Watch.com
Phinda Forest Lodge
Day 1
Upon arrival at OR Tambo International Airport, flight details to be advised you will be met by an African Experience representative and handed your Personal Travel Journal.
You will be assisted onto your connecting flight to Richard’s Bay Airport, flight details to be advised.
Upon arrival at Richard’s Bay Airport you will be met and transferred to Phinda Private Game Reserve by road transfers.
Enjoy 3 nights at Forest Lodge on &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in a suite with ensuite bathroom. Your stay includes three meals daily, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits and beers, teas and coffees, scheduled safari activities, refreshments on game drives, nature walks (1 hour) accompanied by experienced armed trackers (subject to availability), emergency medical evacuation insurance and laundry.
Forest Lodge on &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve at a glance:
16 private stilted suites – air conditioned
Rim-flow swimming pool
Traditional outdoor boma and well-stocked Safari Shop
Twice-daily Big Five game drives in open 4×4 safari vehicles, boat cruises, canoe trips and guided nature walks
2009 – Phinda Private Game Reserve nominated for Most Innovative Guest Experience in Virtuoso’s third annual Best of the Best Hotel Awards
2009 – Phinda Private Game Reserve listed in Condé Nast Traveler US Gold List of the World’s Best Places to Stay (Africa & Middle East category)
Set deep in the heart of a rare and beautiful dry sand forest, the spectacular Forest Lodge fuses architectural design and conservation. The creation of this award-winning safari lodge was an exemplary exercise in building eco-sensitive structures with a light footprint (not one tree was felled during construction).
Inventively designed in Zulu Zen style, each handcrafted, glass-encased suite is a combination of glass, wood and minimalist design incorporating high-gloss wooden floors, richly tactile fabrics and crimson Zulu artefacts. These 16 private stilted suites each feature luxurious ensuite bathrooms and private viewing decks. Unwind in the lodge’s sparkling rim-flow swimming pool, or relax in the guest sitting areas with expansive viewing decks affording panoramic views of the game-filled plains. Visit the Safari Shop with its unique and colourful local Zulu artefacts. Dine in the traditional African boma, under a romantic canvas of stars, candles and lanterns.
www.andBeyond.com
Kirkman's Kamp
Day 4
You will be transferred to the airstrip for your Federal Air flight to Skukuza Airport for Kirkman’s Kamp.
Experience 3 nights at &Beyond Kirkman’s Kamp in a suite with ensuite bathroom with bath and shower. Your stay includes accommodation, three meals daily, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits and beers, teas and coffees, refreshments on game drives, laundry, scheduled safari activities, nature walks (1 hour) accompanied by experienced armed trackers (subject to availability), emergency medical evacuation insurance as well as transfers to and from the airstrip (where applicable).
&Beyond Kirkman’s Kamp at a glance:
18 air conditioned cottages with private verandas
Rim-flow swimming pool
Outdoor boma and well-stocked Safari Shop
Twice-daily Big Five game drives in open 4×4 safari vehicles and guided nature walks
Traversing 6 300 hectares
2009 – Profiled as one of Country Life magazine’s 6 Romantic Hideaways
Kirkman's Kamp Swimming Pool
Kirkman’s Kamp, with its spectacular views of the unspoiled wilderness, is regarded as one of the best loved lodges in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. It is a well known historic camp, originally built in the early 1920’s, and celebrates the atmosphere of an early South African lowveld homestead. The colonial atmosphere of gracious style and luxury has been retained, and guests step back in time upon entering the original homestead, which now houses the Lodge’s sitting, dining and bar areas. Each of the 18 guest cottages has a private veranda and is furnished in the same charming style with ensuite bathrooms.
The large sitting room, with a 1920’s ambience, leads through double French doors onto rolling lawns that provide a velvety contrast to the wild and tumbling bush surrounding the Lodge. Breakfast and lunch are served on shady verandas, and dinners are shared in the dramatic boma or in romantic lanternlit bush settings.
www.andBeyond.com
Day 7
You will be transferred to the Skukuza Airport for your scheduled Federal Air flight to OR Tambo International Airport.
Upon arrival at OR Tambo International Airport, you will be met by an &Beyond representative and assisted onto your connecting flight to Maun Airport, flight details to be advised.
Upon arrival at Maun Airport you will be greeted by a member from the &Beyond team who will assist you onto a Safari Air light aircraft. From here, you and fellow guests will be flown to Chitabe airstrip (Approx 15 mins). .
Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge
Experience 3 nights at &Beyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge in an African-inspired cottage with ensuite bathroom with outdoor shower only. Your stay includes accommodation, three meals daily, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits, beers, teas and coffees, refreshments on game drives, scheduled safari activities, emergency medical evacuation insurance, laundry as well as transfers to and from the airstrip (where applicable).
&Beyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge at a glance:
8 thatched cottages (overhead fans)
Swimming pool and well-stocked Safari Shop
Twice-daily game drives in open 4×4 safari vehicles, guided nature walks, Delta cruises and mokoro excursions
Traversing 270 km2
Sandibe Okavango Safari
&Beyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge is situated on a permanent channel of the Okavango Delta, adjacent to Moremi Game Reserve. With exclusive traversing rights over 270 km2 of wilderness in a private concession, this site was specifically chosen for its extraordinary beauty and proximity to the game-rich grassy plains.
Tucked away under a cool forest canopy, Sandibe is just a few metres from the water. The beautiful organic architecture of the thatched Lodge blends seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. Each thatched cottage features an open air shower, allowing guests to feel part of the forest. Walls are airy screens, admitting the refreshing Okavango breezes. Tall overarching trees inspire the soaring volumes of the guest sitting and dining area with quiet, hammocked decks offering breathtaking views. At night, a constellation of candles illuminate the boma with its al fresco Pan African banquet. The shaded swimming pool is a refreshing oasis for an après-lunch cool off.
www.andBeyond.com
Day 9
Enjoy a short game drive to Chitabe airstrip where a Safari Air light aircraft will be waiting to fly you, and fellow guests, to Pom Pom airstrip (Approx 15 mins).
Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp
Experience 2 night/s at &Beyond Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp in an East African safari tent with ensuite bathroom with shower only. Your stay includes accommodation, three meals daily, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits, beers, teas and coffees, refreshments on game drives, scheduled safari activities, emergency medical evacuation insurance, laundry as well as transfers to and from the airstrip (where applicable).
&Beyond Nxabega at a glance:
9 ensuite safari tents
Swimming pool and well-stocked Safari Shop
Twice-daily game drives in open 4×4 safari vehicles, guided nature walks, Delta cruises and mokoro excursions
Situated in a 7 000 hectare exclusive wildlife concession
2008 – Named the Best Safari Property in Southern Africa at the Good Safari Guide Awards
Nxabega Okavango
&Beyond Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp is located on the edge of the Okavango Delta in a 7 000 hectare exclusive wildlife concession bordering Moremi Game Reserve. The Camp is known for its elegant tented accommodation with breathtaking views of the ever-changing Okavango Delta. It is a skillful combination of luxury and integration with the environment. Nine exclusive tented suites on raised wooden platforms nestle under a canopy of African ebony trees, featuring ensuite bathrooms and private verandas overlooking the reeded molapo (floodplain).
The guest areas, made from the local timber, reed and thatch, include indoor and outdoor dining, a Safari Shop and a swimming pool with expansive deck. From this springboard of comfort, guests are able to appreciate the exquisite beauty of the Okavango Delta. Private bush dinners, breakfasts in bed, lamplit cocktails on a river island, or a walking safari with al fresco picnic are provided with pleasure by Nxabega’s warm and friendly staff.
www.andBeyond.com
Day 11
Enjoy a short game drive to Pom Pom airstrip where a Safari Air light aircraft will be waiting to fly you, and fellow guests, to Maun airport (Approx 15 mins).
Upon arrival at Maun Airport, you will connect onto your departure flight, flight details to be advised.
12 spaces
$8950 per person sharing
$3500 single supplement
October 5 – 16, 2011
To reserve your spot, contact:
info@cheetah-watch.com
Kickstarter
Flickr