Itinerary

Cheetah Project
Day 1
Arrive into Windhoek Airport (airport code WDH) and you’ll be met by our staff and taken straight to the sanctuary – your home for the duration of your trip.  Settle in and get to know your fellow volunteers, the permanent members of staff and the animals who also call this place home.  

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The Program  After orientation, it's time to get stuck in.

Duties begin each day around 8am and tasks at the sanctuary are varied, with a mixture of work, fun and educational half-day sessions carried out on rotation to ensure that everybody gets involved in the full range of experiences available.  You can expect to be involved with some or all of the following:
  • Food prep and feeding the animals, inc the Big Cats / Small Animals / Baboons
  • Baboon walk – escorting the young baboon troup out into the bush reserve
  • Cheetah run – accompany rangers into the reserve alongside the cheetahs
  • Tracking the free-roaming elephants and rhinos
  • Enrichment – creation of objects to stimulate natural behaviours in captive animals
  • Research activities inc camera traps, game counts, footprint identifications, etc
  • Horse riding and stable maintenance
  • Rhino Rangers
  • Anti-Poaching Patrol / K9 Unit (dogs) Training
  • Cleaning and maintenance of animal enclosures
  • Reserve Maintenance / Alien vegetation clearing

You may also choose to be involved with the kinder or primary school which are located within the grounds of the sanctuary.  These facilities have been established to provide free education to the San Bushman children whose parents work on site and who would otherwise not have access to schooling.
Weekends  At weekends there’s lots to do…or do nothing at all! Join in with animal feeding on Saturday morning if you wish. Take a walk, swim in the pool or book one of the many optional activities available – what better than a horse ride in the desert, mingling with giraffes and watching the beautiful African sunset? Join the Sunday mall-trip for a shopping fix or book a lazy lunch at the swanky Lodge, it’s up to you how busy you’d like to be.
 
Last day For those heading home, it’s just 40 minutes to the airport and our driver will deliver you for your flight out at any time of the day.

Accommodation and meals : Your accommodation will be one of our guest “tents” - large, permanent, canvas-sided huts with wood flooring and power. Twin-share, occasionally triple, most have an open-air ensuite bathroom (those that don’t share a bathroom with only one other hut). If travelling solo you’ll be paired with a roomie of the same-gender. The huts are fairly basic but very comfortable with a proper bed (all bedding is provided, but do take your own sleeping bag too in winter).

​Three delicious catered meals are included each day, so you’ll enjoy the luxury of having your breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared for you. Most dietary needs are catered for, and participants are often pleasantly surprised at the quality and variety of the meals on offer. You can look forward to some authentic African braais (BBQ) on a weekend too !

Other information  As a desert country, Namibia experiences an average of 300 days of sunshine in the year with hot summers and mild winters.  There is no bad time of year to visit Namibia.

Wildlife Research option
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As part of your stay, we recommend you combine time at the sanctuary with a stint at the exciting Timbila reserve research project, a great opportunity to view animals in the wild, to learn and be part of wildlife rehabilitation and reserve management.  
 
Research weeks are undertaken in small groups escorted by members of the sanctuary team.  All transport, accommodation, meals and training are provided, and a surcharge of $300 per week applies over the standard sanctuary program rate.  A more detailed Info Pack is available for this program, so do please ask.

Hiking the terrain make up a large part of the daily activities, so a good level of fitness is recommended. That said, activities can be tailored to suit the fitness needs and levels of most people.
 
TimBila is a 33 000 hectare reserve, home to a vast number of prey and carnivore species.  Forming a vital release site for conflict carnivores and the re-establishment of wildlife, this reserve is a conservation gem.  Located 270kms from the Sanctuary, TimBila is truly a place of second chances and an absolute must as part of your Namibia experience.  TimBila epitomises the Sanctuary’s vision of conserving the landscapes of Namibia, protecting its wildlife and improving the lives of the people we work with. 

​The schedule is varied and will change according to need, but expect to be involved in some or all of:
  • game counts and biodiversity surveys, both daytime and at night
  • species ID
  • wildlife tracking, using tracks, scat markings and GPS
  • lion monitoring
  • elephant monitoring
  • setting camera traps and analysing image data
  • night drives
  • participating in the release of wildlife
  • maintenance and security on the reserve