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“10/10 So many amazing things happened with the “Big 5”, from watching elephants fight, watching the cheetah mum and her cubs hunting and tracking those sneaky leopards through the wild! It was honestly the best 4 weeks of my life!!"   
​Shayla

​​This program is a dream come true for anyone with a love of remote wilderness and a passion for African wildlife.  The exciting and important research project takes place in a spectacularly beautiful Big 5 game reserve near world-famous Kruger National Park. 
The reserve is home to lion, white rhino, elephant, leopard, cheetah, buffalo, giraffe and plentiful game species including wildebeest, zebra and numerous antelope; all living wild and completely free roaming on thousands of hectares of pristine African bush.

You’ll play a central role in every part of the research project including wildlife monitoring expeditions, tracking animals on foot and by vehicle, camera trap placement, photo analysis and even using drone technology.  You’ll receive expert training on arrival and will then head out twice a day to record animal behaviours. As a member of this pioneering research team, you will learn new skills such as navigation techniques and identification of flora and fauna.  You may even have the chance for a sleep out in the bush or a microlight flight over the reserve for wildlife monitoring and anti-poaching patrols.  A boutique program, group sizes are limited to a maximum of 11 participants.

Snapshot

  • Start Dates : Sundays year round
  • Duration : 2 weeks or more
  • Pricing: 
    • 2 weeks AU$2,795 ($2,995 for 2024)
    • 3 weeks AU$3,545 ($3,845 for 2024)
    • 4 weeks AU$4,295 ($4,695 for 2024)
    • 6 weeks AU$5,895 ($6,395 for 2024)
  • Minimum Age : 18
  • Fly In/Out : Johannesburg (JNB) or Hoedspruit (HDS)
  • Activities:  Tracking and monitoring of wildlife, recording their feeding behaviour, territorial movements and social patterns.  General reserve management activities 
  • What’s included: All meals, accommodation, airport transfers and daily activities
  • What’s not included in cost: Flights, optional excursions
  • Accommodation: 4-share rooms with bathroom.  Private double-room upgrade is available on request.
  • Food:  All meals self-catering on a rostered basis – food ingredients all provided
What's included in all trips?

Trip highlights

  • True African safari experience, tracking and viewing animals in the wild
  • Big 5 monitoring - lion, leopard, white rhino, elephant, buffalo, also cheetah, hyena++
  • Remote, beautiful and pristine, recently established Big 5 reserve on 15,000 hectares
  • Voyage of discovery – brand new wildlife monitoring and conservation program
  • Getting up close to Africa’s amazing wildlife in an active research capacity
  • Track animals on foot - ranger-escorted bush walks
  • Night drives and exciting sleep-outs under the stars
  • Possibility for Microlight flights to assist with anti-poaching patrols