IMIRE RHINO & WILDLIFE CONSERVATION PARK
Imire Rhino and Wildlife Conservation Park, Zimbabwe, creates awareness internationally of the poaching crisis which threatens Southern Africa. It highlights obstacles facecommunities and conservation organisations. The biggest threats to these animals regionally are poaching, and human overpopulation. Poaching is driven by demand for ivory and rhino horn in foreign countries. It is fueled by poverty and lack of education on the ground. To protect the rhino and all our wildlife, Imire believes we need to empower the local communities.
Imire Lodge offers family style hospitality, fine home cooking and spectacular game viewing. Four of the big five guaranteed! Experience unique close encounters with some of the world’s most intriguing and endangered animals. Imire Lodge offers both day trips and overnight stays. A day trip visit includes a full game drive and lunch served in the conservancy with a visit from the elephants or rhino as a highlight of the day. Overnight trips include feeding the rhino and elephant, followed by sundowners at the lookout and a gourmet three course dinner.
AMAKHOSI
SAFARI
LODGE
Amakhosi is located in a blend of savannah, wetlands and mountains. The Safari Lodge is situated on the banks of Zululand's Mkuze River in Amakhosi private game reserve, South Africa. Artistic décor, African fusion cuisine and prompt attentive servicemakes Amakhosi a bush lodge difficult to match elsewhere in Southern Africa.
Amakhosi Safari Lodge gives majestic new meaning to a royal bush experience. Personal attention from the warm hand towels, sherry and smiles that greet guests, to the plush comfort of the six palatial thatched chalets and two Honeymoon Suites strung along the Mkuze River. Each is angled for the ultimate privacy and has a separate lounge, a step-up double bath and a bedroom opening onto a viewing deck overlooking the river, some set with a personal plunge pool.
Relax in your suite or in a rock fringed lodge swimming pool and watch the flash of the Lilac-breasted Roller or Malachite Kingfisher, but when darkness falls, listen for the roar of the lions.
This is Big 5 territory and what you don’t view from your deck, expert guides invariably will deliver on dawn and dusk game drives. Conversation around the fire at night is of close encounters with lionesses and playful cubs, sand-bathing elephants and streaking cheetah. But equally engrossing are the adventurous guide’s encounters with smaller creatures, from delicate bark spiders to glossy dung beetles and anecdotes about the trees and medicinal plants of the reserve.
Depending on the season, you can choose from fishing, walking, cultural and frogging safaris. Most evenings, centre on the 5* plated bush dinners produced in the Amakhosi kitchen. Guests linger contentedly on the expansive lodge deck and reconnect themselves with nature through the sounds of the bush, then retire to the friendliness of the bar, or doze around a fire pit, where traditional Zulus and later, fireflies dance.
BLACK RHINO RESERVE
Black RhinoGame Reserve
Big 5
Malaria Free
Black Rhino Reserve is a private game reserve in South Africa, incorporated into the Pilanesberg National Park on the North Western side. This lower lying reserve's sweet veld vegetation complements the Pilanesberg's predominantly mixed sour veld. This type of habitat is known to carry a wide variety of game species, and sighting of elephant, black rhino, white rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard are very common.
The Pilanesberg National Park is 55 000 Hectares in extent and borders on the Sun City entertainment complex. The most remarkable feature of this destination is the 1200 million-year old volcano crater with Mankwe Lake in the center. Because of its positioning between the Kalahari and Lowveld, the vegetation from both areas are located on this terrain.
The Pilanesberg National Park is home to virtually all of the animal species native to southern Africa including the big five, wild dog, and rarer species such as Roan, Tsessebe and Sable antelope. The Park also offers a number of wonderful picnic spots, numerous hides for game watching, a walk in aviary, safari game drives and hot air balloon flights over the park.
Black Rhino Game Reserve forms an additional ‘corner’ of the Pilanesberg National Park. With its own secured, private entrance that is situated on the western border, and with no boundary fences – wildlife is free to roam across both areas. This means you will be able to spot most of the animals that you would typically find in the Pilanesberg including the Big 5, the endangered African wild dog, various rare antelope, andmore than 354 bird species.The Black Rhino Game Reserve has full traversing rights whereby game vehicles belonging to privately owned lodges are entitled to cross from the Black Rhino Game Reserve into the Pilanesberg National Park. This allows you to enjoy the privacy of the reserve along with the richness of the national park, and to experience the abundant sights and sounds of the bush.
www.blackrhinogamereserve.co.za
About
African Wild Dogs
They are one of the world’s most endangered mammals. The largest populations remain in southern Africa and the southern part of East Africa, especially Tanzania and northern Mozambique.
Wild dogs are social and gather in packs of around ten individuals, but some packs number more than 40. They are opportunistic predators that hunt medium-sized ruminants, such as gazelles. In a sprint, African wild dogs can reach speeds of more than 44 miles per hour.
Major threats to the survival of these animals include accidental and targeted killings by humans, viral diseases like rabies and distemper, habitat loss and competition with larger predators like lions. Conflicts occur when wild dogs come in contact with people whose livelihoods rest largely on livestock and agriculture. Problems arise when expanding human activities decrease the habitat for available prey for wild dogs.
Painted wolf is the meaning behind the African wild dog’s scientific name. But even with such a regal sounding name, these animals don’t get as much respectas they should.Once found throughout sub-Saharan Africa in the hundreds of thousands, the wild dog’s range and population have vastly diminished. Between 3,000 and 5,500 individuals remain. Sadly, farmers often dislike wild dogs, mistakenly blaming them for eating livestock. WWF is working to change the wild dogs’ reputation among local communities.
The African Wild dogs has been classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Nambiti Private Game Reserve
Nambiti Private Game Reserve, is set in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa near the town of Ladysmith, conveniently close to Johannesburg (4 hours) and Durban (2.5 hours). Nambiti is also close to the renowned KwaZulu-Natal battlefields, a major attraction of this region. One of its major drawcards is that Nambiti is situated in a malaria free area, meaning that guests don’t have to take medication before visiting.
It is also the only reserve in the area that can boast of having the Big 5, along with 40 other game species. Nambiti’s 22,000 acres offers incredible biodiversity, with grasslands, riverine bush, savannah and thornveld. Game viewing, birding, and fishing for yellowtail in the river are the main activities at Nambiti. There are nine luxurious game lodges, including six 5-star game lodges and two magnificent elevated tented camps, with facilities ranging from self-catering to the pampered.
KWA CHEETAH REHABILITATION CENTRE
Next door to Nambiti Game Reserve you will find Kwa Cheetah Rehabilitation Centre.
If you want to get up close to cheetahs in South Africa - this is the place. You enter the gates of Nambiti and are met by the guard who will check if you have made a telephonic booking for the cheetah interaction. Booking is essential so it remains an experience with limited numbers.
As you drive into the parking area your eyes pop as a cheetah hops out of an open Land Rover accompanied by a couple of domestic dogs. A tiny meerkat called Zulu comes to greet you with a cuddle. The baby warthog called Basil is busy being enticed back to his sleeping area before the cheetah who hopped out of the Land Rover may find him an attractive snack.
The best part is the cheetah interaction where one goes into big enclosures first with the young cheetahs, then the Serval cats, then the mature cheetahs.The cubs that have been hand-raised are very tame and will purr when you stroke them.
The rangers are with the group at all times to ensure safety - yours and the big cat's as people can sometimes do silly things which can upset the animals.
There is plenty of time to interact with the animals instead of observing them only from a car window in a game park or being rushed through on a tourist trap experience where one has a minute or two with the animals. It is also an opportunity to get some magnificent close up shots in relaxed and natural surroundings.
About
African Wildcat
The African wildcat is a species native to Africa, West and Central Asia up to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. The IUCN Red List status Least Concern is attributed to the species Felis silvestris, which at the time of assessment also included the African wildcat as a subspecies.
The African wildcat is somewhat larger and stockier than the domesticated house cat, with which it interbreeds readily. Its coat, paler in the female, is light or orange-brown with narrow dark stripes. The length of the animal is about 70 cm, excluding the 40-cm tail; shoulder height averages 23 cm and the cat weighs about 3.5 kg. The African wildcat is a solitary nocturnal hunter that preys mainly on birds and small mammals. Mating generally occurs early in the year, and a litter of two to five kittens is born about 56 days later.
The domestic cat is believed to have evolved from the African wildcat Felis sylvestris libyca between 4000 and 10,000 years ago.
MADIKWE
GAME
RESERVE
Madikwe Game Reserve is regarded as one of the top conservation areas in all of Africa. It is home to the "Big Five". Situated in the North West Province of South Africa.
Motswiri Private Safari Lodge is an opulent and rustic hideaway within Madikwe Game Reserve. Five luxury bush villas offer stunning views from private decks. The lodge is situated under the canopy of mature trees and offers a feeling of tranquility.
MANYONI GAME RESERVE
SOUTH AFRICA, KWA-ZULU NATAL
info@rhinoriverlodge.co.za
Manyoni Private Game Reserve lies in the heart of Zululand, an area that is renowned for its spectacular game viewing, rich cultural traditions and conservation history. Manyoni has become one of the premier big five safari destinations in Kwa-Zulu Natal with a strong focus on endangered species conversation.This 23,000 hectares game reserve is conveniently located only 3 hours from Durban and 6 hours from Johannesburg. it is situated 30kms north of the Imflozi Game Reserve.
Rhino River Lodge is a family owned and operated lodge in the magnificent Manyoni Private Game Reserve. They offer a relaxed family-friendly lodge with a reputation for welcoming staff, and providing amazing value for money.
AQUILA
PRIVATE GAME
RESERVE
www.aquilasafari.com
Experience the magic of the Little Karoo on this safari getaway with mountain & landscape views. Aquila Private Game Reserve is situated under 2 hours from Cape Town, 10kms before the Touws River on the N1 freeway heading towards Matjiesfontein.
Aquila Private Game Reserve traces its origins back to 1999 when its visionary owner sought to share his passion for wildlife and conservation with Cape Town.
Aquila is a lot busier with a much higher number of day and overnight visitors than it's newer alternative reserve, Inverdoorn, which is situated 30 minutes past Aquila heading away from Cape Town.
Inverdoorn is surrounded by more expansive plains with access to smaller safari vehicles and a more personal, smaller lodge.
ELEPHANT PLAINS GAME LODGE
Sabi Sand Game Reserve is located adjacent to the Kruger National Park in the Lowveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa.[1] Officially named Sabi Sand Wildtuin, the Sabi Sand Game Reserve consists of a group of private game reserves.
Reserves in Sabi Sand include Buffelshoek, Djuma, Elephant Plains, Cheetah Plains, Mala Mala, Chitwa Chitwa, Nkorho, Simbambili, Arathusa, Londolozi, Umkumbe, Nottens, Sabi Sabi, Lion Sands, Kirkman's Kamp, Singita, Exeter Leadwood, Inyati Game Lodge, Idube, Dulini, Leopard Hills, Savanna and Ulusaba.
Set on the 110 square kilometre private Sabi Sand North Reserve to the west of Kruger National Park in South Africa, Elephant Plains Game Lodge is a relatively simple and unusually well-priced property, with guest accommodation in 13 suites and offering a range of safari activities. No minimum age.
