Help Cheetahs in South Africa

"The best thing that could have happened to me..."

I worked in the cheetah project, and this was the best thing that could have happened to me. We got up at 6 a.m., which sounds early at first, but it really isn’t, because the sun came up at 5:30 a.m., and from about 8 a.m. on it becomes unbearably hot. Everyone eats breakfast together, and each day one tent is responsible to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner for everyone. After breakfast, everyone is picked up and starts the day fetching the food for the antelopes and then feeding it to them. Next comes tracking – whether you are watching cheetahs, bison, or leopards, you will come unbelievably close to the animals! After lunch (usually around 12), and after a relaxing midday break (which really is necessary, as it is extremely warm at this time of day), you will be picked up again and will usually be taken to do some fence-checking. In the evenings, you have the chance to go on a night drive. In general, really hard work (for example, bush-clearing) is only sometimes on the schedule, but you definitely do not feel useless. Of course, if you want to do hard work, your wish will be fulfilled!

This was one of the greatest experiences of my life! I would not exchange it for anything. Whoever loves animals and nature will not be disappointed here. You have the feeling that you are really making a difference, and the people there do anything they can to make your time as enjoyable as possible. You have a real team feeling there, which is otherwise such a seldom experience.