NAMIBIA CONSERVATION AND BIG CAT REHABILITATION PROGRAMME
OKONJIMA, 225KM NORTH OF WINDHOEK

Located in the heart of the Okonjima Game Reserve this exciting project works alongside the world's largest Big Cat Welfare Programme, committed to the long term conservation and release of Namibia's large carnivores, especially cheetahs and leopards.    By choosing this project volunteers will be undertaking reserve maintenance tasks including dismantling windmills, fence-lines, bush-clearing tasks, repairing waterholes and dam and bridge maintenance, with the ultimate aim of allowing the animals cared for to run around more freely in a balanced ecosystem.  Volunteers may also have the opportunity of working directly at the Big Cat Welfare Programme where they will take part in a multitude of activities including bone collecting within the cheetah camps, cleaning the wild dogs water trough, erecting and repairing fences and netting as well as leopard tracking, cheetah tracking by foot, bushman walks, birding and game drives and possibly rescuing animals in distress.  This is a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes and be involved in the work of the Big Cat Welfare Programme which is home to more than 100 big cats.

	Location:	OKONJIMA, 225KM NORTH OF WINDHOEK	Dates:	Regular start dates - fortnightly on Saturdays throughout the year
	Fees:	£745 - 2 weeks £1,345 - 4 weeks £2,395 - 8 weeks	Payment:	£180 deposit at time of booking – balance of project fee due 8 weeks before departure
	Reference:	AV012

General Information

This conservation project offers volunteers the chance to be a part of a truly unique and amazing bush experience in Namibia.  Okonjima, where this project is based, encompasses a 22,000 hectare (55,000 acre) private nature reserve, and is full of game, including giraffe, oryx, kudu, zebra, impala, eland, wildebeest, red hartebeest, duiker, steenbok, dik-dik, and warthog.  At night it is possible to spot nocturnal animals such as porcupine, honey badger, brown hyena, spotted genet, and aardvark, and the reserve also boasts over 200 bird species.

Background

Okonjima, meaning ‘place of the baboon,’ launched its Big Cat Welfare Programme in 1993 and prior to this time the land was used for cattle farming.  The reserve offers captive cheetahs an opportunity to return to their natural environment in the 5,000 hectare area.   Although hunting in carnivores is instinctive many of the cheetahs at the foundation lack experience due to being orphaned and this rehabilitation reserve area provides these cheetahs with a  chance to hone their hunting skills and become self sustaining and able to be returned to the wild.  This is an incredible programme that gives previously non-releasable cats a second chance to be wild and free!

This programme has rescued and released over 900 cheetah and leopard back into the wild since its inception.  Approximately 100 of the rescued large carnivores were not able to be released (mostly orphaned cubs) and they have found a caring home at the foundation.  

Volunteer Programme

Volunteers are essential to the smooth running of this worthwhile project.  One activity that volunteers will be involved in is the eradication of the sickle bush, thus allowing the land to be opened up once more.  Okonjima was dedicated to cattle farming up until relatively recently and as with vast areas of Namibia, the last 150 years of cattle farming has left its scar.  Bush encroachment is destroying Namibian flora and fauna, and over-grazing has led to topsoil erosion decreasing the survival of natural plants and grasses and therefore the game dependent on them. Sickle bush (Dichrostachys Cinerea), previously limited to mountain fringes, is particularly pernicious and has encroached onto the plains over the years and taken over. Once this Sickle bush is romoved the indigenous plants and grasses will recover and the game will return.  The task may be challenging at times but it will be highly rewarding and satisfying to know that you’ve been part of the team helping to restore the local ecology back to its natural and original state. Team members will use a wide range of hand tools including axes, picks, saws, rakes and some machine operated tools for which instruction and safety advice will be given.  A reasonable level of fitness is required as it can get very hot during the day time.

Volunteers will not only be contributing to the important work of making the land habitable for these beautiful animals but will also get to work with the team that care for the animals at the Big Cat Welfare Programme including feeding runs, bone collecting in cheetah camps, fence mainternance and perhaps the opportunity to rescue a leopard or cheetah in distress! 

The feeding run lasts for approximately two hours, depending on the big cats!  Volunteers will follow behind the vehicle which will stop to feed more than 100 cheetahs, leopards, lions, caracals and hyenas. Every single cat needs to be found and fed so this is why the run can sometimes take a little longer, particularly if some of the cats don’t come to be fed.  Staff will do their best to explain to the volunteers the history of each cat, why and where they came from and volunteers are obviously very welcome to ask any questions they may have. 

A normal working day will start as the sun rises over the horizon.  Following coffee and breakfast it is off to the work site.  Bush clearing will be done 2 or 3 times a week, but this will always be flexible.  Teams will work, with breaks, until midday, and then stop for a well-earned lunch and a siesta in the heat of the day until 3pm when volunteers will start one of the afternoon activities (as below)  Volunteers will spend approximately 3 hours on each of these afternoon activities.   This project is flexible and timings and duties may change from time to time.

The evenings will be based around the campfire listening to the sounds of the wild and reliving the day.

Afternoon Activities include:

• Cheetah and leopard tracking and monitoring for research
  Volunteers will be taken out to track either leopard or cheetah using “telemetry system and antennae” in order to pick up the radio signals from the collars worn by the big cats. The signals give a good indication of where the cat is located but certainly not the exact spot.  The guide, accompanied by the volunteers, will then need to use valuable tracking skills such as checking for paw prints, broken branches, drag marks, smell etc in order to locate the animal precisely.   It is essential for their welfare that the cats are seen regularly in order to check for injuries, problems, unusual behaviour etc.    The leopard tracking is always vehicle based but the cheetah tracking is done on foot with the guide plus an additional tracker (one at each end of the group).   It is so exciting to be viewing the cheetahs on foot – a truly unforgettable experience!
  
  
• Accompanying Project Managers for the Collection and Release of Leopard and Cheetah
  Project staff may, from time to time,  need to fly or drive to reach a cat in distress or danger and some volunteers may get the opportunity to accompany staff on these trips.  If a cat is brought to the clinic, volunteers will be invited to see the cat arrive, follow through the treatment that follows and also the re-release of the big cat back into the reserve. 
  
  
• Bushman Walks
  The guide for these walks, Clive, is an FGASA trained guide and has extensive knowledge of Africa and all the incredible animals and plants that live there.  The bushwalks and time on this project will be a real educational experience as volunteers will learn all about this beautiful continent and the animals that inhabit it.  Volunteers will be shown how to make rope and fire and how the animal traps work.   They will also learn all about the lives and traditions of the bushman tribes.
  
  
• Cheetah Welfare Programme
  Volunteers will be taken into one of the cheetah rehabilitation enclosures where they will witness these cheetahs at very close proximity surrounding the game vehicle.  The guide will feed these cheetahs with small pieces of meat and explain the important and essential work of the cheetah welfare side of the foundation.  The volunteers will be given a history of these individual cheetahs and will get to understand exactly why they are here, where they have come from and  their individual  circumstances..  This activity will give volunteers a true insight into the work of the foundation and the goals it’s trying to achieve.
  
  
• Visiting the Wild Dogs
  
  
• Game Drives
  
  
• Birding Walks
  
  
• Sundowners
  
  
• Tracking and bush crafts
  
  
• Soil erosion control
  
  
• Star gazing
  

Other aspects you may be involved in depending on your length of stay are :

• Game counts at waterholes
  
  
• General reserve maintenance
  
  
• Fence patrols
  
  
• Plant and animal studies

Days off

Volunteers will have a well deserved lie in on their day off (Saturday) and will be able to use the local swimming pool which is ten minutes away. There may also be additional time off but this will be subject to the needs of the project at any time.

Support

Support and advice is available from Project Managers whilst on the project and from the UK Amanzi Travel Team.

Orientation

A comprehensive information pack will be sent to all our volunteers upon booking their placement and further advice and information will be provided via telephone and email before departure. A full orientation will be provided on arrival at the project from the project coordinator including information on the current status of the project and familiarisation  with the local surroundings.

Accommodation and Meals

Accommodation, which is comfortable but simplistic, plus three meals a day is included in the cost of the programme.  The camp is situated in the heart of the Namibian bush, and consists of grass/tented hut accommodation, surrounding a central eating and socialising area.  Showers and toilets are provided, but water and electricity are limited.  The aim is that volunteers get back to their roots during their stay in the wild and feel part of the natural world they are aiming to help.  There is a real community feel to the programme, with daily rotas put in place to ensure that everyone gets involved in the day-to-day running of the camp including wake-up calls and the preparation of all meals.

The three meals a day will include a cereal breakfast, prepared at the campsite before work commences; sandwiches and fruit for lunch, and a hot nutritious meal prepared each evening back at the base campsite.  Refreshments such as tea, coffee, squash and water are provided, and all vegetarian and other dietary requirements can be catered for if advised in advance on the booking form.  Other refreshments such as soft drinks, alcohol, or snacks, can be purchased from the camp shop.

Due to the location of the camp there is no laundry service and hand washing powder can be purchased from the camp store.  There is a signal for mobile phones.  This signal can sometimes be a little temperamental.

Getting There

Volunteers should arrange to fly into Windhoek and  Project Managers will arrange pick-ups either from the airport or from a central specified location in Windhoek.  In order to endeavour to conform with incoming European flight timings transportation for all team members either from Windhoek International Airport or from a central location in Windhoek will be fortnightly on Saturday mornings only, direct to the project.   Return transportation will be from the project to Windhoek on Friday afternoons only, again once every 2 weeks.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to stop at a supermarket en-route to stock up on any required provisions for the duration of their stay.

Project Fees

What is included

• Transfers to and from the project
• Full orientation by staff on arrival
• Support from the Project Managers
• Accommodation and three meals a day
• All daily activities

What is excluded

• International and domestic flight costs
• Travel insurance to cover the project (including cover for repatriation)
• Tourist Visas
• Personal Items
• Refreshments etc that can be purchased on site