The African Experience

Pack your bags and get ready for the trip of a lifetime. Fly into Johannesburg, South Africa and meet Diana and your fellow travelers ready to embark on a week-long adventure. From there, you’ll travel to the reserve nestled in the malaria-free North West Province.

There will only be about ten of you making the trip to the reserve, flying in from different parts of the country. Groups are always kept small to give everyone a fully immersive experience.

Once in a lifetime

  • Game drives
  • Meet and watch a demonstration by the anti-poaching dogs and their handlers
  • Bush walks
  • Ride along with anti-poaching patrols
  • Manage and monitor game cameras
  • Learn about ecology and land management by participating in a controlled burn to make way for new, healthy growth
  • Gain knowledge on how to identify giraffes by their spots and use your newfound awareness for the duration of your stay while giraffes roam by your camp
  • Visit Pilanesberg Big 5 Reserve that represents the biggest and most iconic species in Africa: elephant, rhino, lion, Cape buffalo, and leopard
  • The highlight: hands-on, full participation in rhino dehorning projects

Cost

Cost is about $5,000, and includes airfare, catered meals upon your arrival at the reserve, and bush camp accommodations where you will spend a week surrounded by nature.

Scheduling

Trips are scheduled late summer in the U.S. because that is wintertime in South Africa. 

Dehornings are only scheduled during the winter as to not put unnecessary heat stress on the rhino. 

What is it like?

Daytime Fahrenheit temperatures in August are in the 60s-70s and nighttime dips into the 30s-40s.