You will be met by your guide or transfer driver at the airport and then transferred to your JHB accommodation. In the evening there will be a group meeting for an introduction to South Africa and the safari. After the meeting, the group will go for dinner. We spend the night in comfort at our accommodation and prepare for the next day’s adventure.
We will present an informal interactive program over 4 days which will include demonstrations, theory and practical activities. We aim to induduce the complex situation with wildlife crime, poaching, trafficking, syndicates etc. We will introduce the work of rangers, dog-handlers and working dogs, pilots as well as other roll players in the fight against crime. The costs and legal requirements to be able to operate and where the law and corruption often hinders us to do our work. Q&A throughout will guide us through the following topics/activities:
We will handle the following subjects.
- Introduction
- Syndicates, wildlife facts, statistics, conservation
- Scent behavior and K9 disciplines
- Visual tracking (activity)
- Snare sweeping (activity)
- Detection demo
- Crime scene scenario
- Detection
- Cowboys & Crooks (rangers and poachers - activity)
- Operational K9 Unit and handler (the package)
The daily program for the following days.
- Breakfast at 06:00 am.
- Start Course at 07:00 am
- Lunch at 12:00
- Continue the course at 13:00 pm
- Dinner at 19:00pm
Lead by professional wilderness Trails Guides, with thousands of trails hours experience each, you will spend three self-sufficient nights (four days) in the wild. By carrying all your equipment on your back, you’ll enter a world accessible to a privileged few. There are no demarcated campsites or routes for these trails. You set your own pace and explore according to your interests and capabilities, sleeping at a pristine site under the stars each night (no tents) and packing up in the morning to leave no trace. The only restricting factors are the availability of water and the midday sun. During the summer months when water is plentiful, you’ll collect from pools in non-perennial rivers, elephant diggings, and depressions or pans in the veld. Once the dry winter months arrive, the guides will do water-drops prior to the start of the Trail.
WHAT TO BRING
Everything required for the duration of the trail must be carried in a backpack. Participants will have to cater for 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners as well as the odd snack. In order to minimize our impact, all cooking must be done on a gas stove.
Equipment checklist:
Walking shoes (gaiters useful), sandals, neutral-colored clothing, hat, sunscreen, binoculars, backpack, sleeping bag, mattress - roll mat, gas stove, lighter, small pot & mug, spoon, water bottles - capacity for 2 liters, torch, toilet paper (in Ziploc), toiletries, small quick-dry towel, larger Ziploc for rubbish. Consider poncho (summer) & warm clothing (winter).
After breakfast, we make our way back to JHB. We will spend some time on the Panorama route.
The Panorama Route is a scenic road in South Africa connecting several cultural and natural points of interest. The route, steeped in the history of South Africa, is in Mpumalanga province, centered around the Blyde River Canyon, the world's third-largest canyon.
Today after breakfast we all make our own way home after a great African safari. Your guide will transfer you back to the airport if needed. See you soon and take care.
