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Lions & Big Cats
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Details

only £2195
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Introduction and Highlights:
- Increase your knowledge of the African bush and cultures through our initial Pathfinders Zambezi River Exploration, camping on the River banks and islands of this ancient river by night, surrounded by elephants and other wildlife, and paddling towards the Victoria Falls amongst the complex waterways by day.
- Your Bush Survival course is led by professional guides and will introduce you to the idiosyncrasies of the African bush and give you a deeper understanding of the fragile relationships between man and beast.
- Your safari will then take you behind the scenes into one of Zimbabwe’s stunning Hwange National Park. African Impact has official permission to operate our volunteer programmes within a number of Zimbabwe's most exciting and interesting National Parks. This is hugely exciting in terms of our goals for conservation in Zimbabwe, and adds enormously to the areas in which we are able to be effective in implementing high-impact conservation initiatives.
- Walk with lions at our breeding and rehabilitation programme at Antelope Park in the Zimbabwe Midlands.
- You will spend your final 2 weeks at a unique black rhino-breeding programme.
Expedition Start and Finish Dates during 2008:
Expedition 1 2nd March - 6th April
Expedition 2 2nd July - 6th August
Expedition 3 2nd August - 6th September
Expedition 4 2nd September - 7th October
Week 1: Pathfinders Zambezi River Canoe Expedition
As you pioneer your way down the Mighty Zambezi River in a canoe, your days will be busied with various exhilarating team oriented tasks as well as breathtaking sightings of elephants, hippos, crocodiles and a plethora of other wildlife. Your evenings will be spent around the campfire enjoying the rush of the wild African night.
Week 2: Pathfinders Bush Awareness Course

From the Victoria Falls you will be transported 2 hours by road to our camp on the border of Hwange National Park.Kelly Rolf-Jones, one of our previous UK volunteers said that this week in the bush was ‘one of the best weeks of my life’.‘Customs, Culture and Bush Awareness Course’ will be oriented around preparing travellers to Africa for the onset of the customs and culture of Africa.
It will introduce you to the flavours and tastes of the food; create awareness towards the sites and sounds of the bush... and instruct you on how to survive, to adapt, to fully understand and appreciate the temperament of this tremendous continent.
Week 3: Hwange National Park
The world famous Hwange National Park covers over 14,000 square kilometres and abounds in wildlife, including the Big 5.
Hwange’s elephant population alone is in excess of 40,000. There are over 20,000 buffalo and approximately 300 lions as well as rhino and leopard. Our Miombo volunteer camp is ideally placed right on the boundary of this park.Through our relationship with National Parks, this programme allows volunteers to work inside the Hwange National Park, where snare sweeps, game counts, visual observations and the darting of snared animals and the subsequent removal of these snares are all important aspects of wildlife conservation.
Imagine the thrill of being able to work off road and perhaps even at night, in the presence of Hwange's Big 5!
Week 4: Antelope Park (4 nights)

We have included this 4-night stop at our lion rehabilitation headquarters as a holiday section of your programme. You will be transferred from Hwange National Park to Antelope Park, which is a 6-hour trip by road. Antelope Park is the perfect place to relax after your time in the bush. Along with canoeing the river, horseback riding and game viewing, you will be able to:
- Walk alongside lions as part of the pride and enjoy the exhilaration of being part of a hunt as the young cubs learn to stalk their prey
- Visit younger lion cubs if there are any in camp at the time
- Experience the African bush in a very special way on this private reserve. Explore the savannah grasslands on horseback or whilst riding on African Elephants
- Have horse riding lessons from our experienced guides
Rest of Week 4 & 5: Imire Black Rhino Conservation Programme
From Antelope Park you will take our specialised coach service through to Harare. In Harare you will be met by an Imire staff member and transferred 1.5hours by road to the conservancy. Here you will have the chance to experience the bush through Riley’s experienced professional guides’ eyes, as well as work hands-on with the Rhinos and Elephants that the conservancy is so proud of.
Imire Safari Ranch is honoured to be the custodians of Zimbabwe’s black rhino. So far they have returned 10 rhino back to the Matusadona National Park in Zimbabwe. As the rhino adjusted to their new environment, so they were released. The females have bred successfully within the Park and Imire’s black rhino project continues.




We give you the opportunity to be more than a tourist in Africa, but a traveller, conservationist and humanitarian. Our projects make a measurable impact on the people and wildlife. Our volunteers have a safe, unforgettable life-changing experience. Don’t just ‘see’ Africa. 'Experience it'. Our motto: Explore, Inspire, Impact. 

