The Big 5 Conservation Program at Thanda Reserve

I was part of African Impact's conservation program for one month and I have to say that I wish I could have stayed more time! The time there goes by so fast. My day started at 6 am going in an early drive of 3 hours and when we got back we had other tasks to work on- i was planning a lesson for a group of students at a primary school. Then we would have lunch at 12 pm and after that we had another drive from 1 pm-4 pm; at 6:30 pm we had dinner and then we would have different things to do every day- some presentations, game night, movie night.

Everything was perfect! I will say one of my highlights of being there was when we could presentiate the speed of two cheetah brothers while hunting. We could see them eating an impala just by the fence! it was amazing. There is also the youth program were you could choose to go any Tuesday to a village near to play with the kids and entertain them, talking about you, and teaching them about conservation.

On the weekends you get the option to go on a trip or to go to places nearby like the cat rehabilitation center where you get to touch a cheetah or to the elephant interaction, 5 min away from the lodge. If you are planning to go for this program at the end you will want to stay more time there! the people at the lodge are amazing and they make you feel like it's your second home. I highly recommend this program!