[FEL-L] Ecotourism revives African wildlife

[BigCatSimba at aol.com]

Sunday,  May 27, 2007 3:52 AM 
 
By Jim Landers


THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS 
 
 
KA'INGO GAME RESERVE, South Africa -- Nick wheels the open Land Cruiser 
around the edge of the pond, and there, suddenly, are two female lions, 50 feet 
away, lying in the shade.  
"Don't move," Nick warns. "Stay still and enjoy it." 
Five years ago, the 21,500 acres of the Ka'ingo reserve were divided among 
nine farms raising peanuts and tobacco. There were no lions, rhinos, Cape 
buffalo or elephants. 
But all of those animals were reintroduced to the Waterberg Mountains region 
as landowners turned from farming to tourism.  
Dozens of safari packages are offered in South Africa. Some are for hunting, 
some for photography and one even starts with a teeth-whitening session at a 
Johannesburg dentist's office. 
Ka'ingo and other sites of the Waterberg region differ because they're 
bringing back the wild to an area that spent generations under the plow or the 
hooves of cattle. From Marakele National Park in the southwest to the Lapalala 
Wilderness in the northeast, the region covers about 5,600 square miles of 
sandstone buttresses, broad plateaus and brush and acacia trees. 
Cheetahs are the latest species brought to Ka'ingo under Nick Callichy's 
supervision. South Africa offers ranchers a bounty of about $2,100 not to shoot 
cheetahs and instead allow animal wardens to come on their land to capture the 
animals. Ka'ingo got three cheetah brothers through the program and is adding a 
female as well. 
The animals have to be acclimated to the reserve and to one another, and are 
meanwhile kept in a large pen where visitors can go inside for a close look as 
the fleet cats feed on freshly killed impala. 
"They're not lethal, but don't turn your back on them," Callichy said. 
Callichy is a tall, sunburned game warden with a broad South African accent. 
His love of the bush is evident in sayings such as "Elephant dung: That's the 
true smell of Africa!"  
He offers box lunches, drinks and plates of hors d'oeuvres to day visitors as 
he wheels the Land Cruiser over Ka'ingo's sandy roads. He keeps an elephant 
gun in a case on the dashboard for emergencies. 
He hasn't had to use it.  
The turn to ecotourism began in the 1990s. Naturalists such as Clive Walker 
helped establish the Lapalala Wilderness to help bring animals such as rhinos 
back from the brink of extermination. 
Some game farms in the Waterberg specialize in crocodiles, elephants or even 
white lions. Many are open for day visitors, and larger ones such as Ka'ingo 
offer accommodations at outback lodges with pools and gourmet meal. 
Visitors who enter such properties must sign a form holding the owners 
harmless if something goes awry with the animals. The game reserves are surrounded 
by electric fences and have gates designed to withstand a charging rhino.< 
If you go 
Ka'ingo Private Reserve & Spa 
GETTING THERE 
South Africa Airways flies from Washington and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to 
Johannesburg. Transfers from Johannesburg to Mabatlane (Vaalwater), about two 
hours northwest by car on well-paved roads, or direct to the Ka'ingo reserve can 
be arranged through AHA Travel & Tours in Mabatlane (ahatravel@ 
telkomsa.net). Cars can be rented at Tambo International Airport. 
STAYING THERE 
Reservations for Ka'ingo can be made through www.kaingo.co.za. In June and 
July, rates for a couple are $le are $300 a day per person for lodging, cottage, 
meals and game drives. Spa treatments can be included. Ka'ingo offers day 
visits for game drives for about $30 per person, meal included. Call 
011-861-967-485 or visit _http://www.kaingo.co.za/_ (http://www.kaingo.co.za/) .  
Many other game lodges are in the area. Several can be seen by visiting 
_www.safarinow.com/_ (http://www.safarinow.com/)  
destinations/vaalwater. 
At the other end of the cost spectrum is Zeederberg's cottages in Mabatlane. 
Several are lovely thatched bush homes, with kitchens, that cost about $50 a 
night, and the grounds are charming. Call 011-27-82-332-7088 or visit 
zeederbergs.co.za. 
Learning more 
Call 212-730-2929 or visit 
_http://www.southafrica.net/_ (http://www.southafrica.net/) . 
Source: The Dallas Morning News 
_http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/travel/stories/2007/05/27/africa_game.AR
T_ART_05-27-07_F3_M46PNNM.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101_ 
(http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/travel/stories/2007/05/27/africa_game.ART_ART_05-27-07_F3_M46PNN
M.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101) 




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