The Central Highlands are home to two of Namibia’s best conservation projects, the most renowned of which is the Africat Foundation at Okonjima. Guests at Okonjima are a part of the Okonjima Experience where they will enjoy a variety of activities centred around the property’s conservation projects. In particular tracking leopard on game drives which gives fantastic opportunities to get close to these magnificent creatures whilst being involved with the guide’s collecting and collating of data. The reserve is also home to good populations of spotted and brown hyena. As a non-profit organisation, it is reassuring to know that the majority of the proceeds from these activities and your stay at Okonjima will go towards maintaining and improving the worthy conservation projects. (Please note: the cheetah rehabilitation project that the reserve used to run has now ended and the reserve is no longer a release site, therefore cheetah tracking will no longer be offered as an activity.)

For those not lucky enough to stay at Okonjima, a similar big cat programme goes on at the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which can be easily visited on an excursion from Frans Indongo Lodge. Here, you can again learn about efforts to protect cheetahs in Namibia and more about the animals in general, before watching them get up to full, electric speed during sprint training