The world
famous De Wildt Cheetah Research Centre is a must for any visitor to Gauteng.
They have been breeding cheetahs successfully in captivity for several
decades now. They are also reintroducing "problem captured" cheetahs back
into the wild. This research centre on the outskirts of Pretoria also cares
for other endangered species such as the African Wild Dog for instance.
They also have the king cheetah whose pattern differs strongly from the
usual spotted coat of the animals.
Everyone meets
at either 8h30 or 13h30 next to reception. There will be coffee & tea
available. If you were early you can wander around a bit and check out
some cheetahs, king cheetahs, honey badgers and more. They normally start
5 minutes late as the Jo'burg crowd always run late duo to traffic, but
won't wait longer than that. Next up is a introduction to De Wildt - the
humble beginnings, history, successes & other info like basic genetics
- this takes about 20 minutes. Note that if you arrive after this you won't
be able to join but will get charged if they showed other people away.
Alternatively they might have sold your places. So after this you will
get on a vehicle & do a rough 2,5 hours all over the place - owls,
vultures, brown hyena, wild dogs, some tame game, more wild dogs, cheetahs,
cheetahs & cheetahs. The time will really fly & before you know
it it will be over. You will then have a chance to have a pic taken with
Byron or 1 of the 4 other trained cheetahs. This is an extra at R100 for
1 or 2 pax together or R150 for a maximum of 4. You can also support their
Curio shop or adopt a cheetah for a fee, it all goes for a good cause.
The tour is
very popular and often booked out long in advance - numbers are limited
to 24 per session in the week & 48 pax on weekends. So a booking is
necessary. Don't even think of trying to just arrive as you won't get past
the security gate if your name is not on the booking list.
I have done the trip
at least 10 times over the last 10 years. Even as a guide I learn something
new every time. This is absolutely worth doing & I do it again
every now & then. I have yet to meet an incompetent guide from De Wildt.
They are excellent & love what they do. The guides in the week are fulltime
and on the weekends they normally use volunteers. 1 lady doing weekends
sometimes takes up to 4 hours on the trip, she just get totally carried
away...she is really cool. Lastly it is better doing this trip from Pretoria,
the traffic from Jo'burg is atrocious. If you are in Jo'burg and want to
do this you should try do it on a weekend, preferably sundays. If you have
a choice between staying in Pretoria and Jo'burg & you chose jo'burg(good
luck) & go in the week, take something to do with. You will be in the
traffic at least 2 hours plus another 2 hours driving. You might also miss
the trip & will still have to pay for it.
