{"id":869253,"date":"2026-10-03T10:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T10:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/869253\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T10:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T10:00:11","slug":"the-only-reserve-in-africa-where-you-can-walk-with-cheetahs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/869253\/","title":{"rendered":"The only reserve in Africa where you can walk with cheetahs"},"content":{"rendered":"

During a recent walk through Samara Karoo Reserve<\/a> in South Africa\u2019s Eastern Cape, I learned the recipe for the ultimate safari sundowner \u2014 and it wasn\u2019t a G&T. It was golden light, blissful silence, and a wild cheetah lounging 20 feet away like she owned the place. (She did.)<\/p>\n

Her name is Mbali, and despite her regal pose, she\u2019s a busy mother. Her litter of six mischievous cubs was still hanging onto its last bits of baby fluff: silver-gray mullets meant to disguise them as fierce honey badgers. As the sun set, I crouched low to watch Mbali groom and nuzzle her little ones, amazed that the family remained so relaxed and confident around humans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Such a rare privilege is possible thanks to Mbali\u2019s great-grandmother, the legendary Sibella, and decades of careful, responsible habituation. Wild cheetahs \u2014 notoriously skittish animals \u2014 have been accustomed to people on foot at Samara since 2004, when Sibella was released on the reserve after being rescued and rehabilitated by the De Wildt Cheetah & Wildlife Trust following a brutal hunting attack.<\/p>\n

Feline fine: Fresh cheetah litters have to earn their spots. Their gray mullets look cute, but mimic heartless honey badgers. Roelof Wiesner and Samara Karoo Reserve<\/p>\n

She became the first cheetah in South Africa\u2019s Great Karoo region \u2014 decimated by unregulated farming and hunting \u2014 in almost 130 years.<\/p>\n

Despite the trauma she experienced at human hands, Sibella remained remarkably relaxed around Samara\u2019s guides, permitting them to accompany her \u2014 and later her cubs \u2014 on foot.<\/p>\n

\u201cScientists can\u2019t explain it,\u201d said Sarah Tompkins, Samara Karoo Reserve\u2019s founder and director. \u201cGiven her previous abuse, Sibella should have been terrified. But she allowed human beings into her space and to view her cubs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That incredible legacy continues today. Each new cheetah generation, raised in an environment where humans keep a respectful distance, lets people approach on foot<\/a>. Today, Samara, a leader in rewilding the Great Karoo, is considered one of the best places on the continent to photograph cheetah. Guests can also opt to book the Cheetah Trail<\/a>, a three-night slackpacking experience. Both activities offer a meaningful way to leave the vehicle behind and learn firsthand about the challenges facing one of Africa\u2019s most threatened big cats. Fewer than 7,000 adult cheetahs<\/a> remain in the wild.<\/p>\n

Curiosity is as strong with big cats as it is with house cats. Guenter Lenz and Samara Karoo Reserve<\/p>\n

According to Tamsyn Fricker, co-founder of Travel Artistry Africa<\/a>, more travelers are eager than ever to get out of the game vehicle and onto an active safari.<\/p>\n

\u201cFolks are keen to engage and learn about tracking and conservation,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about slowing down to really see and understand these creatures.\u201d<\/p>\n

The goal is for guests to leave with a deeper desire to protect certain species and regions, but not every walk is created equal. When choosing where to go on safari, a property that guarantees a specific sighting or offers \u201cinteractions\u201d like an animal walking beside you is a red flag.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also as playful. Mathieu Courdesses and Samara Karoo Reserve<\/p>\n

\u201cA legitimate operator doesn\u2019t seek direct access to an animal and confirms guide credentials (walking guides need extra training) without hesitation,\u201d said Fricker.<\/p>\n

At Samara, no one promised me Mbali. Nature doesn\u2019t work on demand, and the guides never pretended otherwise. She was a wild cheetah, unbothered, raising her family exactly as she would have whether or not we were there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paw patrol<\/p>\n

Eager to spot more African animals on foot? Don\u2019t miss these walks on the wild side.<\/p>\n

Rhinos in South Africa<\/p>\n

Horn in on the action at the Kwandwe Private Game Reserve. Martin Gregus<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Eastern Cape [of South Africa] has become an epicenter of black rhino conservation,\u201d said Angus Sholto-Douglas, managing director of the 74,000-acre Kwandwe Private Game Reserve<\/a>. During a recent visit, I tracked both black and white rhinos on foot from a respectful distance and participated in a specialized Rhino Conservation Safari<\/a>, during which the reserve\u2019s ecological team and veterinarians gathered vital data and fit a young rhino with a state-of-the-art, solar-powered ankle collar.<\/p>\n

Elephants in Zimbabwe<\/p>\n

A postprandial plod with a pachyderm? Proceed! African Bush Camps<\/p>\n

Elephants never forget. And neither does Calvet Nkomo. The head guide at African Bush Camps<\/a>\u2019 Somalisa Camp, Nkomo boasts more than 30 years of experience and encyclopedic knowledge of the individual animals in Hwange National Park \u2014 home to one of Africa\u2019s largest elephant populations. When he noticed a particularly placid bull during one of our walks, he expertly instructed me to duck into the grass until the right moment when we could safely alert the elephant of our presence.<\/p>\n

Gorillas in Rwanda<\/p>\n

Trekking with mountain gorillas in Rwanda\u2019s Volcanoes National Park<\/a> has become popular among wildlife enthusiasts \u2014 and for good reason. \u201cLooking into the eyes of a gorilla feels like gazing into a mirror of one\u2019s soul,\u201d said Inge Kotze, head of conservation at Singita<\/a>, which runs nearby Kwitonda Lodge<\/a>.
It\u2019s an ecotourism success story. Mountain gorillas, once down to just 242 individuals in 1981, now number nearly 1,100 \u2014 the only great ape whose population is rising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During a recent walk through Samara Karoo Reserve in South Africa\u2019s Eastern Cape, I learned the recipe for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":869254,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1926,1147,196816,10557,19490,169891,149,40244,79,5705,2427,201],"class_list":["post-869253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-africa","tag-animals","tag-cheetahs","tag-elephants","tag-fall","tag-gorillas","tag-lifestyle","tag-rhinos","tag-science","tag-south-africa","tag-travel","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}