Okonjima Nature Reserve, 240km north of Windhoek on the B1 and D2515, is the home of the AfriCat Foundation, one of Namibia’s most significant large carnivore conservation organisations. AfriCat rehabilitates cheetah and leopard that have been removed from farmland (often as problem animals) and either releases them where possible or maintains them in a large, semi-wild reserve enclosure.
The Leopard Tracking Walk
The signature Okonjima experience. A guide and tracker walk with guests through the reserve following a specific habituated leopard, an animal that has been conditioned to the presence of guiding groups over months or years. The leopard moves naturally through the bush; the guide positions the group and follows at a respectful distance.
The encounter quality depends on the individual animal’s activity and the conditions. A hunting leopard that is completely ignoring the group and moving at its own pace through dense bush, 15 metres ahead, is a specific quality of leopard encounter that no other Namibia destination provides.
Dauer: 2 to 3 hours; departs at dawn.
The Cheetah Run
At scheduled times, habituated cheetahs in the reserve are given the opportunity to run at speed in a large open area. Guests are positioned at a viewing point; the cheetahs are released and run. The speed and the physical movement of a cheetah at full acceleration are extraordinary even for visitors who have seen cheetahs in other contexts.
Overnight at Okonjima
Okonjima operates as an overnight lodge; the AfriCat visitor programme is most fully experienced with a single overnight (two activity sessions: evening and dawn). The lodge facilities are good mid-range standard; the accommodation is the Okonjima Bush Camp (tented) or the Okonjima Plains Camp (chalets).
Distance from Windhoek: 240km north; approximately 2.5 hours. Most visitors combine Okonjima with the Waterberg Plateau (65km further north) and Etosha on the standard northbound circuit.