Africa's wildlife needs people who care enough to show up for it. These trips put you inside that work.
Jarryd spent years on the front lines of wildlife protection at andBeyond Phinda, working on anti-poaching operations and species monitoring for animals including black rhino, African wild dog and cheetah. That experience shaped what Wild Moments stands for and the type of reserves we choose to work with.
A conservation safari puts you to work. These are reserves where guests participate directly in fieldwork: joining researchers in the field, contributing to species databases and understanding the real challenges facing African wildlife. Your visit funds anti-poaching units, community programmes and habitat protection. The impact is tangible and trackable. All three reserves featured below are located in Southern Africa, and each one can be combined with other reserves or destinations to build a fuller itinerary.
Once degraded farmland, Phinda has been restored into one of Africa's most biodiverse private reserves, spanning seven distinct ecosystems. Guests can join Jarryd's former colleagues on rhino notching procedures, elephant collaring and pangolin tagging sessions. It is one of the few reserves that actively invites guests into its fieldwork. The reserve also makes an excellent choice for families, with a dedicated WILDChild programme for children.
South Africa's largest privately owned game reserve was built entirely around a conservation purpose. The Tswalu Foundation runs long-term research on pangolin, aardvark, brown hyaena and desert black rhino. Staying here means joining researchers in the field and getting a genuine understanding of what conservation science looks like on the ground.
In the malaria-free Eastern Cape, Kwandwe has rebuilt 22,000 hectares of overgrazed farmland into a Big Five reserve, much as Phinda did in KwaZulu-Natal. Black rhino were reintroduced here and are closely monitored, and guests can join the team on rhino notching, game capture and cheetah tracking. The Ubunye Foundation carries that work into surrounding Eastern Cape communities through education and food-security projects. Read more about Kwandwe.
Every booking through these reserves channels money into wildlife protection and community livelihoods. It makes for a richer experience and a trip that leaves something positive behind. Several of these reserves are also among the best in the country for wildlife photography, Tswalu and Phinda in particular.
Book a Conservation Safari