FAQ's
Weather & What to Pack
To ensure your comfort you may want to tailor your clothing choices to the time of year:
October – April:
The weather is generally warm and sunny during the day and cooler in the morning and evenings. We recommend casual summer clothes (shorts, skirts and cool shirts) and a warm jacket for the cooler times of evening. Mid summer is in December and the temperatures can reach 35°C and higher on some days. Air conditioners are available in the Lodge.
May – September:
This is fall and winter and the weather will be sunny and mild during the day, but colder in the mornings and evenings. We recommend casual light clothing and a very warm jersey and jacket for the extremely cold mornings and nights. Mid winter is between July and August, the temperatures can fall to as low as -5°C some nights. The lodge has a fireplace in all the rooms, and our vehicles are closed for your comfort in extreme weather conditions.
Best Time to go on Safari
Southern Africa is a year-round destination. Traditionally the dry winter months (April to October) are best for game viewing, due to the shorter grass, lack of foliage and the absence of water which forces the game to concentrate around the remaining sources of drinking water.
Kishindo is located in a semi arid area, the annual rainfall is very low. Short thunder showers usually occur in the afternoon, from December to March. Many mammal species give birth to their young around the start of the rains, so the bush is alive with newborn animals.
What to Bring
We recommend packing the following:
- Cotton clothing in neutral colours is recommended for all game drives and bush walks. It is best to avoid white clothing and dark colours for bush activities, as they tend to attract certain bugs. Formal wear is not required.
- Comfortable walking shoes/hiking boots for walks and sandals to wear around the lodge.
- Swimming costume/bathing suits, sun block, sun hat, sunglasses and lip balm.
- Camera and video camera, binoculars, spare memory cards and charging equipment.
- The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) is strictly prohibited at Kishindo.
- Our lodge is located in a remote areas and therefore guests should remember to bring an extra pair of correction glasses, and contact lenses, with contact lens solution (if required) as well as a sufficient supply of any prescription
Health & Travel
Malaria
Kishindo is situated in a malaria-free area. It is therefore not essential that guests consult their medical practitioners regarding anti-malaria requirements prior to travel.
Passports
All visitors to South Africa require a passport valid for six months from the date of departure. For each entry into South Africa, your passport must have at least two consecutive pages that are completely blank (not including the final page or endorsement pages). You may be refused entry if these conditions are not met.
Visas
Visitors from the USA, most Commonwealth countries, most Western European countries, and Japan don’t require visas, and will be issued a free entry permit on arrival, valid for up to 90 days. Visitors of other nationalities may need to obtain a visa from a South African embassy or consulate prior to travel. Please ensure that you check the entry requirements for the passport you will be travelling on in advance of your departure.
Travel Insurance
In order to protect your investment, we strongly encourage our guests to take out sufficient travel insurance as Kishindo does not take on the liabilities and risks associated with travel and cannot be held liable for delays, cancellations, or trip interruptions.
Can I book Kishindo for exclusive use?
Yes, Kishindo can be booked for exclusive use and is ideal for a family or small group of friends who want to enjoy the ultimate private and exclusive safari experience.
What is Kishindo’s child policy?
There are some aspects of the lodge and vehicles that are not safe for young children. We allow children from the age of 10yrs old and up.
What is the dining experience like? Can you cater for different dietary preferences?
Kishindo offers a good balance between fine dining and homestyle cooking, and we are able to cater to all our guests’ culinary needs. Apart from our meals served at the lodge, we also offer the chance to eat out in the bush at our designated “bush picnic” spots either overlooking the impressive and beautiful Vanderkloof dam or the incredible landscape that Kishindo has to offer.
Should I take precautions against malaria?
Fortunately, Kishindo falls well outside of South Africa’s malaria areas, therefore there is no need for concern.
Is Kishindo open to day visitors?
Yes, depending on the availability of our guides. We do not allow self-drive safaris. For more information and to book the day visitors offer, please contact us for more details.
What is the best way to travel to Kishindo?
By air – Fly commercially to Bloemfontein airport and get a 2½ hr road transfer to the reserve, OR fly a chartered flight to Gariep Dam tar airstrip and get a 1hr road transfer to the reserve. By road – Our reservations team can book a transfer for you, or you can self-drive to the reserve.
What activities can we do at Kishindo?
Apart from our game drives we do have a whole host of optional activities to participate in: we have a guided hike through the canyon focusing on the natural beauty of the area as well as fantastic birdwatching, stargazing, bush picnics where you can reconnect with nature while you enjoy a meal, night drives to search for some of our rarely seen nocturnal animals, and enjoy a meal, and night drives.
What is the weather like and what is the best time of the year to visit?
Fortunately, we enjoy good weather all year around. Winter evenings and early mornings (June, July, August) can be a bit on the cold side but the days are pleasantly warm. To cater for weather extremes our game drive vehicles are enclosed and blankets are provided to enhance your comfort. We find the best time to visit Kishindo is autumn and spring (March, April & May, and September, October & November) when temperatures are moderate.
Why have tigers in Africa?
Due to severe habitat loss, the Asian tiger is currently in a much more precarious position than any of the African Big Cats. Over the last 100 years, tigers have lost an estimated 95% of their historical range. Their wilderness has been destroyed, degraded, and fragmented by human activity. For this reason, the tiger is in dire need of help to survive the human overpopulation explosion. What the Tiger Canyon project has proven over the past 20 years is that captive-bred tigers can be rewilded. We have also seen that tigers adapt to foreign habitats with ease and are able to cope with African parasites, diseases, and prey species for food. In turn, tigers do not pose any threat to local biodiversity.
Apart from tigers, what other animals can we see at Kishindo?
Are the tigers kept in cages at Kishindo?
No, we don’t keep any animals in cages. We are located on a 6,100-hectare property in the Free State province where our tigers, cheetahs and all other species roam, hunt and graze freely. In fact, we are home to the only wild population of tigers outside of Asia and the only wild free-roaming white tigers in the world.
What is Kishindo’s conservation goal?
Our goal is to support the global effort to save the endangered Asian tiger alongside the endangered African cheetah. Just as, in the 1960s, renowned conservationist Dr. Ian Player had the foresight to move rhino around the world to ensure their survival, so we believe that an ex-situ population of rewilded tigers in Africa can play an important role in saving this iconic animal from extinction. We are home to third and fourth generation wild-born, wild-raised tigers who are self-sustaining and completely capable of being returned to the wild.
How is Kishindo’s conservation model different from other similar projects?
Why is rewilding important to tiger conservation?
The only hope for certain subspecies of tiger to ever live wild and free again, as they should, is to rewild them from captive-born stock. Rewilding of big cats is a relatively new concept. Kishindo leads the way in rewilding tigers and cheetah. Currently, there are more tigers in captivity (an estimated 5000) than there are in the wild (fewer than 4000). Once a species reaches a critically endangered level (as defined by the IUCN), the only hope for it to ever live wild (free roaming) and free again in a genetically viable fashion is via a rewilding process where captive animals go through a rewilding program. All Kishindo big cats are descendants of rewilded animals, who are now living normal free roaming lives, unrestricted by the confines of captivity.
What experience does Kishindo have with rewilding tigers?
Over the past 20 years, Kishindo’s Tiger Canyon project has gained experience and confidence in, while building empirical knowledge of, the process of rewilding populations of critically-endangered subspecies of tiger.
Tiger Canyon calls itself an ex-situ conservation project. What does this mean exactly?
Literally meaning, “off-site conservation”, it is the process of protecting an endangered species outside its natural habitat. The plight of the Asian tiger has reached a point where, in order to save this apex predator from extinction, ex-situ conservation is crucial. Other examples of this type of conservation include Dr Ian Player’s remarkable project to bring white rhinos back from the brink of extinction in the 1960s by creating ex-situ populations of this species across the continent and the globe; and the Chimfunshi Chimp Orphanage in Zambia, which provides a safe home for over 145 Chimpanzee even though they don’t occur here naturally.
I’ve seen photos of guests walking with cheetahs on the property. Is this not an invasion of their space?
The founder cheetahs at Kishindo were captive-born, and the founder males were hand raised, then rewilded. They have never forgotten the bond created when they were young and dependent on us, and as a result, have never shown concern or aggression towards humans. In turn, we respect their boundaries by not moving into their personal comfort zones. If they choose to move closer to us, it is their own free will. Touching of the cheetahs is not permitted.
Can I pet the cheetah or tiger cubs?
No. Despite being habituated to humans, our cheetahs are wild animals and our goal is to keep them that way. In terms of our tigers, we do not allow any interaction beyond admiring them from within the safety of our enclosed safari vehicles.
Can I hunt at Kishindo?
No, we strongly condemn and distance ourselves entirely from hunting of any kind. All the animals at Kishindo live full wild and free lives where natural occurrences are the determining factors of their lives.
I heard something about a cheetah breeding programme. What’s that all about?
Good question! Kishindo’s cheetah project works in collaboration with the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s (EWT) and The Cheetah Metapopulation Initiative, which aims to ensure much-needed genetic diversification of cheetah populations across Africa. By relocating cheetahs between respected reserves and sanctuaries, the goal of the project is to mitigate inbreeding and strengthen the gene pool of the African cheetah. Read more about our Cheetah Wild project in our blogs.
Are there any similar conservation-focused rewilding programmes for tigers?
As far as Kishindo is aware, there is no tiger metapopulation breeding programme in the world. Our Tiger Canyon project is working on introducing the cheetah metapopulation concept to international tiger conservation, as the diversification of wild tiger genetics is crucial to the survival of this iconic species. Every year while we manage our tiger and cheetah genetics and population sizes, our knowledge of big cat behaviour, care, management and relocation techniques grows; a valuable source of information for future conservation projects. We view our projects as a very important part of conservation for any big cat endangered species.
Does Kishindo export or sell tiger cubs?
At Kishindo we keep our population of tigers balanced according to our land size and prey species available for the tigers to hunt. Tiger cubs that are born on the reserve stay with their parents for about 2 to 3 years, and then disperse into their own territories. They replace tigers that die of old age or natural causes, replicating a completely natural ecosystem. Kishindo does not breed tiger cubs for sale, all the tiger cubs bred Kishindo grow up wild and live their entire lives on the reserve.
Kishindo is located on reclaimed stock farmland. Is this not problematic in terms of food security in Africa?
In 2013 the Drew family bought three domestic stock farms to increase the size of the Kishindo reserve four-fold. The land was semi-arid and had a low carrying capacity for domestic stock, but the land has proved to be ideal for wildlife. Biodiversity is, of course, something that Sir David Attenborough has been advocating for years. Rewilding agricultural farming land restores its biodiversity which underpins the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans. Without a wide range of animals, plants and micro-organisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat.
Reviews
Cheetah cubs…wow! Cuteness overload, white tigers awesome. All tigers awesome.”
Thank you to Chantelle, Connor, Sam & Team.”