WILD HORIZONS has won the tender for a 1 900-hectare piece of the Victoria Falls Safari Park, leased by Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority. Wild Horizons has committed to rehabilitating the area and introducing game scout patrols to keep illegal activities out of the area. The second phase of the operation will see the reintroduction of species that originally occurred in the area, including waterbuck, white rhino, zebra and giraffe. Wild Horizons will also relocate the bulk of its existing elephant-back safari operation to the area. Plans are also in place to introduce a cheetah breeding programme to the property. “Our plan is to utilise the offspring from our breeding programme to restock viable areas within the country, in collaboration with our wildlife authority,” says Shane White, sales and marketing director for Wild Horizons. Work is already under way, with the first stage and the new elephant stables due for completion by July 2007. The translocation of the elephant herd will be complete by September. The cheetah breeding will be phased in early in 2008, with viable breeding stock being imported from South Africa. The final phase of the project will be the construction of an 18-bed tented safari lodge on the Zambezi Gorge. Brought to you by TravelHub... Sue Lewitton (suel@nowmedia.co.za)
