30th September 2009

We leave Etosha with another game drive and head towards Cheetah Park, a private farm dedicated to conserving Namibia's Cheetah population. We were able to walk around with the Cheetahs, photograph them and pat them. We then went on a game drive and watched the feeding of the wild cheetahs in the park. We were in a trailer being towed by a ute full of raw meat.

Despite being the fastest animal on earth, cheetahs are a fragile creature, with estimates placing their numbers about 10,000 worldwide. In Namibia, they are seen as a pest and are shot by farmers.

After losing 38 head of cattle to cheetahs in less than a month, the Nel family couldn't bring themselves to shoot the culprits. Instead, they trapped them. One of the cheetahs gave birth and the family hand-reared the cubs.

With nowhere to relocate the cheetahs, a tangle of government bureaucracy and a growing affection for the cats, the family began building an enclosure to keep them. Word spread and nearby farmers began to call on the Nels to trap problem cheetahs. Thus Otjitotongwe Cheetah Park was established, with the family offering tours and camping to offset the cost of maintaining the sanctuary.

Adding to the Otjitotongwe menagerie is a baby giraffe. Abandoned by its mother, the giraffe was nursed back to health by the Nels. It hangs around the house, roams outside the cheetahs' perimeter fence and drives them a little crazy. The giraffe poked its head in the trucks' window as we were leaving.