“The Tenikwa Cat Awareness Centre is brilliant”
The chance to get up close with caracels, lions, servals, African wild cats, cheetahs and leopards is not to be missed. Our guides, Peter and Patrick gave us lots of really useful and interesting information. Thee Tenikwa Centre is a must-see location. Don’t miss it!
“Extraordinary Experience with Passionate Professionals”
First of all, Tenikwa and our tour deserves 10 points. The work being done here and what you learn is unbelievable and all the people are committed to its mission. We felt honored to be part a day at Tenikwa.
Now regarding our tour, the walk with the the cheetah, it was over the top! Our guide Ash was so knowledgeable and caring he thought ahead of everyone’s needs, ours and the cheetah. He started by first showing us a short film explaining a few safety precautions and information about the cheetah.
Our walk began along with his assistant Peter who worked with Ash in bringing the cheetah out in the specially enclosed area which was several acres in size. The pair worked in tandem, Peter typically ahead of the cheetah and Ash and ourselves just a few feet behind him. We walked for over an hour, sometimes we had to jog to keep up For short periods. Periodically the cheetah would just lay down and roll in the dirt to. mark his territory, or take a drink of water from a pond.
Peter was fabulous taking our cameras from us and getting incredible photos for us in addition to the ones we took ourselves.
There are barely any words to describe being so close to this magnificent cat.
Later in the morning, After complimentary tea/coffee and a muffin, we toured the other big cats of Africa with Ash’s other assistant Patrick,and saw two incredible white lions, a leopard that was above our heads resting, and more beauties!
We were very grateful to all the extpertise these gentleman shared with us during our visit. Our only regret was not having more time to have more experiences. They offer an array of great tours, all very educational. It was also good to hear the fee for the tours supports Tenikwa.
“Amazing.”
This was a highlight of our 3 weeks in southern Africa. Had a chance to walk with Cheetahs that are wild!! Mfundo Ash-Sizwe was a wonderful guide that made a terrifying experience a highlight. We were one if ,6 people that walk with Cheetahs 2 times per day to enhance their lives. The roam free we followed their lead. Amazing. Bravo to this center that rescues these animals.
“Inspirational Place!!”
Our sunset Cheetah Walk was one of the highlights of our visit to South Africa. To be up close to two majestic beautiful animals was a dream come true. The walk is all about the cheetahs as you are joining them on their walk and we felt very honoured to be part of it. There are no leads and you simply follow the cheetahs at their pace. At no time did we feel unsafe and had three wonderful guides with us – Msizi, Mfundo and Patrick, who are very knowledgable and passionate about the animals. There was plenty of photo opportunities on the walk. This is an amazing centre which is doing some much in raising awareness of conservation issues in South Africa and in rehabilitating animals. An amazing experience was had by everyone and fantastic memories were made. We hope to be back one day!!
“Crazy Cat day!!”
My wife and I are animal lovers and decided to experience the crazy cat day offered at Tenikwa Wildlife center. It was truly a memorable day. You start your morning by helping the staff with any morning duties in the rehab center. We fed some rescued penguins, and spent time prepping food and feeding a 2 month old porcupine.
After that we enjoyed a delicious hot breakfast and coffee on their terrace, before meeting up with our absolutely wonderful guide Joel who we spend the rest of the day with.
The afternoon was spent visiting the many cat enclosures on the property. Joel guided us through the center viewing many of the cats (I.e the lions and leopards) from outside their enclosure, but taking us with the confines of the cheetah and Serval enclosures. We never felt unsafe as Joel guided us where to walk, where to sit, and what to do.
After a delicious afternoon lunch break (I enjoyed chicken curry and some chocolate cake), we had the amazing experience of feeding the cats. With all of these cats being wild, Joel was careful to ensure that we fed the cats from a safe distance and outside of their enclosure.
We capped the day off with a 2k walk with their beautiful male and female cheetahs. Surrounded by multiple guides, we meandered through a trail that was just off the main cheetah enclosure. This was simply a superb way to close out our day.
“Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre”
What a humbling experience to have the opportunity to see the big cats up close. My husband and I were lucky enough to be accompanied by Mfundo, our tour guide. It was magical to witness such passion and love for the animals radiating from him. We left with changed perceptions and renewed motivation to conserve our planet and wildlife for future generations.
We would highly recommend this experience for all tourists. Truly amazing!
“A Great Experience”
When staying in Plettenburg Bay in February 2017 we found details at our guest house of this reserve that was situated in the Craggs area just a short drive from Plettenburg Bay. We were interested in the reserve after reading about the efforts they make to rescue and recuperate wild cats and other species.
We were guided around the reserve by Peter who was both very interesting, knowledgable and passionate about the animals in his reserve. Peter guided us around and talked in depth about the cats (both large and small) and other animals he clearly enjoyed his work and seemed very dedicated to the conservation of African wildlife.
On the walk we were taken into the pen with the Servals which are not a small cat, whilst one of them hissed at me a fair bit I did not feel in danger as Peter was very cautious in how we approached, they are also used to a certain amount of human interaction. The end of the tour when we were taken in the cheetah enclosure was the highlight for me and something i will never forget, being within touching distance of such a beautiful creature is truly special.
This is a great experience and a great example of conservation and education, I would recommend a visit to anyone and if i return to the area would go back again. Make sure that you see the Meerkats too, very amusing.
“Close Encounter with Wild Animals ”
We enjoyed our visit to Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre where we were made aware of how some of the sick or injured wild animals were rescued, rehabilitated and then released back to the wild.
It was an enriching tour as well as a thrilling one as we came up close to see African storks, blue cranes, Caracals, servals, meerkats, leopards, lions and even went with the guide into an enclosure where 2 cheetahs were. What an awesome experience! I highly recommend this tour!
“Unbelievable Experience”
Tenikwa Wildlife Centre is a unique experience. We did the Cheeta walk with our guids Mfundo, Joel and Msizi. Special thanks to this guys, who gives so much love to the animals and their job. They make time for you to answer all your questions.
You don’t have a ‘zoo feeling’, because the animals whill raise up as natural as possible. It is definitely worth your money, and you help them to grow the rehabilitation programs of the facility.
Thank you Tenikwa!
Martin & Michelle (31/05/17)
“Fantastic place to visit – a must see”
Even with a 2 year old in a stroller – this was an amazing place to visit. The premises are very well organised and our guide – Msizi – was extremely friendly and well-informed. Since we had a toddler with us we only did the minimum tour which was a guided walk around the premises for over an hour. It started with a short video and then we went onto see caracal, serval, wild cat, cheetah, 2 lion cubs and leopard as well as some other animals (penguins, an injured buck, meerkats). All but the caracals and leopard are in walk-in enclosures. And the walk through the cheetah enclosure was particularly exciting. The setup really does seem like a great rehab centre. The cats to be released are kept away from visitors and instead those in the enclosures stay on-site for education purposes and to fund rehabilitation of the others. The enclosures were all large and well setup and the animals looked very happy and in amazing condition. I would definitely recommend this visit and if you have time and the money consider the other tours and experiences that they offer.