A Journey of Protection
CUATIR
It's a love affair.
"My love affair with the Cuatir started with a late afternoon flight over the area in December 2012. I was bumbling along over the vast Angolan landscape... I could not believe my eyes."
During 21 years of being a conservationist, pilot and charter operator, I have seen many areas, where pristine African Wilderness was sliced up into a mosaic of patches for agricultural use. Since I could see no trace of human activity in the area I knew this was a place worth visiting.
"Due to other business obligations, it took us four years to first scout the area on land, get all the paperwork in place and start with the development of a research camp and a tented bush camp for guests. The Cuatir Conservation Project was born."
– Stefan van Wyk
The Sanctuary
Today Cuatir is a developed conservation area consisting of some 40,000 hectares. We have a base camp with six premium chalets, catering for fly-in safaris as well as a bush camp catering for self-drive visitors who wants to experience the solitude and wildlife of this natural wonder.
Activities include wildlife tracking with a San guide, a drive through the immaculate Woodland Savannah forest by quad-bike, a boat cruise on the Cubango river or a dugout canoe cruise on the Cuatir river, searching for the elusive Sitatunga. Here you can experience dinner overlooking the Cuatir floodplains in a tree house dining room, built in an old rosewood tree on top of a sand dune.
The Promise
Back at our base in Menongue I consulted Google Earth and my old Portuguese maps of the Angolan hinterland. No roads, no access, no towns nada, which suited me fine! I rented a helicopter and pilot... I quickly went on a brief scouting trip and also took some soil and grass samples.
"On my way back to the helicopter I saw the tracks of four antelopes that ran away when we approached the area. The tracks were big, 11 cm long... I was going to protect one of the last true wilderness areas in Angola!"