Modisa Wildlife Project, Botswana Reviews 79

Modisa offers a wonderful opportunity to experience the pristine African bush. The gorgeous sunsets, beautiful nature, and special people becomes part of you when you're there and never leaves you when you go home. The exposure to the animals at Modisa is so special, you learn a lot about the animals and about concervation and the protection of them. It was a honor to be able to exeperience that.

Modisa Wildlife Project is without a doubt the most sincere and amazing organisation, I could've ever imagined of! All the staff members were all fantastic people, and their working skills were even more spectacular.
The experience taught me, not only a lot about myself, but even more about the wildlife in Africa!

No need to think about it guys, just book it and go!!
You're guaranteed the time of your life!

If you wanna experience the bush, make new friends, memories that will last a lifetime and have the time of your life, this is the place to go! Words can't describe. The people are amazing and I have experienced things I could never have dreamed of. I just ended my fourth stay at Modisa, and I can not imagine to never come back again. New adventures are literally at your doorstep every day, and you can just reach out and grab it! Going to Modisa was the best decision of my life so far:)

In september 2012 I visited Botswana and Modisa Wildlife Project for the first time.
To be honest, I was very nervous about going.. I've always been extremely afraid of spiders, hated bugs and never liked sleeping in tents before. How would I manage being so far away from home living in an environment so different from everything I know and everything I'm used to?
This experience blew me away. I had never in my life imagined I would love something so primitive and different so much. But it stole my heart.

The thought behind the project is incredible and I remain highly impressed by to two guys, Mikkel and Valentin, who are the founders of Modisa. Not only is the whole project impressive and interesting, these two guys are also extremely kind and caring people who makes you feel safe and comfortable.
It is hard to point out exactly what makes Modisa so amazing, but I'll try to describe parts of it: Falling asleep every night listening to the roars of the lions and the songs of the jackals. Waking up every morning to find elands jumping around in the bush. Sitting around the fireplace drinking Savannah Dry's while goofing around with the other volunteers. Enjoying the silence and the beautiful night sky full of stars. Getting to do things you never thought you'd be able to do - this makes your confidence grow.

In January 2014 I went back to Modisa - I simply missed it too much. I even changed my flightticket home while I was there because I didn't want to leave, so I stayed longer.

Leaving Modisa always brings me to tears.
Home is where the heart is and Modisa has mine... Looking forward to coming back!

If you want a unique, life changing experience you'll remember for eternity and an experience that'll make you grow as a person in knowledge and confidence, I can only recommend this!
If I can do it - anyone can do it. :-)

Do it! Do it! A trip you will never forget. Fantastic place with amazing people and animals. :)

I had the time of my life... For three times now and the fourth is yet to come. I can't discribe it properly you have to do this experience yourself but it's defnetly worth it. You'll learn a lot and see the world with different eyes!

The whole journey, from the moment you land in Maun, travelling on to the project in Kalahari, and till you're on your way home again, will provide you with amazing experiences, countless stories to tell, and lots of new knowledge about yourself, the project and conservation of the African nature.

Where to start..... I visited the Modisa project at the end of 2013 for one of the most memorable 5weeks of my life.
There are so many different options available for volunteer work or a volunteering holiday in Africa and I, like most spent countless hours researching where best would suit my requirements : A place where i had the chance to experience a 'real' part of Africa, somewhere where i could really learn and be educated about what conservation is and how it can be accomplished, somewhere honest and upfront about who they were,what they were doing and what they hope to achieve but mostly a place with a vision for conservation in Africa and its cats (No lion cub petting i.e grooming for caged hunting here!!!). And Modisa most certainly delivered all of this and more.
There are is so much conflicting information online and it can be a quite confusing as to what conservation actually is and how YOU can help... especially in Africa. Here my eyes were opened to the difficulties it faces and what a battle it really is. I remember being told 'your time here won't save all of the lions.... but it will help their cause by educating others and understanding the problem better yourself'. For me the most honest and reassuring statement i could of ever heard.
That is why I love and truly believe in this place, and why i am going back this year..... not to mention the experiences i will get to relive!!!
Amazing scenery of both animal and landscape, educating and thrilling game viewing and bush walks, a lot of hard sweaty work (that you will love!!) (The daily activities change and vary depending on what needs to be done and the situation.) and some truly amazing people that at the end of the day you get to share a few drinks with around the fire and view some of the most spectacular sunsets and night skies i have ever seen!!!! Its not for the faint of heart and it's not luxury, although it may change your opinion on what true luxury is... for me it changed to sleeping under a blanket of stars at night and being immersed into a beautiful part of the world.
I could talk for hours about the place the project and the people but all i can do is recommend you go and experience it for yourself and you like me will most probably fall in love with Africa and Modisa too.

I came to Africa as a part of a year off from school. I didn't know anything about Modisa, when I got there - but that just made the surprise so much more pleasant.
In the beginning I didn't know very much about the African nature, besides of the Big Five. But I sure do now! The great work you do there, combined with some lectures just makes the whole experience magical.
I still look back, at my pictures from there and get all the memories back from this amazing place. It will leave a mark on you, and when you see things you learned from Modisa, you can't stop smiling.
Modisa also inspired me to study biology on the university, and I'm now going in the direction of conservation and ecology.
So, thank you Modisa - I will definitely come back, at the first opportunity!

I have traveled and seen a lot of the world, but the incredible experiences at Modisa Wildlife Project is indescribable. It is difficult to but words on the experiences because it seems to normalize them. You will never forget the vibrating feeling from a lions roar in your chest.
The Kalahari is a beautiful place in it self. That, combined with the people and activities at Modisa makes experiences an unforgettable memory. I stayed for four weeks which passed like four days. I was more than ready to stay for another “four days”. I really loved my time at Modisa, and will hopefully return some day.
I can highly recommend visiting the Modisa Wildlife Porject if you want and active holiday with fantastic nature experiences.

I can highly recommend Modisa Wildlife Project if you want to experience the real African Nature. Modisa gave me the opportunity to really be as one with the Nature. It has been an honor to take part of this great project and I can only recommend other people to do the same. If you want an active holiday, a real nature experience or just to get away from the hectical materialistic world the this is the right place to go!
I will definitely be back

It was not my first trip to Modisa and once again it was exciting, enlightening and fullfilling in more ways that I could have ever imagined.

Modisa is about the beautiful place as itself, the nature, the sounds of the african bush, the feelings you get, the people you'll meet and become friends with, the overwhelming staff and nevertheless Modisa is about two amazing friends who put all the energy in their wildlife project.
The whole Modisa family makes your stay unforgettable and you receive an understanding of the conservation in Kalahari and the need of sustainability of wildlife and ecosystem.

Once you've been there you don't want to leave...or you come back again and again!

I spent the best 4 months of my life in this gorgeous corner of the Kalahari alongside the two truly amazing young men who run Modisa. I went there as a wildlife journalist in order to write about the project but the project and its people exceeded all my expectations.

Not only was I able to write about the wonderful work that Valentin Gruener and Mikkel Legarth do to protect Botswana's lion population, but I also witnessed the incredible bond between Sirga and Val, who actually hunt together, learned more than I could have ever hoped for about the bush thanks to Val and Mikkel's lectures, managed to get a deep understanding of the African way of life, and by the time it was time to leave, I simply didn't want to go!

Even as a writer it is hard to find the words to describe what a life-changing experience my time at Modisa was. I fell in love with the place. And meeting volunteers who come from all over the worlds is also part of what made this adventure so worthwhile.

When you spend so many days together, going on exciting game drives or game counts, take a walk in the bush with Modisa's skilled and knowledgeable local guides, help build the very camp you live in and see it grow, and spend plenty of relaxing nights by the fire under the incredibly starry Klahari sky, you end up sharing a deep connection, and after just a few weeks, you find you have made friends for life.

Waking up to see wild hartebeest or a lone jackal right outside my tent in the morning took my breath away every day and always made me want to see more. I never got enough of seeing animals on the massive farm where they run free.

This is what Modisa is like, it gives you the opportunity to taste the real Africa, to find yourself and I promise you, once you've been there, you will only want to come back for more!

I sincerely recommend this project to everyone out there looking for a life-changing experience that will literally sweep you off your feet! You will leave with a piece of real Africa in your heart, one that you will never want to let go of!

Modisa works hard to care for and try and relocate lions that who would otherwise have been shot by local farmers protecting their cattle. Sirga was one lucky lion to be saved as a cub when her mother abandoned her. While I didn't go to Modisa because of Sirga (the video of Val hugging her had not yet been released at the time), I of course quickly became very fond of her.

But the BEST thing about Modisa, is that it is NOT a lion farm, and you will not pet lions there, they are not breeding lions there, and you will see first-hand how Val and Mikkel have worked to rehabilitate this now healthy and almost fully grown orphaned lioness.

Val has helped Sirga with her first kill, and now they hunt together. Soon she will have a massive home of her own where she will be safe from humans and other lions but where she will be truly free to hunt and walk and run as she chooses.

So if you're still "thinking" about going to Modisa, stop, and just "go"! You will not regret it.

Well done, Val and Mikkel! And thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping the animals and giving me the best memories of my life!

Much love to you all
Mahina Perrot
Freelance journalist
WSW founder

In 2012 I spend 3 months at Modisa. It was such a unique experience that I still have to think about it every day. I can only recommend this place to everyone who loves nature and wants to make a diffrence.
You spend the whole day outside, do drives and walks into the bush and you learn so much about wildlife. You meet wonderful people, they'll soon feel like a family to you.
I can only say that I still miss this place and the people I met there. Can't wait to be back one day!!

I visited Modisa twice and there is no single day without thinking about that unique place in the Kalahari. Miss the thorn bushes, the animals, my little tent, the sunrises and sunsets... But most of all the amazing people who run the project and other volunteers I met. Back to basics, exciting activities - unforgettable memories. I've learned a lot: about the bush and wildlife conservation, about important and unimportant things in life and about myself. Every day I had a deep feeling of freedom and happiness which is hard to explain. Everybody who has been there will understand what I mean. There is only one bad thing about Modisa: The moment when you have to leave.

You will never forget the feeling of a lion's roar in your chest. The most special, wonderful experience of my life - you need to go and become part of the family - i cannot recommend enough.

A greath opportunity to be surrounded by nature and lovely, interesting and caring people!

Even if it is already 3,5 years, since I spent time at Modisa… I haven't forgotten one second about it.

Still <3 and miss you guys. Will be back.

A truly breathtaking experience. If you wanna give yourself the greatest gift to last a lifetime I can only recommend Modisa Wildlife Project. Because when your actual memories begin to seem like dreams, you know that something extraordinary has happened to you. My stay at Modisa is the best thing I've ever done!