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Spend a long weekend in the wilderness of the Cederberg Mountains exploring and developing the qualities of a leopard within yourself. Imagine possessing the inner Presence, Poise, Power and Purpose of these beautiful creatures...

More information, download the brochure and registration form.

Dear Cape Leopard Trust supporters, the project's very first research vehicle, a Suzuki jeep SJ410, fondly known as "Frikkadel" is in desperate need of refurbishment. Frikkadel was purchased with the first funds raised on the project in August 2004. Prior to that, Quinton Martins, who began work on the leopards in 2003, had been hitch-hiking to the Cederberg as the project had no vehicle. Today, the project has bigger, more impressive vehicles, but will always have a soft spot for the car that helped start the project up.

In February/March 2012, we will have a researcher studying the ecology of caracals in relation to leopards in the Cederberg, and Frikkadel will be the ideal vehicle for this purpose. We are therefore putting out an appeal to anyone interested in restoring this Cederberg icon (Suzuki SA ...?). If you are personally interested in this "project", or know a meticulous car tinkerer willing to restore it, please contact us ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Presently the awesome Bridgestone tyres and Old Man Emu suspension are the best attributes of this well used mountain dweller.

American big cat trapping expert Dairen Simpson, Maxi (from Driehoek) and Frikkadel

It is always exciting to download the memory cards from our camera traps - we go through the photos in great anticipation; always hoping that a spotted cat would pop up on our laptop screen.  Imagine the thrill when you don't just see one leopard, but three on a single image!  The chances of capturing a leopardess with cubs on camera is very slight indeed, but the Wemmershoek females have treated us to this rare sight yet again!

Surely one of the biggest draw cards of Mountain Biking as a sport is the great outdoors - many routes and trails (some demanding more effort than others) take you to some of the most beautiful vistas, pristine wilderness areas and tranquil, yet exhilarating, open spaces. The Contego Wines2Whales (W2W) MTB race and adventure is no different.  The W2W route falls within the southern borders of the Boland Project's study area, and the organisers of the W2W event generously donated 5 remote-sensing field cameras to the project to survey new locations within the study area, not only for leopard activity but also for the presence of other nocturnal and shy mammals.  The cameras were deployed at selected spots along the W2W route in August 2011, and have since recorded leopard, porcupine, large-spotted genet, baboon, common duiker, dassie and Cape hare.

When buying a camera trap, one should always be conscious of how one intends to use it and especially how frequently it will be checked. If you can check a camera fairly regularly, then cameras that record video, etc. can be a great way to record behaviour. For us, however, this function is often impractical as cameras need to be checked more frequently - something that can be difficult to do when you have over 60 cameras spread across several hundred square kilometres. So we tend to go for cameras that record good-quality still photos, but have decent battery life, rather than those that can record video.

Every so often, though, something happens that makes us regret not having a video clip of the incident!

Show your support for the Cape leopard by donning one of these catchy, brand-new Cape Leopard Trust t-shirts!

The Hemporium helped us source these beautiful, comfortable and vibrant hemp t-shirts. Hemp is an extremely interesting substance:

In September 2011, Avis South Africa came on board as a main sponsor of the CLT Boland Project. They have sponsored the project the use of a new Toyota Hilux Double-Cab 4x4. This sponsorship is invaluable, as a robust, reliable off-road vehicle is essential on a project of this nature. The Boland Project researchers travel about 30,000km a year while conducting field work and doing environmental education work.  Considerable mileage is done on rough, off-road terrain, and this awesome vehicle is the perfect vehicle for the job.

On the evening of 21 September, Anita and Jeannie of the CLT Boland Project gave a presentation to members of the Helderberg branch of WESSA (Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa).  The talk went very well, and we would like to thank the members for being such an enthusiastic, appreciative and generous audience.  WESSA has also sponsored a camera trap in the past - something for which we are always very grateful.

September has come and with it camp season in the Cederberg has begun again. This season the Cape Leopard Trust’s environmental camps are fully booked. The first two have been sponsored camps – Paternoster’s St Augustine school and the Muizenberg Beach Club. It is through the generous support of the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) that the CLT’s education programme is able to function. It has been an absolute delight seeing the newly decorated NLDTF bus in the mountains filled with children!
We would like to share some feedback that we have had on these two camps.

From St Augustine’s Primary, Paternoster: