One Year Later

The day the river rose

It began with a warning... overnight, heavy rains lashed Oudtshoorn, and by early morning, the Grobbelaars River, which runs alongside the ranch, began to rise at an alarming rate. The river, already full from weeks of rain, finally gave way. It breached its banks, rose almost four meters on our property, and surged through our grounds.

A retaining wall collapsed, sending floodwaters hurtling into critical areas—including our animal habitats, play park, retail outlet, restaurant, and key infrastructure like water filtration systems and power lines. The destruction was fast, forceful, and deeply humbling.

Rescue Mode

With just moments to act, our incredible team jumped into gear. Every animal—lions, leopards, cheetahs, tigers, birds, reptiles, snakes, and sheep—were moved to higher ground, our care centre, or our private reserve.

One frightened Red-Rumped Agouti escaped his enclosure during the evacuation and leapt straight into the floodwaters. While Agoutis are excellent swimmers, it remains the only animal still unaccounted for. 

The Aftermath

The cleanup was brutal. Thick mud blanketed walkways. Our boundary wall was gone. Systems we rely on to keep animals safe and healthy—like our bio-filtration and drainage infrastructure—were damaged beyond recognition. And all of this happened just as our busy tourist season was starting.

Still, we showed up. Every single day. In soaked boots and with tired eyes—but with purpose.

We split into teams. One group cleared debris. The other rebuilt vital systems. Piece by piece, pump by pump, wall by wall—Cango came back.

Community: Our Lifeline

We weren’t alone. We’ll never forget the kindness shown by those around us.

Local heroes: Businesses like Beans About Coffee, Buffelsdrift Game Lodge, ATW Motors, Africamps and countless neighbours assisted in various ways, some even dropped off food, warm drinks, and much needed supplies and tools.
Volunteers: International students from Loop Abroad and our very own Wild Animal Volunteers (WAV) program rolled up their sleeves without hesitation.
Our online family: From generous donations to supportive messages—every single gesture lifted us.
You reminded us we’re part of something bigger.

A Hard Pause

We made the difficult decision to temporarily close the ranch, resulting in cancelled tours, experiences, and volunteer programs—at a time we needed the revenue most. But we refused to put finances ahead of safety. Instead, we made the time count. We reinforced infrastructure, upgraded emergency protocols, and cross-trained our teams to respond even faster in future crises.

One Year Later

Today, we stand proud—and more prepared.

Our enclosures have been repaired for resilience.
New water-diversion systems and our reinforced perimeter wall has been rebuilt.
Our filtration and aquatic systems are stronger than ever.
We’ve refined how we communicate and respond—both online and off.
And most importantly, our conservation mission remains intact, with even more urgency, wisdom, and connection than before.

In Gratitude

To our team: Your courage will never be forgotten.
To our volunteers: You went from helping animals to helping rebuild their world.
To our supporters: Every cent, every share, every kind word—it mattered.

The flood tried to wash us away, but instead, it revealed how deeply our roots run.

Thank you for helping through our darkest storm. Here's to the light we built together—and the wild, wonderful future ahead!

VIDEO: A year in review

 VIDEO: The 2024 Flood