Today we set off to the Kingdom of the White Lion. It's just about 5km from Lesedi Cultural Village but on a bumpy off road track it takes us nearly 30 minutes to get there.

The Kingdom is owned by the legendary Lion Whisperer, Kevin Richardson. STA Travel partners exclusively with the Kingdom of the White Lion and is the only company who sends volunteers to work at this amazing project.

The Kingdom of the White Lion although primarily set up for the filming of the feature film Kevin produced called "White Lion-Home is a journey", was also set up (always in the back of our minds) as a sanctuary for all the actors featured in the film as well as other animals that he has relationships with. The park is home to lion including the rare white lion, both brown and spotted hyena, black leopard, jaguar and a variety of antelope species including blue wildebeest, giraffe, impala, blesbok and nyala.

Kevin has always shown an interest in all types of creatures large and small and from an early age at just 3, was breeding crickets under his bed and keeping a pet toad called "Paddajie". He grew from a young boy who cared for so many animals that he was called "The Bird Man of Orange Grove" in his home town to an adolescent who ran wild and, finally, to a man who is able to cross the divide between humans and predators. As a self-taught animal behaviorist, Richardson has broken every safety rule known to humans when working with these wild animals. Flouting common misconceptions that breaking an animal's spirit with sticks and chains is the best way to subdue them, he uses love, understanding and trust to develop personal bonds with them. His unique method of getting to know their individual personalities, what makes each of them angry, happy, upset, or irritated-just like a mother understands a child-has caused them to accept him like one of their own into their fold.

Kevin has used his unique relationship with these large predators to make documentaries and commercials while working at the Lion Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was there that award winning documentary maker Michael Rosenberg spotted Kevin's unusual abilities and decided to capture these special relationships on film which kick started off Kevin's documentary making career with Dangerous Companions, and other shows like Growing up hyena.
Kevin's has been involved in various conservation and research projects in the Okavango Delta and Lydenberg area and as a result has produced another documentary on black leopard called In Search of a Legend.

The filming work Kevin has been involved in over the years has grown and as a result he has moved with the animals he works with to a larger farm nestled just outside the Cradle of Human Kind 50-60km North of Johannesburg called the Kingdom of the White Lion. He resides opposite the property where the animals are kept, and works closely with them on a daily basis.

It is here he has been working on the dramatic feature film called White Lion, a project in the making for 4 years. The film released on the 19th of February 2010 in South Africa and details the life of a young white lion, "Letsatsi", who against all odds survives to become the magnificent adult white lion he was born to be.

Whilst we don't meet Kevin in person, we are well taken care of by his lovely wife, Mandy as well as farm manager Rodney along with the wonderful staff at the Kingdom.

We frolick with a black baby leopard and play with two naughty hyenas. We also try our hand at Volunteer tasks including cleaning enclosures and deweeding - all a bit much on the hangovers!

If your dream is to work on Kevin's project visit: http://www.statravel.co.za/cps/rde/xchg/za_division_web_live/hs.xsl/8023.htm

We thank Kevin, Mandy, Rodney and the whole team at KOWL for an unforgetable experience!