Shinta Mani Wild: at the glamorous rainforest retreat, guests patrol the forest after arriving by zip line
- Accompanying gun-toting anti-poaching patrols a highlight at this Bill Bensley-designed eco-lodge
- The architect bought the 350-hectare plot to offer an unrivalled guest experience while protecting the environment
Jungle resort, eh? Well, secondary jungle. The primary rainforest in this part of southern Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains was logged out in the free-for-all of the 1990s and 2000s. Shinta Mani Wild lies within Kirirom National Park, on the eastern edge of Southern Cardamom National Park, designated in 2016 to conserve Southeast Asia’s largest unfragmented rainforest. This biodiversity gem contains more than 2,000 species of plants and at least 50 globally threatened species of vertebrates, including elephants, clouded leopards and black bears.
How is that achieved? With the help of a naturalist and a ranger station. Munny Van keeps watch on the wildlife and poachers with the help of cameras throughout the property. He also gives guests tours of his trails, identifying droppings and pointing out claw marks on tree trunks. Shinta Mani funds a Wildlife Alliance station and its rangers patrol daily, accompanied by armed police. They remove snares, report logging, confiscate chainsaws, stop people taking land for themselves and check the wildlife-tracking cameras.
What if they come across miscreants? If possible, the police will make an arrest. Guests can see the rangers in action by joining a patrol through the forest, up hill and down dale, for a half or full day. A tall ranger led my patrol, supported by two Kalashnikov-wielding military policemen, from the post at the entrance to the property. Cautiously treading muddy paths overhung with foliage, the ranger cast a gimlet eye to left and right. The only evidence of a misdemeanour we found, though, was a fruit tree toppled by an elephant, which had already fled the scene. No arrest was made.
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah – is this the place with the amazing arrival arrangements? Yes – you get a literal overview of the place on your way in, strapped onto a zip line and whizzing 380 metres over the trees to the Landing Zone bar, in the heart of the resort. The faint-hearted can continue by SUV to the Headquarters, as the resort’s hub is known. Besides the open-sided bar with deep leather armchairs and lavish coffee-table books, there’s an open-sided restaurant on two levels, with views towards a sadly denuded mountainside and – just below – a waterfall that roars in the rainy season.