South Africa wildlife volunteering holiday
Weekend trip options are offered with food at your own expense.
Stays of 2 weeks or more highly recommended.
Additional weeks cost £350 per week.
Description of South Africa wildlife volunteering holiday
Enjoy a safari trip with a difference at this Big 5 reserve in South Africa, volunteering with wildlife conservation projects. Each day you will head out into the reserve to help conserve the animals and maintain the reserve, preserving native flora and fauna for generations to come.
The reserve is located an hour away from Port Elizabeth, which marks the end of the famous Garden Route. There is never a dull day on the reserve. Building fences, preventing erosion and planting trees has never been more appealing with a giraffe towering above you. This is a great way to enjoy safari by actually living it day by day!
There is also plenty of interaction with the animals, helping with the care and feeding at the rehabilitation area. Some of the highlights include tracking and monitoring animal behaviour, doing safaris at all times of day and even night, and meeting people from all around the world.
Daily routines vary according to the time of year and the movements of the wildlife, but you will always be getting stuck into a vast variety of tasks at the reserve.
Free time
The fun doesn't stop at the weekends either. You have the option of getting out of the reserve to explore the local area and sample a bit of city life in Port Elizabeth. Alternatively you are more than welcome to kick back and relax at the reserve, making the most of the swimming pools, tennis courts and excellent leisure facilities.
Accommodation and food
The accommodation is newly built and has a distinctly African feel about it, full of vibrant colours and comfortable seating areas. You will be sharing a room with other participants in the thoughtfully constructed dormitory-style rooms with large lounges and outdoor areas to relax.
Three delicious meals are provided each day at the reserve, so you don’t even need to worry about cooking. The food is varied, with an African/ Asian feel to it.
Itinerary
| Monday | Arrival in Port Elizabeth and transportation to the reserve |
| Week days | Helping out around the reserve takes place on each day of the week. Days start around 7am and finish around 16.30, with plenty of time to enjoy the area and facilities |
| Weekends | At the weekends you can either relax in the beautiful reserve or head out on one of our trips to explore the countryside around you |
| Departure | Transfer back to Port Elizabeth in time for a flight after midday on a Saturday or any time on a Sunday |
Price information
Weekend trip options are offered with food at your own expense.
Stays of 2 weeks or more highly recommended.
Additional weeks cost £350 per week.
Departure information
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Reviews
5 Reviews of South Africa wildlife volunteering holiday
Reviewed on 11 Apr 2018 by Caroline Mancioppi
The highlight was being able to see so many different animals during the multiple game drives: elephants, giraffes, lions, rhinos, hippos, zebras, buffalos. It was truly amazing! Read full reviewReviewed on 24 Mar 2016 by Kirstin Runcie
5 I couldn't of had a better time. I truly had the time of my life, I felt at home, happy and really didn't want to go home. It seems crazy now to think its all over but this whole experience couldn't have been much better. Best decision of my life. Read full reviewReviewed on 19 Nov 2015 by Mark Milligan
A fabulous experience and I would be keen to return. Read full reviewReviewed on 18 Feb 2014 by Kim Mackie
The best part was meeting the elephants and having contact with them. They are such amazing animals and I could spend all day long observing them, which I did even on some of my days off Read full reviewReviewed on 14 Nov 2013 by Hugh Quigley
An amazing experience that I will never forget and am immensely grateful for! Read full reviewResponsible Travel
Planet
WildlifeThe reserve places conservation at the top of its agenda. Through the help of the volunteers, the reserve is made a good place to be for the wildlife within it. Volunteers are taught to care for the animals, to treat them with respect and to make sure that they act appropriately around them at all times.
The project
Throughout their time on the Big 5 project, participants will be helping to conserve the beautiful environment in which they are in. This ranges from removing alien vegetation (which can be poisonous for the wildlife and destroy habitats) to planting seedlings and digging water holes for the animals. The reserve aims to plant 10,000 native tree species each year.
The reserve
We are aiming to become single-use plastic free on this project. Steps have already been made to replace plastic drinks bottle with glass bottles, providing drinking water from reuseable water drums and initiate a recycling programme for any unavoidable single use plastic.
The reserve is becoming very advanced on water harvesting and recycling, using more solar energy (the aim is to become fully reliant on solar energy) and composting kitchen waste.
Protecting the world
We are passionate about encouraging our travellers to be kind to the environment as they travel. Each participant receives advice about how to care for the environment whilst they are away. This includes water usage, how to avoid single use plastic, and electricity usage.
We insist that all participants bring their own water bottles when they travel with us, and clean free water is always available. We have even created a water bottle that can be purchased before departure and encourage people to use it at all stages of their journey including at the airport, on flights and whilst on their project. We are striving for all of our projects to be free of single use plastic.
People
Meeting local needsThe reserve also plays an important role in protecting the local economy. The ‘big five’ wild animals are a key source of tourist income for South Africa and protection of these species is vital for some rural areas, who rely on responsible tourism to sustain them. Through volunteering at the reserve, you will be helping to meet an important local need. You will also contribute directly to the area’s economy, creating jobs for domestic staff at the reserve and by eating locally-sourced food provided by local cooks.You will not be taking jobs away from local people.
Helping local communities
Within the grounds of the reserve is a small community, with a school and several other facilities. Participants can buy souvenirs from their hand crafted goods. These local workers receive fair prices for their goods and are helped financially by the reserve.
Travelling with respect
Before joining the project you are briefed fully on the reserve, the customs there and how you can respect the locals here. Volunteers are encouraged to find out more about the history of the location so that they can travel aware.
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