Conservation volunteering in South Africa
| country: | South Africa |
| location: | Limpopo Valley |
| departures: | Weekly departures on Saturdays throughout the year |
| price: | From £800 (2 weeks) - £1700 (8 weeks) excluding flights |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
Volunteers and students will play a vital role by gathering crucial biological data. Data collected from the reserve will be used and shared with other conservation institutions to develop a greater ecological understanding of the surrounding area, thereby protecting wildlife and adhering to the research aims of the local Biosphere Reserve. The project has many features some can be seen below.
An introduction to conservation in Southern Africa A major focus is the Biodiversity of the area – recording of fauna and flora species, from grass species to the most amazing species of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. Wildlife viewing – both during the day and night from hides or during game drives – animal counts and behaviour work. Animal and bird ecology – in depth knowledge about African animals and birds, including the identification, ecology and life structure of most predators and antelopes. Bird survey work – you will become familiar with identifying the common birds on the reserve by sight and sound (data for SABAP2). Learn to read spoor and tracks of game as well as ‘bush safety’. Wilderness camping - camp out under the stars learn how to set up a bush camp and learn a little about astronomy, and listen to leopards roaring! Habitat restoration / alien invasion control – removal and control of sicklebush, flannel weed, silver clusterleaf, as well as other problem plants. Habitat work to encourage diversity of different habitats on the reserve. Reserve maintenance – erosion prevention, fence checking, waterhole creation/ maintenance, hide maintenance/ creation.
Time for lunch. It’s a help-yourself-affair. There is plenty of food, bread, cold meats, cheeses, salad items, eggs, beans, pasta and sometimes left-overs from the night before. You usually get a couple of hours to yourself over lunch, when you can lie in the hammock and read a book or find a shady spot and rest. At 2pm the volunteer coordinator does a presentation on Snakes of South Africa, the myths, facts and venom and first aid. There are lots of photos of cool snakes and although the possibility of snake-bite always seems very scary, she explains why snake-bite is rare and how you can live and work along side the fascinating creatures in safety. After the presentation there’s a bit of time to spend on the computer identifying photos of spiders, scorpions, butterflies and beetles. This can be tricky work, and sometimes you have to stare at a full screen zoomed in image of a really ugly, hairy spider!
At 4pm we go to a place called Rhinoland for a wildlife game drive. The place is truly beautiful. There are magnificent views over the surrounding area. There is a wealth of game species here and with it being a little cooler many are feeding. We see many antelope species, but the real treats are seeing a white rhino mother and calf. The calf is tiny and we are told it’s about 2 weeks old. We also come across a huge bull elephant, who is oblivious to everything except pulling down and snacking on branches. Just as the sun was setting and we were heading back, we noticed two small objects on the road in front of us. They turned out to be a male and female caracal. These cats are solitary and quite rare to see. A perfect end to a great drive. In the evening, dinner is served at 7.30pm and after an exciting day we relax watching a film, just as it starts we are distracted by the rumble of thunder. During summer here there are the most amazing storms, you see the clouds gathering in thickness, getting darker and rolling in. The rain is beaten about by the great gusts of wind, then a quiet rumble of thunder and then down it comes. You can then fall asleep to the sound of rain on the roof of the farmhouse.
a day in a life of a volunteer
Written by a previous volunteer. It’s up for breakfast at 6.45. After a quick cereal, toast and coffee we are off to find spoor and tracks of animals. We are taught the human history of tracking, why it’s a very useful skill when living and working in the bush and why it’s an important skill. We found many prints of impala, kudu, warthog and wildebeest. Then, we also managed to find tracks of zebra, aardvark, and even leopard. Spoor and tracks can show the secretive lives of those animals that are shy or nocturnal. It made us appreciate how much wildlife there can be, but is a challenge to see. After a quick break and before the temperature gets too hot, off we go to clear toxic weed, which as the name suggests it is toxic to some animals, but the antelope here know not to eat it. It was tiresome work, but not as hard as I thought it may be. We have to pull it out and control the weed because it prevents the grass growing, which means no food for the antelopes! Time for lunch. It’s a help-yourself-affair. There is plenty of food, bread, cold meats, cheeses, salad items, eggs, beans, pasta and sometimes left-overs from the night before. You usually get a couple of hours to yourself over lunch, when you can lie in the hammock and read a book or find a shady spot and rest. At 2pm the volunteer coordinator does a presentation on Snakes of South Africa, the myths, facts and venom and first aid. There are lots of photos of cool snakes and although the possibility of snake-bite always seems very scary, she explains why snake-bite is rare and how you can live and work along side the fascinating creatures in safety. After the presentation there’s a bit of time to spend on the computer identifying photos of spiders, scorpions, butterflies and beetles. This can be tricky work, and sometimes you have to stare at a full screen zoomed in image of a really ugly, hairy spider!
At 4pm we go to a place called Rhinoland for a wildlife game drive. The place is truly beautiful. There are magnificent views over the surrounding area. There is a wealth of game species here and with it being a little cooler many are feeding. We see many antelope species, but the real treats are seeing a white rhino mother and calf. The calf is tiny and we are told it’s about 2 weeks old. We also come across a huge bull elephant, who is oblivious to everything except pulling down and snacking on branches. Just as the sun was setting and we were heading back, we noticed two small objects on the road in front of us. They turned out to be a male and female caracal. These cats are solitary and quite rare to see. A perfect end to a great drive. In the evening, dinner is served at 7.30pm and after an exciting day we relax watching a film, just as it starts we are distracted by the rumble of thunder. During summer here there are the most amazing storms, you see the clouds gathering in thickness, getting darker and rolling in. The rain is beaten about by the great gusts of wind, then a quiet rumble of thunder and then down it comes. You can then fall asleep to the sound of rain on the roof of the farmhouse.
travellers' tales
I would highly recommend this holiday. We learned a lot, we made a small positive difference on the reserve (the best result you can get in the short time of 2 weeks) and we had fun. The trip is good value for money - visits to other reserves are included in the price and everything is organised for you. (more)
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you are looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
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This project provides biodiversity data to SANSA, SABCA, SARCA, SABAP which will directly assist in producing updated atlas maps of many of the fauna of South Africa and aid future conservation plans for vulnerable species. In addition you will be helping to increase scientific research for the Waterberg area.
 A focus of the project is education. Volunteers will not only learn about the wildlife and the ‘bush’ but also wider issues of sustainable tourism and land use. By joining this project you will be directly helping to protect one of the last wildernesses in South Africa (as stated by the renowned conservationist, Clive Walker). By increasing sustainable tourism, which has low impact (Volunteer projects) on the environment, the land is protected from other more degrading land uses such as cattle, agriculture or even mass tourism. Your financial contribution allows the work to be done here, as well as, through organised trips, provides economic provision into the local area, creating jobs and income for the communities around. The project is located in a beautiful and isolated area. All elements of the project, both on and off the reserve are carried out to minimise impact on the local and wider environments as much as possible. We keep vehicle journeys low to minimise CO2 emissions and we organise our own sustainable refuge clearing. |
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