Description
Location: Limpopo, South Africa
Duration: 1-12 weeks commitment
Start Dates: Weekly project starts on a Saturday.
Price: from £2,445 for 1 week. Check the Prices tab for further information.
Includes: Food, accommodation, airport pickup, pre-departure orientation and training, and all project related activities.
Does not include: Flights, travel insurance, visas and vaccinations
Highlights:
- Go on a wildlife safari adventure in a private South African nature reserve while contributing directly to conservation efforts.
- Listen to the quiet hush of the wild open spaces, waking each morning to a chorus of savannah birds and drifting off to the nighttime hum of endemic frogs and crickets
- Learn to identify predators, like lions, cheetahs, and leopards, as well as megaherbivores like elephants and rhinos.
- Master radio telemetry techniques and learning how to track and record animal movements.
- In your free time, visit the famous Kruger National Park, only an hour away from where the base is located or visit the nearby Drakensberg Mountains where awe-inspiring vistas are afforded over the Blyde River Canyon.
- Live and work alongside Field Guide Association of South Africa, FGASA, qualified guides, growing personally and professionally by learning from their experiences.
- Sleep under the star-filled Southern night sky, its beauty enhanced by the lack of light pollution, and wake to a golden African dawn.
Introduction
Witness nature unfiltered, from a lion taking down its prey, to newborn cheetah cubs playing for the first time, or even a stand-off between two massive elephant bulls. Experience the African savannah landscape on safari. Unlike a conventional safari trip, this program allows you to play an active and meaningful role in the research and long term conservation of South Africa’s natural resources.
No special skills or qualifications are required to join this program, as all training will be provided by our experienced team in the field. Learn how to track and identify predators, like lions and cheetahs, and megaherbivores, like elephants and rhinos. This data is used by reserve authorities and conservation organisations to develop an accurate picture of predator impact on prey populations, determine the spatial movement, behaviour, social structure and genetics of specific species. This information helps authorities maintain a healthy balance of natural resources in the reserve, helps conservation organisations further their objectives, and ultimately assists with conserving important African species and habitats. You will also have the opportunity to participant in our environmental conservation program which we run in the local community.
Please note you can spend up to 12 hours a day collecting data which can be tiring, in the heat of the African sun. This program offers durations up to 24 weeks. Speak to an Enrolment Manager for more details of extending your stay in-country.
Daily Life
Live in the heart of the South African savannah, sharing a renovated farmhouse with qualified guides from the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa, other staff, and participants from around the world. The base is incredibly remote, and tourists are unable to visit. Completely open to the bush and close to a dam, animals frequently visit the property, including elephants, buffalo, impala and leopards.
Boasting more than 20 thousand acres of open savannah, Karongwe features some of the best wildlife viewing of any private South African wildlife reserve. It’s home to all of the Big Five, including the elusive leopard, as well as cheetahs and spotted hyenas.
Rise each morning to the sound of African birdsong at dawn, before heading out in an open-topped safari vehicle to conduct research vital for the conservation of key predator species, like cheetahs and lions. Heading back to camp when the sun is at its height, you’ll input data, study, assist with cooking or tidying, or relax with the team in our shared outdoor social space. In the early afternoon, when the sun starts to set over the Drakensberg mountain range, you’ll head out again to conduct further research. Returning when the stars are at their brightest, you’ll share a meal and the day’s stories with your team. In your free time, visit Kruger National Park, an hour’s drive from your accommodation, or travel to the scenic Panorama Route, which takes you through the magnificent Blyde River Canyon.
With one of most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, and home to many of the most threatened African wildlife species, South Africa is a nature, wildlife, and adventure lover’s paradise.
Travel & Accommodation.
Accommodation & Food
You will be living with the other volunteers in shared accommodation. You will have a shared (same gender) room with an en-suite bathroom. Participants share all base duties, including cleaning the common area and the resource room and other daily chores.
All meals are provided on project and participants take it in turns to prepare meals for the group. Dinner might be anything from a traditional South African ‘potjie’ stew to pastas and stir frys.All dietary requirements can be accommodated.
Health & Hygiene:
The work we contribute to across the globe remains important and new measures allow our participants to continue to join our programs and continue impacting positively on their world and the communities we work with. Changes to our existing protocols have been made by our health and hygiene team to strengthen our health and hygiene protocols and ensure that international standard safeguards are in place to protect our participants, staff and host communities. Please inquire for more information on the protocols.
Travel:
Local field staff are a great source of information for sightseeing activities. Weekends are free for you to explore the beautiful sights, the possibilities are endless!
Requirements
- Minimum age 18
- Be keen and enthusiastic to get involved in the project
- Ability to work within a team environment
- Minimum 4 weeks commitment
- CRB Police check (or equivalent) showing that you have no previous criminal convictions
- Signed medical form
- Good English skills
- Necessary vaccinations
- Necessary flight & visas
- Full travel & medical insurance. Full assistance will be provided in getting everything you will need ready if you choose our Placement Support Package.
Prices
- 1 week – £2,445
- 2 weeks – £2,795
- 4 weeks – £3,545
- 6 weeks – £4,295
- 8 weeks – £4,995
- 10 weeks – £5,745
- 12 weeks – £6,495
* Check the latest currency conversions with xe.com
** All payments incur a 5% bank transfer fee
*** Placements are confirmed with a 20% deposit.
What’s Included:
Project Fee includes;
- 24-hour emergency phone
- 24-hour in-country support
- Access to Alumni Services and Discounts
- Food
- Accommodation
- Airport pickup
- Online program training before program start date:
- Pre Departure Orientation (1 Hour)
- Program Specific Training (1-5 Hours)
- OPTIONAL: Wildlife Conservation Online Course (10 – 15 Hours)
- In-country support
- All project activities
What’s not included:
- Additional drinks and gratuities
- Extra local excursions
- Flights
- International and domestic airport taxes
- Medical and travel insurance
- Personal items and toiletries
- Police or background check
Full assistance will be provided in getting all these arranged if you choose our Premium Support.
Premium Support Upgrade
We understand there’s a great deal to plan and organise for your trip. When booking a Placement, many of our participants choose to purchase our Premium Support Upgrade to benefit from the expertise, knowledge and experience of our Project Coordinators.
We can provide the personal advice you need to ensure your trip is organised with excellence and planned with efficiency; ensuring the very best experience possible. Read more about how we can help you.
Hoedspruit, Limpopo, South Africa
Note: Map coordinates are approximate
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