Help out with looking after our wild cats
Walk with elephants
Learn about conservation and Africa’s wild animals that live on a wild life reserve
Learn and help with the daily running of the farm
Your project starts with a 2-day orientation in Johannesburg. Arrive in Joburg or Jozi, as it is known locally, and get shown around by people who know the city well. The orientation is excellent for first-time visitors to find their feet the local way and meet other volunteers on your project.
Day 1
You will be picked up from the airport and taken to the hostel. Here you will be given a chance to settle down before meeting your volunteer representative. You will be given a briefing on your volunteer program and then meet other travellers and volunteers for a welcome dinner.
Day 2
After breakfast you will be collected from the hostel and shown around the sites of Johannesburg like a local. We will start off with a visits to Soweto, South Africa’s biggest Township here you will have the opportunity to take some photos at the iconic Orlando Towers and Soccer City, home of the World Cup Final. We then head to a local food market where you can have a light lunch (at your own cost), shop for local arts and crafts and listen to some live music. We then head back to the central business district of Johannesburg to immerse ourselves in the regeneration of this city that has reimagined itself over 5 times. Here we take a deep dive into the architecture, history and art which is an integral part of the city scape. Please note that the tour itinerary is flexible and may change according to the group’s interests for the day. This is your personal tour of our lovely city with our local guide to show you the best sites and places.
Day 3
After breakfast we will either take you directly to your project site, shuttle terminal or airport.
We are situated in the North West Province; 45 minutes from Johannesburg. With 750 hectares of pristine bushveld and are part of the ‘world heritage site’ - the Cradle of Humankind. We have a unique eco-system where animals, birds and man live in harmony. Activities on the farm range from game drives, elephant walks and animal interactions.
Volunteers work 5-6 days a week and have Sundays off. You will cover different aspects of conservation work including farm projects (plants, roads, etc.), animal life improvement projects, game drives, enclosure cleaning and elephant morning tasks. All work carried out by the volunteers will have a direct positive outcome towards conservation. The activities include:
- Daily farm duties such as cleaning animal enclosures, feeding the animals and changing their water
- Guided bush walks, hikes and game drives
- Bush clearing and alien plant control. This involves the removal of plants that pose a threat to the natural fauna and flora found within the reserve.
- Road maintenance and erosion control
- Animal life improvement project: volunteers can be part of the improvement of the animals lives whether it's day-to-day cleaning, feeding and walking the animals to painting the elephant house, building new enclosures for our lions and swimming pools for our tigers.
- Elephant walks, horse safaris, animal enrichment. Enrichment for our animals such as building platforms/ structures for the predators and elephant ice cubes
Feeding of the predators is on a Monday and Friday afternoon
These projects change according to the needs of the animals and farm, and you might not help with all of them while you are on the program.
Thursdays are excursions days, in which volunteers get to choose an excursion (from the list provided) that they would like to go on and see what cultural, animals related or adventurous activities South Africa has to offer. Any volunteers who decide not to go on excursions help with catch up projects and cleaning of our feeding areas.
Saturdays
Saturdays are dedicated to washing all the vehicle, lion trailers, and working trailers we use during the week, as well making sure all the predator sleeping quarters are clean and filled with straw. Volunteers then have the option to further explore the surrounding area and participate in activities such as Sky diving or Hot Air ballooning (at own cost)
Sundays are full day off.
With every new arrival we have a safety and orientation briefing where we discuss issues such as general safety in South Africa for example, what to do in the settlements, where not to go, what to do in case of an emergency, sea currents, HIV AIDS and crime. We offer all our volunteers 24/7 support and assistance.
Airport pick-up
2-day orientation in Johannesburg including 2 breakfasts & 2 dinners
Accommodation
50 MB data voucher on arrival
1 free laundry voucher
Three meals a day (on project)
Game drives
Bush walk
Elephant walks
Hiking excursions
24-hour support and supervision
Donation to the project
Certificate of appreciation
Minimum age of 18
CV/Resume
Basic level of competency in English
Medium level of fitness
Acceptance subject to availability
Volunteers need to be flexible and keep an open mind concerning their placements as situations can arise beyond our control which could require you to be placed at a different project than the one you have initially chosen. We will of course always do our utmost to fulfill your initial wishes but do remember that where you are going is quite different from where you are coming and as such one should be prepared for things not always going according to plan.
Volunteering and intercultural travel share a common trait: the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. This program is designed for proactive individuals and groups that are prepared to adapt to the local environment and its current needs. Naturally, the scheduling and activities of our program are subject to change. Alterations in activities are mainly due to changes in local conditions, which we believe is part of what makes overseas programs the interesting adventure and incredible learning experience that they are.
Our projects range from 1 week up to approx. 30 weeks. Projects have a specified minimum stay, then it’s up to you how long you can commit. In our experience the longer you stay the more you will gain, as your understanding of the project broadens and you take on more responsibilities. Every volunteer will be given a certificate of appreciation at the end of their stay as a symbol of volunteering stay.