Humanitarian mission in South Africa with wild animals

Humanitarian mission in South Africa with wild animals: Emma’s experience – she tells her story!

 

WHAT THIS EXPERIENCE BROUGHT ME…

First, I would say that this volunteering project brought me a lot of happiness, but also confidence in my ability to take on big challenges on my own. It was my first solo trip, and I was very nervous, but in the end, it’s by facing personal challenges like these that we discover our strength, our courage, and most of all, we discover ourselves.

 

MY BEST MEMORIES…

It’s really hard to choose the best memories because there are so many. First, the awe I felt when I first saw the reserve and the animals is indescribable. Feeding the herbivores every day, interacting with cheetahs and elephants, walking with Buddy the warthog, evenings under the starry sky, the excursions offered (visiting a monkey sanctuary, hot air ballooning, safari in Pilanesberg…), the sunsets, the people I met… I loved everything about this trip. Even the “chore” activities are among my favorite memories.

 

IF I HAD TO RATE THE SERVICES FROM 1 TO 5…

• Pre-departure information: 3/5 – Freepackers is always available to answer your questions, but some of the mission details were not very up to date.

 

• Registration process: 5/5

 

• Supervision / project coordinators: 5/5

 

• Volunteer schedule: 5/5 – mornings start between 7:30 and 8:00 depending on the activity, and always end before 5:00 PM. Meal times are more than sufficient.

 

• Meals and accommodation: 4/5 – the meals are very good; as for the rooms (especially the bathrooms), some are great, others a bit less so.

 

WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS PROJECT?

Of course I recommend this project! Every moment there is magical, the hardest part is leaving. And it’s truly for a good cause – the center relies heavily on volunteers, so both your financial support and your time are incredibly valuable to the animals.

 

…AND FREEPACKERS?

I also recommend Freepackers, especially if it’s your first volunteering experience: it’s very reassuring to have a French-speaking contact person to answer all your questions. Communication is very easy and the responses are always very fast! (Thanks to Nicolas who patiently answered my veeeery many questions before I left!)

A FEW FINAL WORDS…

As you can probably tell, I had an amazing time – so thank you very much! I hope my answers will help convince those who are still hesitating, because it’s truly worth it…