Big 5 wildlife conservation

Monday

Project start day. Trip into town to pick up the volunteers and restock supplies.

Tuesday

Early morning departure for a fixed-route drive as part of the game count programme, which aims to determine game populations in general. In the afternoon, head out on a monitoring safari to locate one of the project’s key species: lion, elephant, leopard or hyena.

Wednesday

Waterhole monitoring in the morning to determine how the species use the area. In the afternoon, you will drive to the breeding boma to monitor buffalo, Livingstone’s eland and nyala.

Thursday

Habitat work: you might be involved in removing alien plants, erosion control or bush clearing. In the afternoon or evening, head out for hyena monitoring and a night patrol.

Friday

Early in the morning, set off in search of elephants as part of the ongoing research on the elephant contraception programme. In the afternoon, head out to monitor bird species before sleeping under the stars with the “Endangered Species” project.

Saturday

Either an outing is planned, or it is a free day when volunteers can relax or go on an excursion. When you have free time, staying at the camp is not recommended as the rangers are off duty.

Sunday

Habitat work in the morning, followed by a monitoring walk in the afternoon focusing on the lion population. Back in the evening, you can head to the local pub or share a typical South African braai (barbecue).

Between activities, volunteers will receive a series of presentations on the project’s work, on how to approach dangerous game on foot, or even on rhino poaching. This time will also be used to transfer all the collected data onto the computers, compile the weekly research report and help check and clean the vehicles.

Please note that, from time to time, unavoidable changes may be made to the projects. These changes may be caused by weather conditions, conservation priorities, the supply of materials, or because ongoing projects have progressed faster or more slowly than expected. We ask you to accept these changes (we are sure you will enjoy the replacement projects just as much!). This routine is followed as closely as possible; however, working with animals requires a flexible schedule.

Volunteers stay in a big house with a large front porch and wooden floors and ceilings. There is a cosy kitchen where breakfast is served in a help-yourself style. Lunch is usually served outside in the communal braai area or packed to have in the reserve. Dinner is either in the warm kitchen or outside at the fire. There are 3 large rooms in the house that have 4 beds each. These rooms share 2 full bathrooms and an extra outside shower. There is also a cottage about 15m away from the main house where volunteers may also be placed. This cottage has a small kitchen, one bedroom with 4 beds and a full bathroom with a shower. From the garden, you can see sable antelope, giraffe, wildebeest and other antelope species, and the sound of zebra is carried by the wind.