Have just returned from South Africa, and what a trip it was!

The experiences I’ve shared with new friends were priceless, both staff and volunteers made it the best trip I have ever taken, and the animals were just awesome!

Getting close to such creatures is a privilege most can only dream of, and where else can you get a game drive with the possibility to see Africa’s Big 5, to and from work?

The work was not too demanding, unless it’s very hot, but there is no pressure and you can just continue at your own pace! There is no fixed itinerary, as plans and conditions change all the time, so best to keep an open and relaxed mind during your stay.

Weekends were our own, with planned trips into Port Elizabeth or Jeffery’s Bay, which I made use of once to celebrate my birthday with my new friends, the rest of the time I stayed at the reserve, where you could just chill out at Kub’s Quarters or help out down the touch farm with feeding the multitude of animals like Pete, Graham and Diego (the 2 orphaned Springbok and a Blue Wildebeest)

There was always a chance that Tarzan would need babysitting too (a baby Marmoset) which was always a bit special!

It was a little unfortunate that our time didn’t coincide with any young or new born cubs, but it really didn’t detract from my overall experience there, many other jobs like invasive tree clearing, wilderness walks, game counts and even game captures more than made up for it!

Of course, not everybody is cut out for this type of work, there is quite a bit of manual labour involved, and you do get your hands dirty with a few blisters and scratches along the way, this all adds to the feeling of achieving something though, “no pain, no gain!” and it’s the animals that are benefitting!

All in all I’d have to say that choosing this project through Frontier is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and would highly recommend you to anyone (plus your free T-shirt is way cooler than the competitions!)

Many thanks for making my boyhood dream come true, as I’m seriously thinking about going back and doing the Ranger course!

Read more about South Africa Wildlife Conservation Volunteer project