Program Reviews

This trip to South Africa is a trip I cannot stop talking about! I made such amazing friends and memories during my time there. There were so many beautiful things to see and I enjoyed the special bonds I made with the children in the Township. Each day we went in to the Township and spent the day playing games, doing arts and crafts, and fun activities like such with the children. I wish I never had to leave!

The whole trip was 5 weeks long since I did the optional spanish class week. My project was in Playa Blanca in the Osa Peninsula. The Gulf we stayed on was incredible! The first morning we were there we woke up early to watch the sunrise. The water was calm, there were hardly any clouds and the sun painted the sky brilliant colors of orange and pink. We watched as turtles surfaced for air while feeding in the tranquil gulf. It was a rare sight to see in the rainy season!
We stayed in cabins close to the beach and worked along side a group of sea turtle researchers called LAST (Latin American Sea Turtles). We helped with turtle data collection as well as reforestation of mangrove forests in the intertidal zones of multiple beaches. With ISV we also had numerous group discussions about the importance of sustainable development and how our work in Playa Blanca related to sustainable development and ecotourism. Though we were there for turtles, planting the mangroves was surprisingly my favorite part! It made me feel like I was really making a difference!
The last 2 weeks of the trip was our Adventure Tour. We got to travel all across the country, stay in hostels and hotels that supported ecotourism and conservation, learn about national parks and experience the flora and fauna of Costa Rica! We saw 7 sloths in one day! 3 species of monkey, countless species of insects, and so much more! We did white water rafting, hiking, ziplining, repelling, horseback riding, tubing, kayaking, surfing, and stopped at a couple hotsprings along the way! The tour was adrenaline packed and fun for everyone including myself!
I was unlucky in that, during my project with the sea turtles I was injured and ended up breaking my ankle. But, being as stubborn and determined as I am, and with the invaluable help I received from the staff at the ISV Costa Rica office and numerous local guides along the way, I was able to participate in almost everything! With any other travel group that would have been impossible! ISV cares so much for their volunteers and without their help I would have missed out on so many memories and adventures! I will definitely be traveling with ISV again in the future!

I participated in the four week program: two weeks volunteering at the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre followed by two weeks of "adventure travel." It has completely changed my life. I highly recommend doing the whole four weeks if it is at all possible for you.
My time at the Cheetah Centre and the Cheetah Lodge was insanely rewarding. Some of the tasks seemed like they didn't really make much difference, but Rika and the staff at de Wildt did a good job explaining how everything we do helps the Cheetah Centre. Putting a couple dozen volunteers on clearing branches and painting fences and preparing food makes it easier for the center to devote their more experienced man-power to more delicate and more involved tasks. However, the staff ensure that the volunteers do get close interaction with the cheetahs. Feeding rounds, clearing enclosures with cheetahs just on the other side of the fence, and ambassador interactions all make the "menial" tasks worth it. I hardly remember the hard work because it was evenly spaced with very fun and very educational experiences. The staff, the other volunteers staying at the Cheetah Lodge, and Rika are super fun and make every second enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, it's HARD WORK volunteering here. I got tired every day and I was falling asleep before 10 every night, often before 9, and was taking naps in a lot of my free time. Yet it was so rewarding and so worth it.
The second two weeks, Adventure Tour, was so beyond fun. I have had a lot of people ask me what my favorite activity was, and I honestly cannot decide because they were all so so so fun. There were some fun outdoorsy activities like kloofing and caving, and also some chill educational ones like a visit to Lesedi cultural village and Moholoholo Conservation Center. It was perfectly balanced between education and adventure. Most of my stories came from these two weeks, but the true impact on my world and the world around me came from the first two weeks.
It seems expensive, but when you take into account everything that you're doing those four weeks, pretty much all included, it's about $1,000 a week, and it's worth every penny. The memories and experiences and friendships will last a lifetime and are more than worth the money.

This experience was so out of my comfort zone and going in I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I remember being so incredibly nervous in the JFK airport. My ISV group was meeting by our flight gate and I has so anxious and scared, I sat alone by Jamba Juice listening to calming music and trying to distract myself from my nerves in a smoothie bowl. When I finally gathered the courage to meet my group, I was immediately fascinated and engulfed in these new friends. We shared stories about our lives and our expectations and joked about how unprepared we felt for this great adventure. Over the next two weeks, these people became so special to me. Each of us were completely new to South African culture but we were all eager to jump into this new world and take on any task that was thrown at us. We built roads and mixed bowls of raw horse meat with our bare hands, we painted wildlife enclosures and had our body and clothes forever stained with paint, we got to experience wild cheetahs up close and develop relationships with these animals (my favorite will always be a cheetah named Zoro, who took a liking to me the moment we met). At nights, we would all gather in the Cheetah Lodge and write in our journals, play games and puzzles, paint, play volleyball, joke and laugh and create memories. We got to explore Hartbeespoort, hike the oldest mountain in the world, eat the most amazing meal at a local Herbal Garden, and zip line. These experiences, the satisfaction of knowing we truly made a different at the De Wildt Cheetah Center, and the relationships that bloomed over these two weeks changed my life and I would do anything to experience it again. I have never had to say a goodbye as hard as the ones I had to say to those people I met in South Africa as I boarded the plane back to the States. If you have an insatiable need to serve and explore the world, I highly recommend traveling with ISV.

Volunteering in Costa Rica with ISV was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I learned so much and met so many great people. The experience helped me strengthen my Spanish speaking skills, humble my ideas of living, increase my appreciation of nature, conquer some of my fears, gain knowledge of animal life, and so much more. I can tell that this experience has made me a better person now that I am back home. I am more patient and more aware of my impact on the environment. I would highly recommend that people interested in responsible tourism to go to Costa Rica with ISV.

I signed up for this project, without knowing where I would end up. I ended up at the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Center, and men, what a blast we had. Working with beautiful animals in a super friendly environment. After that two weeks of vacation, traveling to Mozambique and Swaziland. Again such a blast. I loved the trip and the project/tour leaders were amazing people, being very knowledgable. Loved it!

It was cool working with the elephants first-hand. On the very first day, we got to feed them, bathe them, and make them sticky rice. These creatures were absolutely beautiful.
I liked this project quite a bit, but I later found another elephant conservation place, called Elephant Nature Park, that seemed much more aligned with my personal values. I would recommend volunteering there instead, if at all possible.

When I received word that I would get to spend my project time at Penguin Place conservation reserve, I was over-the-moon excited! This was my second ISV trip, and although I signed up for 2 consecutive trips, I was even more excited the second time around.
New Zealand has always been on my list of places to visit, not just because of its Lord of the Rings appeal, but because of the uniqueness of its geography and species. All throughout the 4-week program, we learned about the history of the islands and their inhabitants, and how humans impacted the flora and fauna, and vice versa.

We got to plan and make our own meals and run our self-contained lodge, under the superb guidance of our project leader, Val. Out of the 10 of us participants in that section, we were from a whopping 6 different countries! Talk about perspective! Not only did we have our scheduled educational sessions about environmental issues, but we would often talk until late about ourselves and how our countries are handling current world situations. It was incredibly eye-opening. I have never felt more at home, while away from home.
The Penguin Place reserve itself is simply stunning. Not everyone gets to work by the Pacific Ocean, recreating habitat for the most endangered penguin species in the world. I consider myself very fortunate to have been placed there, with the group that became a second family to me. Our work was often hard, but extremely rewarding. How could one not want to create a more hospitable landscape for those adorable yellow-eyed penguins? We played games in the morning to warm up; often laughing until we were out of breath. We learned our Māori phrases of the day and tried to use them as often as we could. Waking up every day in Dunedin was like waking up in a travel magazine; it couldn’t have been more beautiful! So it was with heavy hearts we said our goodbyes, but with the hope that we would one day return to a healthier penguin population, and to reconnect with the land we got to know so well.

Fortunately, our adrenaline adventures were just beginning, and I have to say that this adventure tour was better than my first! Our tour leader, Meg, was so fun to be around, and she provided us with really great learning opportunities about local history and culture in every place we visited. From start to finish, the 2 weeks we spent touring New Zealand were filled with unparalleled thrills, amazing cultural experiences, the most spectacular scenery, and enough laughing to make our bellies ache. Yes, we spent a lot of money. A lot. But in my eyes, not doing so and missing out on the fantastic opportunities at our fingertips, would have been a real shame. I figured, you can always work to make more money, but you may never be able to recreate those moments.
My advice: prepare to spend lots of cash. Be open minded about all the new things you could experience. Do not pack a lot of shirts, since you will get lots there. Bring a camera/GoPro with lots of storage space and backup cards. Pack warm clothes. Do not hold back; just do it.

I have always wanted to visit Australia. However, it seemed so far away; out of reach for me. When I heard about ISV, such a trip didn't seem so impossible, and I signed up shortly after. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
My 4 weeks with ISV Australia were life changing. It is easy to throw around words like that on paper, but truly experiencing it is something different all together. From day one at Bellbunya Sustainable Community in the Queensland Sunshine Coast, I felt at home. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be surrounded by such inspiring people, working amidst the most beautiful flora and fauna under the winter sunshine. Not once did I miss home, for I had found a new one, with 11 people who became like family to me. The bush regeneration work we did was hard but rewarding, and it was really wonderful to see the lingering achievements of past ISV groups in the area. I hope to return one day to see the trees we planted and visit the extraordinary people I met on project.
The reward for all that hard work was the adventure tour of a lifetime. When they say 2 weeks of action-packed, adrenaline-fueled activities, they mean it! Not only did we get the opportunity to jump out of planes and off bridges, but we got to experience things so uniquely Australian, from the Great Barrier Reef and local Aboriginal culture, to World Heritage sites and Vegemite! We covered the beautiful eastern coastline of the country with a fearless leader named Brodie, who truly is a fountain of knowledge on local history, activities, and hotspots.
Leaving my new ISV family at the end of the tour was really tough, but those are friends I know I will hold on to in the future. Not only did I leave with heaps of pictures and memories and great new friends, but with a greater understanding of life in another country, and how the ideals that we sought to understand there can be applied to my life back home. It can seem scary to sign up, to pack and say goodbye to home, but I promise you, it is worth it every step of the way.

So, first of all, I was a fresher when I heard about ISV. They came into one of my lectures and talked about these amazing opportunities to travel literally halfway across the world to volunteer and experience an adventure tour over the summer. Travelling has always been a passion for me, so I definitely wanted more information! I went along to the meeting at my university, where they outlined the six different countries and the conservation or community work you would be doing. I chose the Dominican Republic for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to start learning Spanish, and ISV has a partnership with ALPI which gives an optional Spanish Immersion week in the DR at the start of the program. Second, it was a chance to meet people around my age (18-25 in my case, but ISV doesn't have age restrictions). Finally, and most importantly, it was a chance to travel while making a concrete and positive impact on the community you live and work in for the project itself.
I won't lie and say it's easy work, or that it's a really cheap program, but there are plenty of ways to raise money, and ISV will give you tips on that, and seeing the positive impact you can have on the community, made the trip, for me, completely worth it!
For my two week project, we rebuilt a playground at a local school, replaced the foundations in an elderly man's home, and taught the children at a summer camp. There's a real sense of achievement when you can step back and see the change once you've finished the work. The kids were climbing all over the playground equipment even before we completed the whole playground!
Not only that, ISV also gives you an opportunity to add a two week adventure tour, in which you'll experience plenty of extreme activities, see some amazing wildlife, and basically have the time of your life! My favourite experience was probably the Fun Fun Caves, since it combined four different activities into one action packed day: hiking, horse riding, rappelling, and spelunking. That was a single day of the two week adventure tour. It was all go, and I enjoyed every second!
There are project leaders and tour leaders who look after you over the time you're in the DR. My project leaders were Danyi and Pedro, and you couldn't find anyone more enthusiastic for the work we were doing. Danyi was always full to the brim with energy, and it was clear how much Pedro cared for the people we were working with. They were brilliant, and I would just say a huge thank you to them for making the experience so rewarding.
My tour leader was Adolfo, and he was always ready to help with anything. If you had any questions, he was ready to answer them. He kept our slightly unruly group organised over the adventure tour and even suggested an extra activity of paragliding, which was outwith the included package, but an exhilarating experience and well worth the extra money.
Overall, if you love travelling to new places and experiencing new cultures, while giving back to the communities, this is the volunteer project for you. If this is your first time travelling, and you're not sure if you want to go this far, I still believe this is for you. Life is for new experiences, and what better time to experience than now? Be brave and step into the unknown. I promise it will be worth it.