Gain Experience in the Field and Make A Difference!

I had been to South Africa the previous year during a biology study abroad program and I enjoyed my time there so much that I had to come back! I found Wildlife ACT after much research and finally settled on coming to volunteer with them a year later to gain additional experience in the field, help make a difference, and be able to enjoy the beautiful bush and all the wildlife. It ended up being a great idea and choice for me, even though our days started very early! Depending on which park I was in, I got up between 3:45 and 4:30am. At the beginning it was hard to make myself get up, but after the first few days knowing that we would experience some amazing sights and animals that many people only get to dream about, the "getting up" part got much easier. It was great, because we got to spend the majority of our time out in the field trying to locate animals like the wild dogs in the park and monitor them. Some days it was frustrating if you did not get the chance to see what you were hoping for, but that too was all part of the experience. The parks were not like zoos; the animals govern themselves and are free to roam from one end of the park to the other and in between, as the pack of wild dogs did in my case at Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park. Changing cheetah camera traps, tracking lions, participating in elephant monitoring, and doing administrative duties were additional components to the program, which all made for rich experiences. Ultimately, I really enjoyed my month spent in 2 of the parks and I do feel that I really contributed to the overall goal of wildlife conservation.