Alumni Spotlight: Rosie Bain

I was drawn to this particular volunteer programme because I was especially interested in being involved with a project researching marine life. Knowing I would daily be out at sea viewing Great White sharks and Southern Right Whales was the deciding factor for me.

We would prepare for the tourists' arrival, such as cleaning the boat, washing the wetsuits and loading their refreshments on board. There would usually be two trips a day (morning and afternoon).

During the trips, there were numerous jobs the volunteers would help with. Sometimes the marine biologists would want help taking down data, which included the water temperature, weather circumstances and also writing down all visible details of the sharks we sighted. Also, we would assist the tourists with their wetsuits and generally interact with them.

As well as the work we would be doing, we’d also socialise together and with volunteers from the other shark project companies in Gansbaai. There were loads of braai’s and parties, which I can’t complain about.

I am definitely more attentive to marine life and like to keep learning new things about sharks, whales and dolphins etc. It has also made me a lot more aware of whale’s and shark’s vulnerability in terms of being hunted by humans.

At the moment I am working in an office, which couldn’t be further away from my active volunteer experience, but I am keen to study travel and tourism and hopefully work abroad as a guide one day, possibly even specializing in South Africa.