Program Reviews

This was a once in a lifetime experience. I have a lot of stories about this program. The team from all different countries was amazing to meet and share our cultures with one another while learning about the Zulu culture and explaining to the men that it is not normal for us to be bought with cows. The Zulu people we worked with were incredibly kind. It’s been years and I still keep in touch with them. They wanted me to stay and now go back to visit them . The work we did I felt was impactful and helpful to locals. The animals were amazing. Overall 10/10. I recommended this to a friend and she ended up going on 2 trips .

Every part of the trip was something that was on my bucket list, and for me to check off a whole lot of points says it all. Between going on trail walks through the game reserve, completing the foundation of a schoolhouse, and riding horseback through the wetlands I experienced all my life dreams in two weeks! I do not regret any decision or moment!
One story that makes me laugh is one night on the game park when my tent mate had to go to the restroom but I was too tired to walk all the way to there so I told her to go at the back of the tent. Two seconds after she went to the back of the tent, she runs back in telling me to turn my flashlight on. As I turn on my flashlight, we hear ruffling through the tall grass behind the tent. I start to feel a rush running through my body, it made me realize how close to nature we actually were. I was so tired that night, that I told her to go to sleep and forget this ever happened. But it was a cool experience.

In the Khmer language lesson, I learned the word arkoun, meaning thank you. I didn't realize how important and constantly used this word would become.

In Cambodia the people are the sweetest and happiest I have ever met. The joy in their eyes from a simple high five is unbelievable. Even with so little they are willing to give so much. It's a kindness that makes my heart all warm and left me saying arkoun to everyone.

With only a couple nights left in the village, I got to spend the whole day fully immersing myself in the stories and culture of Cambodia. It was an experience that was at times hard to see but at the same time I was inspired by the strength and positivity of the people. Every minute of hard work was worth helping these amazing kids and beautiful elephants.

I loved teaching the children on the Wednesday at the Elephant Sanctuary, I was kind of thrown in the deep end, trying to teach a class English and there is a huge language barrier but once I got comfortable I was really into it.

I loved the night life and the fact the team leader came out with us to help us feel safe.

It was a good variety of activities, you were never bored and you felt like you were achieving something and having fun whilst doing it.

It was my first time traveling to another country on my own, I was nervous at first but meeting other volunteers from around the world made me felt less nervous. At the end, we became really close with each other. It was an experience I will never forget, volunteering at an orphanage, going on game reserves while I learned many new interesting things, feeding and petting elephants, riding horses and the best part was doing all of these things with great friends I've met during this trip. I will definitely do this again, again and again!

The school I was working at had a few dogs as well as a litter of puppies which needed some simple veterinary treatment. During one lunch break, a few friends and I decided to give the dogs a dirt scrub to get rid of the fleas, and also to remove all the ticks (many of which were on their faces). After cleaning up the first puppy we brought some of the local kids in and taught them how to use dirt as an exfoliant for the dogs coats. This was a great experience for the local kids and a really nice teaching moment for us!

This impact trip was such an incredible experience that now in my day to day normal life I get depressed because I'm not over there! Not only did it feel like we were doing something worthwhile for the community, I also got to step out of my comfort zone and do things I would never do at home- for example I hate rides (rollercoasters in particular) - and yet I went paragliding in Mozam without a second thought! We got to go swimming with sea life, meet new people, learn new languages and customs and generally have an incredible time. I will never forget the people I met or the things I did and can't wait to go again.

You live everyday as it comes which is a a great way to live in general. You work hard but also get to socialise and be a normal tourist. You meet amazing people and make life long friends. I still always think about all my friends that I made and the experiences we shared. You get to learn valuable lessons which can be a very personal and moving experience. All in all it's a massive learning experience that you will value for the rest of your life.

I do not even know how to describe my volunteering experience in St Lucia, South Africa as its hard to put into words how life changing it really was, working for the first week in the creche truly took my breathe away, helping these children with nothing brought tears to my eyes everyday, they were so happy and full of love and just appreciated having us there to help them, they were actually on school holidays when we arrived but yet everyday they were there to greet us with smiles on their beautiful faces ready for a day with us, the smallest gestures like food and water was enough to bring you to tears and i can speak for the whole team when i say if we could have brought everyone of them home with us we would have. We successfully built concrete slab for future purposes along with weeding the vegetable patches, digging up the ground from scratch and mixing all our concrete by hand in wheelbarrows, it was really strenuous work but seeing the kids everyday made it more then worth it, saying goodbye at the end of our week was one of the most emotional moments of my life but knowing that i helped made it easier, i miss their faces more everyday and I know that those children will always have a special place in my memory and heart.

The second half of the trip was spend at the Thanda Game Reserve helping raise awareness for the endangered animals such as the wild dogs and cheetahs, we would track them everyday by foot and car as well as learning about preserving our nature and how it will affect us if we don't, the most important part about this for me was the Rhino poaching where more then 700 were killed last year for their horn alone, we learnt about the effect its having on the species with less then 2000 left in South Africa alone, its heart breaking to see such beautiful animals and natural habitats being destroyed for nothing, the information I learnt while at Thanda will definitely be something I will never forget.

One of the best parts of the program was my amazing team, a group of girls that all came to South Africa with no expectations and for different reasons but mostly to help out the less fortunate, this experience ended up being so much more then we every could have imagined, we made some friends that will last for a lifetime, these girls helped me change my views on life and appreciate that there is so much more to the world then a superficial life style and i feel that my life is a alot happier since i had this experience with you.

Finally My team leader Ben Fox, I cannot believe that you have the privileged of working and living the way you do, it has made me completely reconsider my career path and i value everything you taught us more then I can ever express to you, i couldn't have asked for a better person to lead our experience, what you do everyday has truly inspired me to be a better person and im so thankful that i met you.

Programme is well thought - nice balance of leisure and work.

Dislike the Spanish lessons straightaway after work (hrs of sweat with no change of clothes and had to sit through 3 hrs of lessons with no food) -- highlighted to Rachel and immediate solutions were implemented.

Amazon and Machu Picchu were amazing

Overall, pretty good !