Location
  • South Africa
    • Hoedspruit
Length
1 to 8 weeks

Program Details

Language
English
Age Min.
18
Age Max
75
Timeframe
Year Round
Housing
Rondavel
Groups
Small Group (1-15) Medium Group (16-30) Large Group (31+)
Travel Type
Budget Family Older Travelers Solo Women

Pricing

Starting Price
670
Price Details
*Rates on site
1 week $670
2 weeks $1 190
3 weeks $1 750
4 weeks $1 960
5 weeks $2 310
6 weeks $2 640
7 weeks $2 980
8 weeks $3 330
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Your fees include:
- Transfers on Saturdays for arrival/departure
- Three meals per day, tea, coffee, juice
- Accommodation including bedding and towels
- Laundry
- One trip to town per week
- Working in the community
- Wifi
//
Your fees exclude:
- Flights, internal/international
- Travel Insurance
- Personal toiletries such as shampoo, sunblock, mosquito cream
- Sodas, cokes, alcohol
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Meals Transportation Wifi
What's Not Included
Some Activities Airfare Domestic Airfare Equipment SIM cards Travel Insurance Visa
Jul 24, 2022
Feb 23, 2023
153 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

DAKTARI Environment & Wildlife Education Centre is set in a beautiful nature reserve close to the Kruger National Park. The comfortable camp is located in the heart of the reserve where you will work with the children and the animals of the sanctuary.

You will teach the local children about the importance of protecting the environment and blossom their passion for animals through the care of the animals in our sanctuary.

Please note that all animals kept in captivity in our sanctuary are not able to go back to the wild. We do not encourage animal petting.

DAKTARI also runs an outreach program for a greater impact on the communities. The weekly ECO CLUB and Wildlife Crime campaigns give the children the opportunity to ignite positive attitudes towards their valuable environmental heritage.

The volunteers are vital to the success of our programs and really make an impact on the communities, the future of our environment and our wildlife.

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • Educate underprivileged children about the environment, anti-poaching and important life skills.
  • Care for injured and/or orphaned wildlife and help us give them the second chance they deserve.
  • Get involved with local communities and learn about South African culture.
  • Go on trips and excursions and discover the beauty of South African beyond the gates of our camp.
  • Become a part of the DAKTARI Family, make friends for life and memories you'll never forget!

Program Impact

Our programs have reached more than 4,500 children in 16 years, cared for hundreds of animals, and helped employ dozens of youth.

What makes our Teaching Program different?
The children get to spend a full week at our camp with our volunteers and get to have fun, as well as learn a lot! Because we only take eight children each week, they benefit from one-on-one attention and participate in every lesson. Each day has a mix of lessons, activities, and animal interactions.

The teaching program is very hands-on. The children get to see the animals up close at our wildlife orphanage and interact with the animals every day. The lessons are interactive and practical and the children leave here with a passion for learning.

The program is completely taught by volunteers with the help of a local volunteer coordinator. They get a detailed teaching program before they arrive so that they can learn the material. The lessons include outdoor activities,

To get an impression of what the life of a volunteer at DAKTARI is, check out the video below!
https://youtu.be/PrVswQF57rU Life of a Volunteer

Related Programs

Program Reviews

4.93 Rating
based on 68 reviews
  • 5 rating 92.65%
  • 4 rating 7.35%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Impact 4.85
  • Support 4.95
  • Fun 4.9
  • Value 4.85
  • Safety 4.95
Showing 17 - 24 of 68 reviews
Default avatar
Solene
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Would highly recommend

My experience in DAKTARI was one of the greatest in my life.
I made true friends and learn so much things about the bush.
All the accomodations were perfect and everybody was really polite and kind.
the food was amazing, and the activities also.
i would 100% recommend the experience because it's a life time experience
you can experience some things you never imagine doing like feeding a cheetas or taking meerkats on a walk or sleep with dassies !!
I would totally recommend this experience !!!!

What was your funniest moment?
i think all our moments were the funniest, i made true friend here so even a look made me laugh.
100 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Solene
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Would highly recommend

DAKTARI is my first volunteering experience, the staff is very welcoming and nice. The co-owners Ian and Michele are very passionate about their work and it has been a real pleasure to meet them. I took care of wild animals I would have probably never see in other circumstances, such as dassies!
It has also been a wonderful experience to teach kids about their environment and to let them know how they can protect it. The organisation has a very positive impact on the community and it has been very nice to be part of it.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Do not have a doubt about this, it is going to be awesome !
98 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Aisse
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Teaching program

I real enjoy my experience at DAKTARI because I learn a lot about animals , how to take care of them feed them... All the animals care staff was very friendly and share with me their animal knowledge. Become a teacher learn me a lot about the importance of education. Take care of child learn them, play with them was a amazing experience. The general ambiance are just magic everyone share with everyone and real relation appear. That why I sure sooner i will be back at DAKTARI for a another super experience as I had.

What was your funniest moment?
my favorite moment was during the bounce fire. I really like when everyone dance with everyone
100 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Adriano
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Excellent Program for a first time volunteering abroad

This program was excellent for a first time volunteering abroad. Daktari has everything someone need to have an excellent staying, while the staff was also amazing. The program is very organised and all the material has been pre defined and selected for everything to run smoothly.
The interaction with the kids is amazing and they are all so kind that make us feel really nice during our week with them. The animals at Daktari also enhances the programs value.

Considering everything this program has, I would definitely like to come back someday.

What would you improve about this program?
I think the program could have a more long term strategy towards the kids, as they spend only one week with the volunteers. Maybe there could be a mentoring program where volunteers kept track of the development of the student, maybe through quarterly meetings with Daktaris team. Although the program is excellent, maybe the impact on the kids lives/future is very limited as the duration of the program is only one week.
105 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Stephanie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

good experience

I'm very happy and so rich after this week immersion with children and animals. Thanks to all the team and founders for this fantastic place wich contribute to educate futures generations. I loved the education part and the time spent with the children, thanks a lot <3

I appreciate the animals, the dancing fire, the walk bush and all the funny moments with the children

What was your funniest moment?
dancing with children around the fire, hugs with the donkey
89 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Ava
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Review of DAKTARI Bush School and Wildlife Orphanage

I would highly recommend this volunteer experience, i had so much fun here and had such a rewarding time. This was because I could clearly see the positive impact i was having on the children and their education as a whole. To see the kids having fun and learning so much during their time here made the hard work worth it. I loved getting involved in the animal care and watching all the animals being happy and growing. If you are nervous or worried about coming all the way to South Africa by yourself don't be you won't regret it and you will have a great time.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
I saw a leopard at Kruger National Park on an excursion at the weekend. It was a magical moment especially because i got to experience it with all my new friends.
88 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Rafaela
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing two weeks at Daktari!

I came here to learn how to take care of animals and how to interact more with kids, and I'm leaving with my goal achieved! It was amazing to see how much impact we can make in someone's life with just a little of attention. I went to Eco Club at Oaks High School and it was so different than what I was expecting. It was a experience that I'm going to take for life!
I loved it and I would definitely love to come back. Thank you to all the incredible staff and to all the amazing people that I got to know in Daktari.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I would try to be less shy at the beginning and be more prepare for the classes.
87 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Jo
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

The DAKTARI experience

As an older volunteer, I was a little apprehensive about being at DAKTARI. Never having done a 'gap' year or travelled alone, however, my experience was something I certainly will never forget. My fellow volunteers were all in their late teens or 20s but we bonded so well. The shared experiences of stabling and teaching, not to mention the excursions and chats around the dinner table gave me so many incredible memories that I will treasure forever. Initially, I was skeptical about the impact we would have with the children after only one week, but when we heard their presentations and promises at the end, it demonstrated how successful the programme is. The long term volunteers and the staff at DAKTARI made me feel so welcome and their passion and commitment was clear to see. I expected to have an interesting time, but not to make the connections with so many individuals.
Highly recommend this organisation if you want to connect with nature, children and find out about yourself.

What would you improve about this program?
The teaching day is quite long and I think some of the lessons could be restructured to be more fun.
86 people found this review helpful.

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