Top Volunteer Projects in South Africa

Traveling to South Africa truly is an amazing experience. I am an avid traveler -- I have traveled to many locations in my home country and in other parts of the world. Even with that experience, I must admit I had butterflies in my stomach before leaving. I thought about the length of the flights, finding my staff member at the airport, what kind of people I would meet, the level of difficulty of the research, and how interesting the excursions would be to name some items.

However, from the moment I met my project staff member at Johannesburg airport, I knew what kind of tone this experience would entail. He was very welcoming and right away I meshed with the other volunteers on the way to the bush. The accommodations did not disappoint, as the food was delicious and plentiful and the rooms were very clean. The staff gave us a sufficient amount of training before we went into the field. Everyone was responsible for a different task related to research. These tasks were educational but not overwhelming. The sights and sounds in the South African bush were extraordinary. Our schedule kept us busy but still allowed some time for resting and sharing photos. There was a wide variety of tasks to be completed, including research, conservation work, community involvement, camping, and social events. On the weekend, everyone got to sign up for a fun excursion. My trip to Swaziland proved to be memorable.

My time in South Africa went extremely quickly. Meeting people from all over the world was truly a great experience. By keeping an open mind and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone a little, it is amazing what you can accomplish. I highly recommend this trip to anyone interested in a life-changing experience!

I’ve always wanted to be a veterinarian since I was five years old and I’ve always wanted to work at a zoo because I’m in love with wildlife, so I thought this internship was a perfect opportunity to see if my dream is what I wanted and to also be a part of a volunteer project. During the project, I was able to do so many things I would have never thought I’d been able to do for years to come. I was able to give a Nyala an IV, which is probably one of my highlights of the trip. We were always asked our diagnosis on an animal to figure out what was wrong with it, which helped you start thinking like a vet, and then we were able to treat the animal if the medicine was at hand and if we were able too. After being at the project for 3 weeks and being able to visit the same townships, during dog dipping, you could see the impact you were making on the animals which is honestly the best feeling in the world. You would notice the decrease in mange, ticks, fleas, and worms that dogs had. You would see the growth of puppies and see how much healthier looking they would be after you treated them. Additionally, we were able to practice tasks of a large animal veterinarian as well. These tasks include, pregnancy testing, pig AI, cow dehorning, etc. The program offered a great selection of tasks where you could work with wildlife, livestock, and domestic animals. I realized from this trip that I do not want to be a zoo veterinarian anymore because I believe animals shouldn’t be in enclosures and instead roaming free like they were supposed to be. You could see the happiness of animals when they were in their own environment with freedom to do as they pleased. It was an amazing feeling being apart of such an awesome program that made a difference in the local towns and its surrounding reserves. And thanks to this internship, I now know that I want to travel to different countries that need veterinary help due to animals that have poor health and living conditions and be a part of the impact veterinarians are making around the world.

Growing up I have always loved animals especially cats since my mom always made sure we had at least one! So when I found this experience to go help in a wildlife reserve and Moda specifically the white lion I was giddy excited! It was more than what I had ever dreamt of! The staff at the park were so nice and I loved staying right there at the park! goeco.com has a ton of wonderful wildlife and conservation programs it was hard to choose which one but this was an experience I'll never forget!

One of the best parts of my internship in South Africa was treating a sick rhino. When we arrived she was very skinny. Because she was quite weak, we were able to hold her against the ground while the veterinarian and the volunteers gave here some fluids and glucose. After this we tried to get her on her feet, so she could recover faster. Unfortunately, she never stood up, because she died three days later. After she died we had the opportunity to do a post-mortem on her, to see why she died. I was incredibly lucky to be that close to a rhino and to see what was wrong with her by doing a post-mortem on her. It was very sad that she died though, but unfortunately this is part of the job. Not only did I get some hands-on experience with a variety of beautiful animal species, I also learned a lot from the veterinarian who worked there at that moment. He taught me a lot of useful stuff, which I can use for my further studies. For example: pregnancy testing, the drugs he used, darting animals, working with horses, doing intravenous injections and so one. I absolutely recommend this project, because it is diverse, educational, fun and a thrilling experience you will never forget.

Through my experience in the Greater Kruger Area I was exposed to this side of life I had only seen in my dreams. Doing a wildlife conservation trip gave me some of the most unreal encounters with some of the most majestic and intriguing African wildlife. One of my most memorable experiences was during a night drive when a bull elephant looking for a mate charged our game vehicle. It was so dark out we could barley see 10 feet in front of us and we all stood frozen as we heard this giant run full speed for our car. Of course we knew in the back of our heads that we were safe because of our outstanding guide who experiences this kind of behavior on the regular. By banging the side of the car with his rifle, our guide stopped the elephant right in his tracks purely by using noise. It was amazing to be able to see these creatures in the natural environment and is a memory I can never forget.

During my service in the school I remember showing one of the kids an American handshake from back home and he started smiling a lot and showing it to the the other kids, they all started to crowd around me and begin doing with me and smiling a lot.

This project was the best experience of my life. It has the perfect blend of freedom and structured time. It also immerses you directly into the most needy places so it feels like you're making real change. In the mornings you teach small school children, then you have time for lunch, then you either go surfing, swimming or sporting. The weekends are entirely free with hundreds of options of things to do at very reasonable prices.

This trip was an experience I will never forget. The state vet we worked with was amazing. We assisted him on multiple game captures. One night we were out darting nyala until 10pm. Then after, we went to a bar in Cinsta for a much deserved drink! Along with nyala, we captured and transported blesbok and giraffes. The staff and other volunteers were all very nice and helpful. We all got to experience a variety of things while volunteering. One day we did pregnancy testing on cows with the project vet and other days were spent in the townships providing free veterinary care for their dogs and vaccines for the puppies. There was also a fair amount of free time, which was usually spent at the bar or in East London. I also chose to spend the morning at a game park where we could interact with elephants and cheetahs.

I spent three weeks in South Africa for the Surf and Adventure project, and it was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. The mornings were spent teaching at the preschools in the settlements and townships. While communicating with the children was difficult because some of the children had limited English skills, the children were extremely affectionate and lovable. I'm always going to remember their chants of "teacher! teacher!" whenever I walked into the classroom. In the afternoons, the surfing instructor would teach the volunteers how to surf. The children that were part of the surf project were extremely good at surfing, so the volunteers' main responsibilities were to monitor them while they were in the water and help them to catch a wave. Some of the children even compete for the national surfing team! Volunteers had the weekends off, so we were free to explore South Africa and do fun activities if we wanted to. I had the pleasure of doing a wine tour, shark-cage diving, bungee jumping, safaris, and hiking up Table Mountain. The SaltyCrax hostel that the volunteers stayed at helped to arrange the various activities and tours, making it really convenient.

I met some amazing people on this project that I will never forget, ranging from the other volunteers to the SAVE staff members. It was a truly amazing experience to have people from various backgrounds and cultures all come together with a common thought in mind: to help underprivileged children.

I was in South Africa for 2 weeks for great white shark conservation and completely fell in love. I got to help passengers cage dive while I learned about the sharks and local seals. I even got to cage dive about 4 times which is something I will never forget. I met some amazing people including the other volunteers I stayed with, the coordinators and all of the staff and crew on the boat. It was truly an experience I will never forget and will be telling everyone I know about it.

I had one of the most amazing experiences in my life at the wildlife sanctuary in South Africa. I've always wanted to have a close and personal experience with African animals and you really get a chance to do that at this project. We have plenty of interactions with different animals and we also get to participate in the daily activities that help maintaining the sanctuary running. It's a great opportunity to meet new people as well and learn more about wildlife in Africa. Definitely an experience I'll never forget!!

Volunteering with GoEco has been an unforgettable experience, helped me to understand the biodiversity of the ocean, including seabirds & penguins, seals and the Great White Shark. In addition, I had the great opportunity to help on seabird recovery, as part of the The African Penguin & Seabird Sanctuary volunteer program.

I must say this was an once in a lifetime experience that I would highly recommend anyone who has the chance to go to DO IT! It was amazing interacting with people from the communities and getting to know them on a day to day basis. I really enjoyed working with the children and loved how I could see the difference that I was making while I was there. At the end of the week you could see the progress the kids were making with their colours and shapes and letters. I came to South Africa wanting to make a change and when I left I definitely achieved what I wanted to. The house was a bit crowded at times in the mourning with everyone getting ready for their day which was frustrating but I am glad we all lived together for the month because then I got to make friends from all over the world that I will possibly be able to meet up with in my later travels. Overall this experience showed and taught me a lot and the memories that I made along the way will stay with me forever. Some day I will be returning to South Africa :)

I spent 6 weeks in Cape Town to work in an over 30s Teaching and Community Development project. That was one of my best times and most valuable experiences I had so far.

In the mornings we went to pre-schools in two different townships and helped the children with all the typical pre-school stuff: getting to know numbers, colours and shapes, writing their names, learning to listen. With the younger children it was mostly about chasing, playing and cuddling.

The afternoons were spent in two other townships where we provided after school programs in a library or a foster home. It was really great to see that the kids have a safe to go after school. We helped them with their homework, talked about their future plans or just played or danced with them.

It was so rewarding! And so many of the kids are so much fun! And I learned so much! It was just great.

Furthermore, Cape Town is an incredible beautiful place and me and my fellow volunteers spend a lot of time exploring the city, gazing at the scenery, strolling through pubs and restaurants. I loved it!

Thanks to GoEco for making this wonderful experience possible.

I was on the "Teach Children and Surf in Cape Town".

Goeco helped me with everything I needed and assisted me in every step on my way to Cape Town.

There, volunteer share a big house and they're splitted into double or triple rooms. It's definitely not a five-star hotel and the food is quite bad, but you don't go there looking for jacuzzis and saunas (even though you can look around for them in the neightborhood).

The overall experience has absolutely positive, demanding but extremely rewarding. I meet lots of beautiful people there, and I surely will keep in contact with them in the next years!

Andrea

I did the "South Africa - Teach Children and Surf in Cape Town" with GoEco and it was the most amazing trip of my life!

I spent my mornings in a township teaching 3-5 year olds how to speak english and spent my afternoons surfing and helping 13-15 year olds learn how to surf.

The hostel SaltyCrax an volunteer organization SAVE that GoEco paired me up with was top notch and full of extremely awesome and helpful people. If felt very welcome, was able to settle in from the time I arrived, and truly felt like Cape Town was my home for the 6 weeks I was there.

In addition to the volunteering and doing other activities in the Cape Town area, we had the weekends free to ourselves to explore. I went on a tour of the Eastern Cape and got to see a bunch of other amazing towns and areas of South Africa and even got to surf in the Indian Ocean at Jeffreys Bay!

I know I would not have had as awesome and fun filled a trip if I didn't book with GoEco, so I truly recommend them for any and all volunteer trips abroad!

David Kolakowski

I fell in love with the kids I taught, the nature, the language and the people that I worked with. The adults and the children were hungry for knowledge, affection and attention and I'm glad I was a part of their life for a short amount of time. 3 weeks was not enough! I learned some basic Zulu, and I was able to communicate to the children and the locals of the Zulu tribe. I even managed to teach a whole lesson in Zulu on my last day, and the kids answered me in English!

I'm so happy I volunteered through GoEco. GoEco has been there for me from day one, helping me with whatever was needed for this trip. I was supposed to volunteer at different project with children in Mozambique, but that program was canceled a week before my flight. GoEco immediately contacted me, and told me about another similar volunteering project that had a space for a few more volunteers in St. Lucia, just a few hours away. I jumped at the opportunity! I mean, come on, who wouldn't?