Top Volunteer Projects in South Africa

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.