Location
  • South Africa
Length
2 to 12 weeks

Program Details

Language
English
Age Min.
18
Timeframe
Year Round
Housing
Hostel
Groups
Small Group (1-15)

Pricing

Starting Price
1191
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Some Meals
What's Not Included
Airfare Some Meals Travel Insurance Visa
Jul 02, 2019
Aug 22, 2018
3 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

To the casual tourist, Gansbaai appears as an idyllic coastal retreat. Look a little closer, and you'll discover that this is no sleepy fishing town: this is a thrill-seekers paradise, due to its abundance of Great White sharks!

Located two hours from Cape Town, Gansbaai welcomes hundreds of tourists each year. In fact, the sharks attract hordes of visitors, drawing in more tourist activity than any South African attraction other than Kruger National Park. But we offer a different kind of tourism; one which is vital to the world’s most misunderstood species.

As a volunteer, you'll help raise awareness of sharks, working alongside tourists and local school children to provide them with knowledge of the local environment and the importance of living in harmony with marine wildlife. You will also take part in an array of other activities, from data collection to cage diving – after all, what better way is there to truly understand this giant of the ocean?

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • Cage dive with Great White Sharks.
  • Contribute to shark research efforts.
  • Assist at the Swop Shop and help the local children learn how to recycle!

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Program Reviews

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Showing 1 - 1 of 1 reviews
Default avatar
Je
1/5
No, I don't recommend this program

The (not so) Great White Shark Conservation Project

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What would you improve about this program?
Advice for Volunteer World and the “Great Projects”:

1. Disclose the typical age range and educational level of the average volunteer. It will help others determine if this program will be a good fit for them personally.

2. Consider an application process for potential volunteers and try to form cohesive groups based on educational attainment and age range. Learn what skills volunteers have (maybe they are graphic designers or data analysts or PR mavens) so their specific skills can be put to good use in the program to actually constructively assist in shark conservation efforts in ways suited to the volunteer’s individual skill set. This will greatly help in the numerous “no sea” days, enduring volunteers are effectively utilised so that an actual social good is happening.

3. Improved Staffing and Organization. This is, perhaps, the most important thing of all. Volunteer World could use more professional travel consultants. The project needs to have a better monitoring system in place for its staff, including interns. Overall, there is a major organisational failure here. The coordinator is creating a spur of the moment and ad hoc schedule (which often consists of nothing -e.g., days of boredom and downtime, followed by pay-for-yourself touristy activities that, while they may be fun, have nothing to do with social good or volunteering) that does little to help with shark conservation or the creation of social good. Properly done, “no sea” days could actually be educational and useful, both for the parent company and the volunteers.

Professionalism is critical to good business. A small but telling example of unprofessional behaviour consisted of the volunteer coordinator actively lying when the travel consultant asked if it was true I’d been on no cage dives. The coordinator made up a story that I opted not to cage dive rather than simply saying, “True and it was regrettable.” I have been free diving with sharks, sky diving and many other things along those lines. You want a program with staff that is professional, mature and honest. They set the tone for the entire experience.
114 people found this review helpful.
Response from The Great Projects

Hi Jen,

I am sorry you did not enjoy your time on The Great White Shark Project but was glad to help you depart early and also provide you with a full refund for the days you were not at the project. Regarding your issues, as you know it is not always possible to go out to sea if the weather does not allow. Whilst this can sometimes be frustrating it is something that we indicate before booking. There can sometimes be a few days in a row where it is not possible to go out to sea, as was the case when you were there, however during this time additional trips are arranged such as a trip to Betty's Bay to see the penguin colony, a day at a local animal shelter and a day out wine tasting to name a few. On other days, lectures and data input activities are completed.

Regarding a meaningful level of education, all trips out to sea are accompanied by Tom, the resident marine biologist who is available to answer questions and teach about data collection, shark ecology and conservation (topics which he discusses more in his lectures). He has done this for a number of years and has a lot of knowledge he is keen to share. I must also state that we do not guarantee at least one shark dive, and it is an extremely rare occurrence whereby it was not possible for a volunteer to get into the cage during their time on the project.

Regarding accommodation, I have passed on your comments to the team whom will take a look at the bathrooms.

Going out to restaurants and/or the local pub is something a lot of volunteers do during any down time, with or without the project staff. It is not a requirement, and everyone has the choice, but it offers a social environment especially on days when it is not possible to go out to sea.

Finally, it is not a company policy not to report poachers. I understand from your review that you were told it is, but it is most definitely not. It is however policy not to approach poachers as the health and safety of everyone is paramount and rules are in place to ensure everyone is safe at all times.

Again, I am sorry you did not enjoy your experience, but I hope you enjoyed your time in Cape Town for the remainder of your time in South Africa.

Michael
The Great Projects

Questions & Answers