Amakhala Game Reserve

  South Africa

Port Elizabeth

Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks and 9-12 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 1-2 weeks
Dates: All Year

Description: As a conservation volunteer you are the veins and arteries behind the heart beat of Reserve conservation. All aspects of conservation is addressed on this programme, and if you are seeking an experience which will enable you to explore somewhere unique, no matter how short a time, then the place to choose is Amakhala. It is a malaria free reserve boasting the Big Five of South Africa, and after a placement at this beautiful reserve you will leave you in awe of Africa's abundance, beauty and spectacular scenery. Take in sunlit grassy savannah plains, a mosaic of Valley Bushveld plants (including the Aloe from which Amakhala derives its isiXhosa name) and the gently dappled light of the sand forest, watering holes and the wide spellbinding Bushman's River. This is home to great African mammals, birds and insects, and it will humble and fascinate you.

The reserve is continuously monitoring and managing game throughout the year, and as a conservation "Pride" volunteer you will assist "behind the scenes" on various ongoing conservation projects and reserve priorities, with the longer your stay the more in depth your experience is. It is our duty is to provide correct and up to date scientific information on the reserve and its animals, which is then given to the people who make important decisions behind the maintenance of the reserve and the many animals which call it their home.

As a Conservation "Pride" Volunteer at Amakhala, your primary responsibility is managing the lions. You will also have the chance to assist with many ongoing short and long-term projects on the reserve. Reserve priorities at any one time may continuously change dependent on many external influences; your involvement in certain projects thus may be affected. Therefore the longer your placement the more in depth your involvement across many facets of conservation and reserve maintenance will be.

This course provides an insight into the environmental issues and management of a game reserve. The main focus is having FUN while doing conservation and rehabilitating the land back to its natural environment. The volunteers are also acquainted with the techniques of collecting, analysing and disseminating information on ecological aspects. The course will also allow participants to interact with each other in a life changing environment whilst contributing towards conservation.

Highlights: As a conservation volunteer on Amakhala Game Reserve you may get involved in the following short and long term projects:

- Game counts/Animal Tracking using Telemetry
- Territorial Ranges and Feeding Ranges
- Lion Health and Breeding Monitoring
- Local Community Up-liftment and Food 4 Thought projects
- Animal Welfare and Care
- Erosion Control/ Road Maintenance
- Wetland Rehabilitation
- Fence Patrol and Maintenance
- Vehicle Maintenance
- Alien Plant Control
- Bush Clean and Clear ups
- Boma Maintenance
- Birding List of Amakhala Reserve
- Game Capture, counts and monitoring
- Guided walks, tracking and trails through the Reserve
- Bush Survival Camping out under the stars and survival (Weather dependent)
- Navigation and Compass orientation
- Target Shooting
- Taxidermy hunting discussion Conservation or Not
- Updating Project information onto the computer
- Report writing
- Kayaking

Qualifications: No Qualifications needed.

Cost in US$: 1049- 3499 GBP

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: All of our experiences have been carefully selected to benefit individual volunteers as well as the placement that they attend. A typical volunteer is normally a young traveler who wants to put some thing back with their travels.

Age Range: 18+

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to South Africa in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Written Application

Worldwide Experience's Mission Statement: Worldwide Experience strives to conserve what man is fast destroying- our own environment. We support conservation and community projects through the recruitment of volunteers from around the world to help work on these diverse, and worthwhile projects. If you are thinking of taking a Gap Year or even just want to get away for your summer break Worldwide Experience will have the placement to suit you. From 2 weeks-3 months, we have projects in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Sri Lanka, and our experienced team will help place you on a project that will suit your needs the most. Moreover, all the programmes have been set up with the needs and requirements of the placement in mind. This means that whether you're helping to dart a lion, track a cheetah, ID an elephant or teach a class of children, you are making a difference through your work there. Your safety is also in the forefront of our minds, and as a fully bonded tour operator, all volunteers booked to travel through us will be protected by bonding, as required by ABTA and ATOL. We can also organise all flights direct from our UK office.

Year Founded: 2003