Saving Africa’s endangered wildlife through informed, impact-driven projects, thereby enabling broad-scale biodiversity conservation
Zululand is recognised as one of the most biodiverse wildlands in Africa, with much of it declared a World Heritage Site. Wildlife conservation volunteers work across unique parks, with most of them being nationally-proclaimed reserves. For every 2 weeks that you join us as a conservation volunteer, you will have the opportunity to live and work on a different park. Our work focuses on endangered and priority wildlife species, including the African Wild Dog, Cheetah, Rhino, Lion, Elephant, Leopard and Vulture.
Price
28800
Duration
2 weeks +
type
Volunteer
Requirements
Ages: 18 - 65+
Wildlife ACT is proud to have initiated wildlife conservation project sites on various wildlife reserves across Zululand, South Africa. The Zululand ecosystem is among the most diverse and productive wild lands on the planet, yet amid its gallery of wildlife, conservation efforts face tremendous challenges, and we need your help. Zululand makes a dramatic backdrop to our initiatives, as it is a place of majestic beauty with cultures as diverse as its landscapes. Zululand is a rare place with age-old cultures and traditions, yet it is the birthplace of wildlife conservation in Africa, where the Rhino was historically saved from certain extinction more than 70 years ago.
For every two weeks that you join us as a wildlife conservation volunteer, you have the opportunity to live and work on a different park. Volunteers can also select these projects in conjunction with the Zululand Leopard Census. Most of our volunteers who come for more than two weeks spend two weeks on the Leopard Census project and then do a multiple of two weeks on our other project sites in Zululand.
Zululand is considered by many as the heartbeat of Africa and the birthplace of wildlife conservation in Africa. The African bush is such a dynamic and ever-changing environment in which to work and our movements and activities are entirely regulated by the priority and endangered animals that we monitor.
Please note:
Depending on how long you join the team for and the time of year, you may also be part of wildlife darting or trapping, the radio collaring of various animal species, the relocation and re-introduction of game, identity tagging of animals, setting and checking of camera traps, game counts, bird ringing and alien plant control. (Please note that these activities occur strictly when the need arises and cannot be guaranteed).
‘This is Zululand, Not Disneyland’
We have a saying here: ‘This is Zululand, Not Disneyland’. It’s not always easy and there are many challenges along the way, including long hours and tough work, but it’s one of the most rewarding and enriching experiences you’ll ever have.
Due to the nature of our work, we often have to track one animal for an entire day, covering large distances without success – but it’s important that we do it. This is not a safari operation and we don’t want to romanticize the work we do. Our projects enable you to experience what life is like as a real conservationist or wildlife researcher. This is real Africa and you’ll contribute to conservation as a real natural resource conservation volunteer.
Training and Skills:
All training will be via practical tuition in the field. The skills you will gain are:
Free Time: With regards to downtime and leisure activities while you are with us, the nature of the work being done means that the animals need to be located every single day. The wildlife monitor will therefore continue working continuously seven days a week, but volunteers may take the occasional Sunday for an admin day or rest day at the camp. Depending on the daily tasks and activities, volunteers normally have some downtime between morning and afternoon monitoring sessions.
Wildlife ACT conducts intensive endangered species monitoring work in Zululand, South Africa, and volunteers are an integral part of the exciting conservation work that we do. Wildlife monitoring is essential for keeping track of animal movement patterns, habitat utilization, population demographics, snaring and poaching incidents and breakouts. This valuable information, which Wildlife ACT and our wildlife conservation volunteers gather, has numerous management applications, including the planning of successful introduction and removal strategies of priority wildlife species.
This requires our wildlife monitors and conservation volunteers to go out into the reserve every day and find these animals using either VHF tracking equipment or conventional spoor tracking techniques. We also develop wildlife identikits of all the species we help monitor. Our projects have all been approved and contracted directly by the Management Authority of each reserve and national park, to perform critical and essential conservation work for those reserves.
Africa has over 400 known endangered animal species. Tracking and monitoring of endangered species is a critical step in the conservation of these animals, but many game reserves do not have the capacity to run effective wildlife monitoring programmes. Wildlife ACT provides this free tracking and monitoring service to game reserves in Zululand both by initiating, implementing and managing monitoring projects on reserves that don’t have monitoring programmes in place, or by taking over existing monitoring projects on reserves that can no longer fund or manage them. This is what your participation supports.
We collect all arriving participants from RICHARDS BAY, which is the closest Airport. You will have to book your INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT to arrive at JOHANNESBURG, and then book a short internal connecting flight, from Johannesburg to RICHARDS BAY.
For arrival, participants can choose to either fly in to Richards Bay on the SUNDAY, and to then overnight at a B&B close to the Airport, OR to arrive on either of the following flights arriving in Richards Bay on the MONDAY: at 09:15 AM, or at 12:50 PM, if they prefer not to overnight on Sunday.
Flights arriving later than 12:50 on the Monday are TOO LATE for us to collect you!
ARRIVAL Flight:
The transport service will collect participants from the Richards Bay Airport at 12:50 PM on the MONDAY. Please ensure therefore that you book one of the following flights, arriving in Richards Bay at:
Important Note: Please be aware that if you arrive on a morning flight, you will have a few hours to wait until the transport service arrives to collect all arriving volunteers from Richards Bay Airport at 12:50. We suggest you wait in the small coffee shop within the Richards Bay Airport. You will be comfortable and safe there, and they do sell beverages and light meals/snacks so you can sit and read or work on your laptop.
DEPARTURE Flight:
The transport service will drop off participants at the Richards Bay Airport at 11:30 AM on the MONDAY. Please ensure therefore that you book one of the following flights, departing from Richards Bay at:
Important Note: Please do not book flights departing from Richards Bay earlier than 13:10 PM, as we will simply not be able to get you to the airport in time, from the reserves.
OVERNIGHT OPTIONS NEAR THE AIRPORT:
All 5 accommodation venues listed in the attached document will COLLECT our participants from the Richards Bay Airport, on the Sunday. (This airport collection is included in the listed accommodation price).
These 5 venues have also ALL agreed to transport our participants BACK to the Richards Bay Airport on the Monday – FREE OF CHARGE – thereby making collection quicker from our side. Please make sure to request this service as a Wildlife ACT volunteer, in your booking enquiry with them.
COLLECTION FROM THE AIRPORT:
We will then collect all the participants together, at the RICHARDS BAY AIRPORT, at 12:50 PM, on the Monday. Those participants who choose to arrive on the earlier flight on the Monday, will simply wait at the Airport for the 12:50 collection. (There is a small coffee shop within the Airport, where participants can safely wait.)
If participants book any other accommodation in Richards Bay, they will need to arrange and pay for their own taxi’s to get back to the Airport on Monday.
Participants will need to be at the Airport NO LATER THAN 12:30 PM if they plan to make their own way to the Airport.
Transfer Service:
When you arrive at Richards Bay Airport you will be collected by an organised responsible transfer company. The driver will have a copy of the transport schedule including, all your photographs. They will find you in the (VERY) small Airport: either in the small arrival area or in the little coffee shop within the airport if you arrive early.
All arriving conservation volunteers will be transported by the transfer company to a central meeting point where you will be met by your respective Wildlife ACT monitors, who will then take you into the reserve on the back of a monitoring vehicle. On the Monday of your departure you will be transported back to Richards Bay Airport to catch your departing flight home.
28800.00
47000.00
65200.00
83400.00
101600.00
119800.00
2800.00
08 or 22 January
05 or 19 February
04 or 18 March
01, 15, or 29 April
13 or 27 May
10 or 24 June
08 or 22 July
05 or 19 August
02, 16, or 30 September
14 or 28 October
11 or 25 November
09 or (*23) December
06 or 20 January
03 or 17 February
03, 17 or 31 March
14 or 28 April
12 or 26 May
09 or 23 June
07 or 21 July
04 or 18 August
01, 15 or 29 September
13 or 27 October
10 or 24 November
08 or 22 December
This project spans across multiple game reserves in Zululand. These areas in the eastern parts of South Africa are lush, green and teaming with wildlife. Its a favourable habitat for many types of wildlife species and is where we focus on their protection and conservation.