The Ultimate Personalized Gap Year Experience

I was fortunate enough to travel through African Conservation Experience for six weeks at four amazing projects: Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, The Vikela Kruger Conservation Experience, Care for Wild Africa Rhino Sanctuary, and Phinda Wildlife Research Project. Being an 18-year-old who had just graduated from high school, I was slightly intimidated to travel on my own for as long as I did. As soon as I reached Johannesburg airport any nerves I had instantly vanished because of how welcoming and friendly the in-country team from ACE was. There ended up being about six ACE volunteers who sat in the lovely Mugg & Bean restaurant at Johannesburg airport and had a complimentary breakfast. It gave us some time to get to know one another and ask any questions to the ACE staff. We also got to hear a very insightful talk from the ACE team that prepared us for some of the realities that we would face when dealing with conservation in South Africa. Some of the other volunteers I met in the airport I later reunited with, which was so cool! Volunteer tip: I recommend trading social media details at the airport with the other ACE volunteers, to keep up to date with the cool things they are doing at the other projects! The first project I visited was Moholoholo. I spent two weeks there and fell in love with all of the animals. I was in the group that was responsible for taking care of 3 eagles, 3 spotted eagle owls, and two servals. Later I was put in charge of two nyala and helped out with many other animals. The work wasn't easy and the days could feel long, but I loved every second of it because the animals and staff were amazing. Each week new volunteers came through, including a group of 18 university students the first week, and so I found it so special getting to meet so many new people. There were multiple presentations that I got to listen to, including a conservation talk from vet Dr Peter Rogers. There was also a talk about the terrible poisonings that are threatening many of Africa’s vulture populations by Dr Lindy Thompson, who works with Endangered Wildlife Trust. I was privileged to be a part of Moholoholo’s release of 10 vultures, including the cape vulture (vulnerable), lappet-faced vulture (endangered), white-backed vulture (critically endangered), and hooded vulture (critically endangered). Another volunteer and I got to spend the whole morning helping the staff and Dr Lindy Thompson and her partner prepare the vultures for release by taking measurements of each one and attaching GPS trackers or tags to them. This was an incredible experience. Leaving Moholoholo was not easy, but fortunately, my next location was amazing as well. I spent one week at the Vikela Kruger Project and was accompanied by one other volunteer. The project staff here are experts at what they do and are accompanied by their beautiful working dog Letta. They taught the other volunteer and I so much about tracking wildlife by foot, and one day we spent 6 hours tracking the critically endangered black rhino in the Kruger and were able to observe their natural behaviours. Right after we spotted some black rhinos and started to collect vital data on them, we encountered a wild dog, a very endangered species - how amazing! We spent every morning and evening driving around the Kruger National Park, monitoring the species that we encountered, and some days we could work on projects such as bush removal and road repairs. We saw a huge variety of animals, including the Big 5, giraffes, hyenas, hippos, many different types of antelope, mongoose, and so many more. The Vikela Kruger Project is an amazing experience that opened my eyes to the importance of saving Africa’s wild animals. My third location was Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary (CFW). I only spent 6 days here, but I wish that I had stayed for longer. CFW is an incredible sanctuary that is home to many orphaned rhinos who are in the process of being rehabilitated and released. Tasks at CFW included preparing bottles and fish cakes for baby rhinos, preparing feed for the older rhinos, and cleaning enclosures. CFW does so much for their community, such as their Lomshyio Community Farming Project and their Junior Ranger Program! I was so impressed by CFW's exceptional treatment of the animals in their care and their commitment to the betterment of their local community. All of the staff at CFW were incredibly kind and welcoming, and even though I only spent 6 days at CFW, I fell in love with the animals and organisation, and would definitely love to go back in the future. My final destination was Phinda Private Game Reserve, where I spent my last 2 weeks. Phinda is a beautiful reserve that is home to a large diversity of species, both plants and animals. At Phinda much of our time was spent locating elephants with telemetry, observing them, and collecting data. I loved this as I got to know many of the heards' different personalities and distinguishing features. We spent so much of our time with the elephants because there was a long-term study on the effects of the contraception used on their elephants. I was also fortunate enough to participate in the horn trimming of one of Phinda's black rhinos, which is an effective anti-poaching method employed to protect South Africa's rhino population. It was amazing to see this technique in action as I learned a lot about the severe effects of poaching on rhinos and other species. I even got to watch the amputation of an injured cheetah’s toe and got to observe it throughout the beginning of its recovery. My highlight of the management work at Phinda I got to be involved in, was the multiple elephant captures for relocations and checkups. This was an incredible experience to learn about. While at Phinda I saw so many beautiful animals and landscapes. I was glad that my last location was spent with such amazing staff and volunteers. ACE is a great company that I would highly recommend travelling through. I loved my experience in South Africa and am already wanting to plan my next trip. All four of the locations I volunteered at were eye-opening in different ways and taught me so much about wildlife conservation, research, and rehabilitation. All of the locations that I went to were very accommodating to my vegan diet and had great food. I felt safe at every project and made friendships with staff members and other volunteers that have lasted until this day. I would highly recommend volunteering through ACE at these locations!

Oh my, how do I start? First of all, the 2 months I spent in South Africa via ACE was probably the BEST time I had in my whole life so far. I am so thankful for the opportunity and all the more than amazing experiences I got to make every single day. The application and contact with the bureau of the organisation was very nice, fast and flexible. They helped me with booking everything, gave me multiple choices and all the mails and calls made me more excited for the long trip. The time at the Moholoholo rehab centre was amazing, I got to do something to make the lives of the animals better each day while having them make me fall in love with each individual and the whole place plus the surrounding area. And there are no words to describe the outrageous amazing time I had at Nhoveni Camp with Jacques and Letta, his dog aka daughter. We had so much fun while collecting data to make sure the animals there can stay safe. There is no other feeling that could come near to walking through the bush on foot, being so vulnerable and still feeling so safe and enjoying every minute, no matter if it ends in an animal encounter or not. I wanna come back so bad, and I will be forever grateful to ACE for these opportunities they give to people all over the world.

My time volunteering with ACE is one of the best experiences in my life to date. Having done two weeks at Phinda and then a two week rhino focussed course split across Kruger and then Care for Wild, I really feel I had a in-depth insight into the African Conservation world. I’ve always been interested in wildlife and conservation and this time taught me so much about reserve management, conservation strategies and the threats they face. It even helped me understand the more political and sensitive issues that affect conservation on a daily basis. The ACE team helped direct me to the projects that were of interest to me and the placements all ran smoothly. I’d certainly travel with them again!