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WelcomeExperience ‘hands-on’ volunteering in South Africa. Book now for an informative and unforgettable conservation experience on Amakhala Game Reserve in the malaria-free Eastern Cape. Amakhala Hands-on Volunteering offers an insight into conservation and environmental issues as part of managing the game reserve. Main focus: Lion monitoring, conservation and rehabilitation of land back to its natural environment.
Amakhala ‘Hands on’ Volunteers This project provides an insight into the environmental issues and management of a game reserve via assisting the award winning Amakhala Conservation Centre and contributing to the community through the Amakhala Foundation and Isipho Aids Safe-house, whilst also providing an element of fun for those who participate. We recommend at least 1 to 2 months volunteering, but for those with time constraints we do accept 2 week volunteer placement. Amakhala is ideally situated in the malaria free Eastern Cape, close to the world renowned Shamwari Bornfree Big Cat Rescue Centre and Addo Elephant National Park. Book now for your ideal voluntour gap year experience! |
Volunteer Diaries“This is my second installment from Amakhala as a volunteer as I have been here for almost two months now and the time has just flown by. There is always something new going on and people are always coming and going. Some people are here for a couple of weeks, some three weeks and some four weeks or longer. All have very different reasons for being here and everyone helps everybody else out. Highlights of this month for me include nocturnal predator monitoring which I was involved with last night. We set off at 7pm and first checked on the lion family. They had been feeding on a kill earlier that day and when we found them the female was still eating whilst the male sat by and watched a porcupine which had nerves of steal as it was walking past – the male here can kill porcupine with a swipe of its paw! It was a great sighting of a porcupine, and very rare, his quills were all puffed out making him look very impressive. I think the porcupine had a lucky escape as the lions were so full from the kill that they were not interested in him! The game counts on a Wednesday are still one of my favourite weekly activities as you really get up close to the game on the reserve. I have wanted to see the black rhino up close and I got my wish last Wednesday when one came close to the vehicle! Still this is what it is all about. We had seen the rhino from afar but were soon busy counting Blesbok. I looked round to check on the rhino’s location and there it was about 10m away before deciding wander off, uninterested in our activities. It was a fantastic sighting though. |
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