ACE volunteer posing in helicopter

Pregnant rhinos and clumsy elephants... all in a day's work!

Well, what can I say, besides amazing!

My experience with Dr Niel Kriel at Shimongwe Veterinary Experience was unforgettable not just because of the wildlife I saw and helped, but because of being made to be part of a family. Alfie and Jackie are two brilliant people who welcome you with open arms and help you create memories.

Neil and Shannon are two wonderful vets and amazing people, always friendly and helpful even when I kept up my constant questions.

While in Africa I got to work with the big five and many other animals including cheetah and countless species of antelope. By the first week of my experience, I had treated everything from a hornbill chick to a pregnant rhino and cheetah cub with a broken leg.

To round the whole experience off I met the most amazing people and I am so thrilled to keep in touch with those friends. I had the chance to encounter many amazing animals including getting up at 5:30 in the morning and helping with a game capture of hartebeest and kudu which involved climbing on game capture trucks and working into the night.

My most unforgettable moments include flying in a helicopter to watch herds of zebra and giraffe and to see Botswana from the air, an elephant back safari, riding a bull male named Mickey who loved walking into trees with us on him and nursing a 9-month-old cheetah cub who I named Gizara, a feisty cub who had been ran over.

All my moments in Africa will be unforgettable and every one of them was amazing. All that can be said is that this experience was one of the most unforgettable times of my life and never to be forgotten.

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who I shared the experience with for making it so fabulous.

By Danielle Greaves, who volunteered for two weeks at Shimongwe Wildlife Veterinary Experience before going on to study Zoology at University