Masters Of The Wild Experience

This is a suggested itinerary. Every experience can be customised to be just right for you.

Golola Rhino Orphanage And Rehabilitation Centre

Week 1 & 2

Gain invaluable hands-on experience caring for orphaned rhinos at a dedicated sanctuary, under the close guidance of expert zoologists, conservationists, and researchers. Beyond the sanctuary, you’ll help monitor these remarkable animals after their release into a wildlife reserve, set against the breathtaking backdrop of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• Self-Catered

Phinda Wildlife Research Project

Week 3

Go behind the scenes in a Big 5 wildlife conservancy where you’ll monitor lions, elephants, rhinos, pangolins and other species in their natural habitats. Part-owned by the local Zulu community, Phinda is a true conservation success story - and plays a vital role in the WWF’s efforts to reintroduce black rhinos across more parts of Africa.

• Food For Meal Preparation Provided

Experience the rhino rehabilitation journey

From bottle-feeding orphaned calves to helping monitor adult rhinos after they’re released back into the wild, you’ll see and learn about vital stages of rhino rehabilitation.

Work with world-class specialists

Live, learn and work alongside highly qualified rhino specialists, ecological monitors and wildlife management professionals. People who are passionate about sharing detailed insights and stories about animal behaviour, conservation issues and the broader African ecosystem.

Learn real conservation skills

Discover how to identify different species and individual animals within a group. Learn how to use telemetry systems to track collared animals in the bush. Build your understanding of animal nutrition and enrichment activities. And develop lots more real-world conservation skills.

Monitor rhinos in their natural habitat

Help track and observe a sustainable rhino population in a wildlife reserve that’s also home to lions, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes and other keystone species. Your observations will directly inform management decisions and contribute to the project’s ongoing work reintroducing black rhino to other regions in Africa.

Experience conservation behind the scenes

Go beyond the safari and experience life inside two of Africa’s most successful wildlife projects - where you’ll get a front-row seat to the amazing work they do to protect threatened species and habitats.

Experience two biodiversity hotspots

Whether you’re passionate about predators, hooked on herbivores, or enraptured by raptors, you’ll get to see an incredible range of species living in some of Africa’s most spellbinding landscapes and endangered ecosystems.

Be part of a conservation success story

Phinda means "the return" in Zulu. Not only because wildlife have returned to the land, with growing populations of rhinos and cheetahs now inhabiting the reserve, but a significant portion of the land has also been returned to its ancestral owners.

Support global conservation organisations

Phinda works in partnership with the WWF, Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), Panthera and the African Pangolin Working Group. Joining this project, you’ll support the long-term goals of these major international conservation organisations.

You’ll support the project teams in wildlife monitoring, management and care work. Depending on the priorities at the time, this will include a range of the following activities.

Rhino rehabilitation, care and husbandry

Many rhinos arrive at the centre injured or emotionally distressed. As part of a dedicated team, you’ll help care for and rehabilitate these animals so they can eventually be released back into the wild.

You will get to assist:

• Preparing browse for black rhinos (fresh leafy branches) and grass for white rhinos.
• Packing bags of hay and measuring out pellet feeds for rhinos that no longer require milk.
• Cleaning their living spaces by mucking out, replacing hay, and scrubbing feeding and water troughs.

You could also observe or assist:

• Activities which allow rhinos to engage in natural behaviours in order to enhance wellbeing (animal enrichment), such as creating mud wallows.
• Vet nursing if an animal requires veterinary care.

Care for baby rhinos

If there are milk-dependent baby rhinos during your stay, you will get to observe or assist:

• Bottle-feeding young rhinos.
• Preparing milk formula.

Wildlife research and monitoring

Monitoring wild rhino herds and following the progress of rehabilitated rhinos after their release back into the wild is vital for conservation. And, to maintain the perfect balance of species within the reserve, Phinda’s conservationists keep a close watch on population numbers.

You will get to observe and assist:

• Recording wildlife sightings and mapping their movements to build up a detailed database of animals’ territories.
• Monitoring priority species such as black and white rhino, elephants, cheetahs and lions, to help protect them from threats such as poaching and wildlife diseases.
• Recording animals’ age, gender, feeding and breeding behaviours.
• Population dynamics of animals such as elephants and predators.
• Determining prey utilisation by lions, leopards and cheetahs. 
• Game drive animal counts, to determine general population numbers of species, including giraffe, zebra and wildebeest.

You could also observe or assist:

• Using telemetry to track the movements of collared wildlife such as elephants and pangolins.
• Bi-annual camera trap surveys to monitor elusive species such as leopard, hyena and serval.
• Recording the activity of priority bird species such as the southern banded-snake eagle.

Wildlife management

Careful management of the wildlife is vital to Phinda’s conservation success and is scheduled at certain times throughout the year. Depending on the work that comes in and the requirements of the project, you could observe, assist or gain insights into:

• Rhino immobilisations and the notching of rhino ears, enabling researchers to identify, monitor and protect individual animals.
• Humane rhino horn trimming, an effective anti-poaching strategy.
• The release and reintroduction of pangolins saved from poachers.
• The use of contraceptive programmes to effectively manage the populations of elephants and predators.
• The use of vaccines to assist with the management of wildlife diseases that predators may be exposed to.
• Managing and preserving wildlife habitats to ensure a sufficient supply of resources such as food and water.

Take part in educational talks

As well as formal and informal talks, you’ll also accompany staff on educational bush walks. During these sessions, they’ll give you insights into a wide range of relevant topics.

You will gain insights into:

• The rhino rehabilitation process and rhino poaching crisis.
• The unique geology, plants, birds, and animals that live in the mountain environment around Golola Rhino Orphanage And Rehabilitation Centre.
• Bush-craft skills such as how to identify specific tracks and the medicinal uses of trees.

You’ll learn about wildlife behaviour, biology, ecology, and conservation issues. Depending on the work at the time, this will include a range of the following topics.

Animal husbandry

• Individual dietary requirements for captive rhino, including food preparation, water provision, and feeding routines.
• Best hygiene practices, such as enclosure cleaning, disinfection of areas and waste removal.
• How to monitor the health and behaviour of captive rhino.

Behaviour

• Behaviour of animal groups, such as the social structure in a pride of lions and herds of elephants.
• The relationship between predator and prey species.
• Predator hunting behaviour and the differences between social predators such as lions and hyena, compared with solitary predators such as leopards and cheetah.
• Mating and breeding behaviour of the Big 5 and other African species.
• The movement of herd species such as elephant, buffalo and antelope.
• How to create a stimulating environment for orphaned rhinos before they are released.

Biology

• The physiology and natural diets of the Big 5 and other African species.
• Native African plants, reptiles, amphibians and birds.

Ecology

• The natural environment of the Big 5 and other African species.
• The role of different species in the ecosystem.
• The impact of population growth or decline of certain species, such as lions, rhinos and elephants, on the ecosystem as a whole.
• The smaller ecosystems on the Phinda reserve, including a unique sand forest.
• The unique, UNESCO World Heritage Site environment at Golola Rhino Orphanage And Rehabilitation Centre.

Conservation

• Priority species monitoring and building ID kits.
• Various research techniques, such as telemetry and GPS devices.
• Anti-poaching methods in the field and relocation programmes.
• The role of the rehabilitation centre and the process of rescuing orphaned rhino calves.
• Metapopulation management (introductions and translocations) of species, for example rhino, cheetah, and lion.
• Wildlife relocation programmes - such as the WWF’s Black Rhino Range Expansion Project and the Cheetah Metapopulation Project.

Community

• How Phinda’s community part-ownership model positively impacts local people and conservation outcomes.