Iris Walling

Travelling alone at 18 years old can feel quite daunting (my parents definitely thought so), but with African Conservation Experience (ACE), not once during my two-month trip did I ever feel unsafe, unwelcome, or out of my depth.

I visited four projects in total, and each one offered something completely different.

I began at Vikela Kruger Conservation Experience, and I genuinely could not have asked for a better introduction to South Africa. I was there with two lovely ladies, who were both solo travelling, and we got along so well. I am still in contact with them now!

He gave us lectures about the importance of conservation and the background of the area. He took his time and energy to explain to us everything in detail, and I loved it. My biggest piece of advice would be to ask him as many questions as you can. 

The days at Vikela are filled with game drives, wildlife spotting, and logging what you see, with bush walks thrown in too. One evening, whilst out on a drive, we witnessed a herd of rhinos thunder past just metres away. That was the kind of moment you simply don't forget!

From there, I headed to Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. If you want to get your hands dirty and truly immerse yourself in the day-to-day work of wildlife rehabilitation, this is the project for you. The days are busy, feeding, cleaning, and making enrichment for the animals, and I was lucky enough to witness a cheetah sedation, a post-mortem on an eagle, and the release of several birds during my two weeks there. The sense of community among the volunteers was something special, too; I made some of my closest friends here.

Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary was probably my favourite project of the trip. The staff were incredible! You can see the effort they put into every single day, and they went out of their way to make sure everyone felt happy and settled. 

In this project, no two days were the same, and I got to experience so much here. When I came down with a bad bout of tonsillitis midway through my stay, the staff were incredibly supportive, and my fellow volunteers looked after me as if we'd known each other for years. It really does show the kind of people this kind of trip attracts.

I finished my journey at Phinda Wildlife Research Project, and it was the perfect way to end the trip. If you want to see an incredible diversity of African wildlife, Phinda is where it’s at! The game drives are a highlight, and our ecological monitor was so knowledgeable and wonderfully enthusiastic about making sure we got the most out of every outing. We used telemetry to track the resident cheetahs through the reserve, which felt unreal.

My transport between projects was sorted seamlessly,  and no question went unanswered - they even kept my parents updated throughout, which meant a great deal to them and me. When I fell ill, ACE were right there. Their team clearly cares deeply about the conservation work each project is doing, and that comes across in everything they do.

If you are thinking about doing something like this, my advice is simple: just go.