The phone call I had with one of the African Conservation Experience (ACE) consultants before booking was so helpful in painting a picture of the project and what to expect, and ACE delivered exactly what was promised and more!
I love that ACE meets you at the airport. Meeting the team and other volunteers before heading off to the Vikela Kruger Conservation Experience really put me at ease.
As soon as we met the guide we would be working with at Vikela, I immediately knew this was going to be a great experience. The vibe within the group was high, and only increased as we listened to old school pop music on our drive into camp!
At Vikela, every day was different. We were involved in everything from clearing roads, moving rocks to protect solar water pumps from elephants, and going on incredible bushwalks!
What I loved most was that we worked as a team. Everyone mucking in together, not splitting off to do separate tasks. And, you could actually see the impact of your work right in front of you as you were doing it, which made it so rewarding.
Aside from the work, the wildlife encounters were unforgettable.
On one game drive, we got incredibly near to an elephant - I would estimate around 5 metres away! We also had a close encounter with a small pride of lions after one of our bush braais. We could hear them roaring in the distance, so we jumped into the vehicle and drove out to get a closer look. We got within about 15 to 20 feet of a lion just walking along, completely unbothered by us. Seeing a lion that close in the wild ignites something in you - it was really cool.
I learned so much more than I expected and this trip changed my understanding of conservation.
I’m currently studying environmental sciences, so I thought I knew what to expect, but this was completely different to learning in a classroom. Our guides would stop during our bush walks to explain everything - even pointing out details as small as a black rhino midden and explaining how they could tell it was from a black rhino by the 25-degree bite angle on the vegetation! I’d think to myself, How do you even know that?!
Their wealth of knowledge was incredible!
And they approached every question you asked with enthusiasm and clarity. They never made you feel silly for asking anything.
The accommodation was also something that exceeded my expectations. I was expecting tents and no hot water (the last volunteer project I joined had no hot water at all), but the team at Vikela has really put effort into making it comfortable. It's not fancy with unnecessary frills, but it's really good quality and has everything you need. The food was excellent too! I'm a vegetarian, and they had something delicious for me every single meal.
The social aspect of this project wasn’t something I went into it for, but it was another highlight for me. I have so many inside jokes with my fellow volunteers. It's crazy how fast you get to know people when you spend every day with them. I had to remind myself I'd only been there for three days because Johannesburg already felt like a lifetime ago. Everyone who was there genuinely wanted to be there, and you could tell. There was no one who wasn't pulling their weight or didn't care.
This week was one of the most memorable of my life so far.
I would definitely do it again - I'm already thinking about coming back in a couple of years with friends!
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