WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERING: THE RED FLAGS MOST PEOPLE MISS
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Student at the International School of Amsterdam
Before coming on this trip, I genuinely had no idea just how much it would change me. I expected to see incredible wildlife, and I did, but what I never anticipated was how much I would learn, in the truest sense of the word!
One of my most treasured memories was something beautifully simple: lying in the sand after an evening walk, looking up at the stars.
The sky was so clear, so vast, and so utterly unlike anything I experienced in my daily life. With nothing around me but the sounds of the bush!
It's the kind of moment that's almost impossible to put into words. And also something so completely different from my life back home.
The trip was wonderfully varied. We began in Johannesburg, visiting Soweto, before heading to Kruger Park, and from that point on, every single day brought something new. Game drives, evening walks, lectures, conversations with rangers, and even just the simple pleasure of spending time together at the house. There was always something to do, and always something to learn.
One of the most rewarding experiences was helping at a local crèche, where we moved a playground to a spot where the children could actually use it. It sounds straightforward, but watching the children's faces light up as they played on equipment they'd never had access to before was genuinely moving. That kind of hands-on contribution felt meaningful in a way I hadn't expected!
Going on a game drive is unlike anything I can properly compare to.
These are wild animals, roaming freely across open land, and there is simply nothing like seeing that with your own eyes!
A zoo is the closest reference point I had, but it couldn't be more different. Knowing that what you're witnessing is entirely real and entirely free makes it feel deeply special.
What also surprised me was the sheer depth of knowledge I came home with. I came to South Africa expecting to engage with conservation in a broad sense, but I found myself learning about animal tracking, grass species, patterns in behaviour, things I would never have imagined I'd understand, let alone be able to explain to someone else. That growth felt genuinely wonderful.
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to African Conservation Experience for not only meeting my expectations of this trip but exceeding them in every possible way.
I came here as a student and left with a completely new perspective on the natural world, and that is something I will carry with me for a very long time.
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