Tristan Bogler

Ever since I took three weeks with my family on bush safari to Kenya and Tanzania in 2022, I knew I had to return to Africa. The question was how. I knew that I wanted my next trip to be even more authentic, with more intimate interactions with animals and fewer cars jostling around a lone leopard or elephant. And I wanted to be more than an observer - to have a chance to make a positive difference to the animals and the natural environment. So when my family found African Conservation Experience (ACE) online and read the experiences of those who had volunteered, I knew that this organisation was exactly what I was looking for. With the patient and knowledgeable help of one of the ACE consultants, we moulded a five-week itinerary comprising two weeks each in South Africa at Vikela Kruger Conservation Experience and Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and one week in the Okavango Wilderness Project in Botswana.

Vikela was the ideal way to begin my African odyssey. It offered a mixture of game drives where we logged the major animals sighted, walking safaris with tracking sessions and bush clearing, which was vital after the area had flooded. With the help of Jacques and the team’s knowledge and guidance, I learned tracking skills and saw numerous elephants, buffalo and rhinos!

Another unforgettable memory was camping in the wilderness for a night with only sleeping bags. None of us slept much, but the star-encrusted sky and crystal view of the Milky Way took my breath away. 

Moholoholo was very different to Vikela but just as enjoyable and instructive. I was lucky enough that during my stay I got to look after many of the centre’s animals, including two massive majestic white lions and four honey badgers, including Stoffel, the cheeky mascot and escape artist of Moholoholo. All had their own unique and engaging characters. Moholoholo definitely demanded hard work; from scrubbing the vulture cages to de-yolking scores of day-old frozen chicks.

But the rewards were incalculable. I participated in the darting and release of bushbuck and a zebra and wildebeest pair, held the legs of vultures while they were given fluids orally and joined fascinating talks by the manager of the centre, where I learned so much: about vultures in the ecosystem, the implications of their frequent poisoning and the nuances of different types of hunting. 

Lastly, Okavango was an entirely new experience. Even though the main activity was game drives as in Vikela, the natural surroundings in Botswana were so different to those in South Africa. The bush was lush and verdant and the volume of ground water was unbelievable - at times we were driving through what were practically shallow lakes in order to reach the camp.

But what stood out for me was the first evening when we heard a lion roaring near our camp, set out in the car to look for it with few expectations of success, and then saw it stretched majestically and completely relaxed along the road. We were equally rewarded on the last day with the sighting of a gorgeous leopard mother with her cub eating an impala carcass. Those sightings were the first big cats I had seen in the wild in my stay, so Okavango delivered the complete package of animal sightings!

My five weeks in Africa with ACE was one of the best experiences of my life, and one which I strongly recommend to anyone with a love of Africa and the animals that live there. Each project came with unique exploits, challenges and rewards but I was so incredibly well looked after by the team in South Africa and the rest of the ACE team that I was free of any worries and could enjoy this wonderful adventure and leave feeling happy and fulfilled.