Three Projects. Two Countries. One Incredible Experience.

Cheetahs chasing down an impala, wild dogs feasting on a fresh kill, hundreds of elephants crossing a river… I really got to see it all! After four unforgettable, action-packed weeks and three amazing projects with African Conservation Experience (ACE), I’ve come home with incredible memories and a much deeper understanding of conservation in Southern Africa. My journey began at the Phinda Wildlife Research Project, where I had so many special experiences. The highlight for me was witnessing three cheetahs, two brothers and a male, take down an impala. We watched the whole thing unfold, from the moment they began to chase it to the kill and eating it afterwards. Phinda reserve is also home to a number of pangolins that have been rescued from the black market. During their first few weeks of release, the research team tracks their movement to make sure that they are doing well. During my time at the project, I was lucky enough to help locate one of these pangolins to replace a tracking device that had fallen off. Knowing that pangolins are one of the most trafficked animals in the world, it felt amazing to play a small part in their protection. Another unforgettable experience was taking part in a rhino horn trimming, a procedure that is done every few years to reduce the risk of poaching. In the morning, I got to speak with the wildlife veterinarian, and they explained how the horn trimming would go ahead. A group of us helped locate the rhino from the ground, whilst overhead, the vet sat in a helicopter ready to dart and immobilise the rhino. Standing beside the sedated rhino as the procedure took place was a deeply humbling experience and a once in a lifetime moment which I’ll never forget! I loved the team that I was with and we had a great ecological monitor working with us, but whilst I was sad to leave, I also felt very excited to go to my next project, the Vikela Kruger Conservation Experience. At Vikela, one of the highlights was tracking rhinos on foot through the bush. We also saw wild dogs, and got to see a cheetah hunt an impala again, but this time the impala was too fast and it got away! What struck me most was the difference between Phinda and Vikela. Phinda is a fenced reserve of around 30,000 hectares, which is already a massive area. But then you have Vikela which is situated in the Greater Kruger, adjacent to the Kruger National Park: together the Greater Kruger and the Kruger make up 20 million hectares of interconnected, unfenced, protected wildlife area. I felt that because of this, the wildlife at Vikela was less habituated to seeing humans, and this gave me a good sense of being off the beaten track. My third and final project was the Okavango Wilderness Project in Botswana. We did a lot of tracking and our guides were extremely knowledgeable, showing us how to read animal tracks and teaching us about the different wildlife and trees in the area. I also got to learn about how the data that we collect is passed onto the Botswanan government to help inform management decisions - this gave real meaning to the work that we carried out. My favourite part of this project was definitely the weekends of remote camping near the Kwai River, which was such a cool and unique experience. On our way to the remote campsite, we came across some wild dogs eating a fresh impala, only to see a hyena rush in moments later and steal the meal! A few hours later, we reached the Kwai River and saw hundreds of elephants crossing. It was a crazy day that I will never forget! Visiting all three projects was an extremely worthwhile experience. I got to understand the differences between all three settings on a deeper level, from Phinda’s well-managed and fenced reserve, to the vastness of the Greater Kruger, to the remote expanses of the Okavango. The whole experience was extremely educational, and I gained a much better understanding of the roles that tourism, funding, and even hunting play in conservation. Conservation is difficult and complicated, but this trip showed me that there is a lot of hope. I’m already missing the adventure, the sounds of the wildlife, and the amazing teams I met along the way. I’ll definitely be returning as a volunteer with ACE, that’s for sure.

Did a 5 week experience with ACE back in August/September and would definitely recommend ACE to someone thinking of volunteering in South Africa. I mixed my time between Phinda, Krueger and the rhino orphanage. ACE were very organised with shuttling me around each of the experiences and provided all the info needed, making it an effortless on my side. On my 3 weeks at Phinda I luckily got involved in multiple ‘management’ projects and no day was the same with different areas of the park to explore and different tasks to complete. One thing i I would say to be prepared for downtime here as you don’t drive around during the middle of the day due to the heat. (this is also mentioned on the description ACE provide) At the Krueger experience, Jacques is very passionate/knowledgeable about conservation and what they are doing to help and provided a detailed insight into the work he’s doing whilst. Also really enjoyed the bush walks/tracking and even got to see Rhino’s whilst on foot which was quite an experience. At the Rhino Orphanage I got involved with all aspects of the rehab process, from feeding the younger Rhino’s to the not so fun part being packing hay bails for the adults! The ladies that work there full time are very welcoming and friendly, and made the experience much better as a result.

This was my first trip to Africa so everything, from the environment to the people, was new to me. Seeing the way people live in Botswana was amazing. Driving through all the villages and seeing the excitement on the children's faces to wave to us was really amazing. Being so close to the wild animals that I have only ever seen in zoos was really the highlight. Coming around a corner and almost running into a lion on the road is something I will never forget. The wildlife, the people, and the experience overall made this trip worth it and I would do it a million times over.