Wildlife Conservation in the Greater Kruger National Park

I must confess I had no idea that volunteering with wildlife in Africa existed before this! African Conservation Experience (ACE) took care of me by advising and placing me in the program that best suited my needs. That’s how I arrived at the Vikela Kruger Conservation Experience. If I could describe this experience in one word, it would be inspiring! I spent 14 days at Vikela, and I feel it completely changed the way I see conservation. I used to think I knew something about wildlife and conservation. All of my prior knowledge was derived from reading wildlife books or watching documentaries, but being at the project opened my eyes and gave me a new perspective. I now feel like I have a better understanding of what conservation really means. Conservation isn't just about actions; it’s about changing and impacting mindsets, and if I can assure you of one thing, it’s that absolutely everyone at Vikela dedicates their lives to this, and being able to see and feel it is absolutely wonderful. All activities were amazing, from tracking footprints to anti-poaching activities, as well as hiking, sleeping out in the bush, spending the night listening to lions and hyenas, and sharing this experience with people from different cultures and different parts of the planet! We all bonded over our shared passion for wildlife conservation. Every day, we got up at around 6:30am to be ready to leave shortly after. To be honest, this part of the day was my favourite! It was so beautiful because all still felt quiet, with the river flowing nearby and the first animals slowly waking up in the distance. Another highlight for me was the tracking - it was so interesting! Walking through the bushes following tracks and then finally finding the animal we were looking for, and seeing many others along the way, was simply amazing! Can you imagine doing this every day and also constantly encountering many animals? It was mind-blowing. We usually returned to camp around 11:30am for lunch and a short rest, then we were ready to go out again. Sometimes we would cut down the tree branches that the elephants knocked down onto the road, sometimes we would be learning about poaching, and sometimes we would go out tracking again, but every activity had the same objective - to monitor the balance and equilibrium in the ecosystem to help with conservation. I am so grateful to ACE and the people of Vikela because they opened my eyes and gave me an experience that I will never forget. Throughout this entire process, the ACE team was always there for me, answering my questions and guiding me along the way. I never felt alone on this adventure! If I could give one piece of advice to people interested in volunteering in wildlife conservation, it would be to have zero expectations and give it your all because every day, everywhere, there will be many things that make it so worthwhile. Believe me, it’s something you will never forget!

The Vikela Kruger Conservation Experience was fantastic. The experiences there were amazing, but I feel like the project staff really made it the best experience it possibly could be. The staff on the project were so personal and took the time to connect with each one of us. We had such meaningful conversations on our off day on Sundays. We sat together over coffee, discussing the ethics of hunting, the role of game lodges in conservation, and the wider implications their presence has on wildlife and local ecosystems. It was great to sit down and talk with the project staff about all of the things we didn’t know about because they were just so interesting to listen to. Hearing from someone who's on the ground, and their thoughts about all of these complex issues, really changed my perspective on how I view these things. The team’s sense of humour and sarcasm just added to how much fun we had, too. We all got along, we teased each other, we became part of a family, and the staff there really helped to encourage that. Talking with people about other previous experiences, they didn't always have that sense of family. Whereas we had sit-down meals together twice a day, and we'd be free throughout the day to talk about the plan for what we’d be doing. It just made it a really immersive experience. Our project lead was happy with everybody asking questions, which was lucky because he had such a wealth of knowledge! I had talked with an African Conservation Experience (ACE) consultant about what the project was, and how this project was described to me was spot on for what I experienced. If anything, the ACE consultant I spoke with downplayed what I was going to expect. I knew I was coming for volunteer work, so I thought, "There's no guarantee that I'm going to see any kind of animal. You just don't know". I didn’t want my expectations to be too high, but this experience wildly surpassed what I was expecting. We were able to do a lot of game drives and a lot of bushwalks. The project staff taught us about different tracks and how to spot them. By the second week, we had the opportunity, with all of the skills that we had learned for tracking, to try to track for ourselves! It was cool to be at the front of the line and look for the signs myself. We were able to track white rhinos, elephants, leopards and lions too! I really liked the structure of the morning drive and the afternoon drive. And it was nice how the afternoon drive always extended into the evening, so we got to see the landscapes as the sun set. Hearing the project staff explain how the costs of this experience help to fund the project itself, really highlighted the true conservation aspect that ACE advertises. Even something as simple as when we were going to check the water pumps, there were solar panels next to them. While I was kneeling on the ground, I asked what all the names were around the solar panels. Our guide said that those are the names of the volunteers who were here to help install them. It was cool because he said this project only started in 2002, but you could see from the reserve management work that had been done by past volunteers, that you can make a lasting impact on this project. You can actually see the impact past volunteers have made, it's not just talk. It was mentioned to me in the initial chat with the ACE consultant that there was a possibility of sleeping out in the bush. Luckily, everybody in my group was on board, so we actually did it two weeks in a row! There was nothing better. I could hear leopards, lions, hyenas, and wild dogs all calling out in the night! It was incredible to be sitting on a log late at night and looking up at the stars. We saw the Milky Way, Mars, Saturn, and shooting stars. It was insanity for me! I’d never seen any of that before, and it was just incredible. I didn't know what the makeup of the group was going to be. If it was going to be for retirees or kids, and I think we had a great mix. I was so pleasantly surprised that in my first week, I had two girls my age who were also solo travelling, so the three of us got really close. I’m incredibly grateful I chose Vikela and to travel with ACE, it exceeded my expectations and gave me an experience I’ll never forget!

If I had to sum up my experience on the Vikela Kruger Conservation Experience in one word, it would be “Adventure”. The work was varied and full of surprises: Once, the guide suddenly said, "In five minutes, I have to leave the camp for a brief but quite physical tracking task. It involves walking barefoot in the sand. Who wants to come?" Everyone, of course! In that case, as in others, we were explained the meaning of every action or movement: the guide's maneuvers, our contribution as volunteers, and of course, the animals themselves. The Vikela Kruger Conservation Experience was all about learning from experience: a game between when the guide answered our questions about what we saw, and when he asked us questions that allowed us to reflect. A reflection to begin seeing how everything in the bush is truly connected: not only plants and animals (down to the smallest of insects), but also and especially the soil. Our guide was extremely experienced both as a bush guide and in managing volunteers: through clarity, patience, and a sense of humor, he enabled us to begin to understand even complex aspects of conservation. Especially from a long-term perspective. All this without getting into right-wrong thinking, but showing the positive and potentially problematic sides of different human interventions for animal and nature protection. This experience reminded us that we humans are originally part of this nature, even if we tend to forget it.