South Africa - African Wildlife Ranch

Working with the cheetahs in South Africa, taking them on walks and having interactions with them was such a highlight. Watching the operation on the white bengal tiger during my first week was amazing too.

There are way to many surreal experiences I’ve had here to go down to one but it would have to be swimming with the seals! It was just absolutely breathtaking also just being on the ranch and getting to hands on learn with the animals it’s something you can’t beat ! I’m so grateful for this experience!

Cango Wildlife Ranch was a great experience and I there are many things that come to mind. It brought me great joy in feeling their appreciation of my hard work. I used my skills to help on numerous enrichment projects for the animals. They entrusted me with upgrading and refurbishing the lemur night houses, after witnessing my wide range of skills as an architect and builder.

During my time at the Ranch in South Africa my most memorable experience would have to of been doing the internship for one week and assistin in the behind the sinces tasks like some of the animal training.

African Wildlife Ranch; Going in with crocodiles to help to get one sick crocodile out; making lure and playing with it with caracal and cheetah cubs; brushing cheetah; watching sheep surgery even if I'm not an intern,...

My most memorable experience at the African wildlife ranch would have to be the Croc cage diving animal encounter, as it was absolutely spectacular to see and admire the animal up close and in its prime.

Met amazing people from all over the world. Experienced culture much different to what I'm use to. Got to try out so many new things, like horse riding, going on safari, eating amazing food, and having great interactions with people of all kinds. I know this is not the answer this question wanted, but to pick the favorite experience from everything, is pretty much impossible. But if I really had to pick one, I'd start with day one. Due to my arrival off usual schedule, I did participate in the cleaning of crocodile enclosure my very first day. It was hard and messy work, but I enjoyed every secound of it, since I rarely get the chance to do anything like it. It was solid 4 hours of carrying buckets filled with "mud" left and right and after we finished we were exhausted. Me and one other volunteer could not get the smell out of our clothes for three days and we tried washing it many, many times. And I love it. Sure, to whoever is reading this; it may sound a bit weird that I loved this so much (along with basically everything) but not everything is about glamorous moments. Sometimes is just about experiencing something you don't get to do normaly, and in SA, that was definetly the case. Wouldn't trade it for anything. Honestly, just typing about the trip, right now, in the middle of the night, is bringing a smile on my face and that, I think, makes everything worth it far more than I ever thought it would. Thank you for everything. All of you!

Absolutely fantastic program. The animals are so well looked after by the most amazing, friendly people you could ever meet. Considering this was my first volunteering experience and being a slightly apprehensive 54years old, I would go back to the ranch tomorrow.

I absolutely loved my time at the ranch. The team at the ranch are so welcoming and make you feel right at home. They really want you to have an amazing experience and the way the program is set up you get such a wide variety of experiences. Living situation was amazing! Beautiful house, very comfortable, plenty of space and great amenities.The program is well run and you get to work in so many different areas that it really helps to understand all the different animals and their needs.

Ever since I can remember I have been obsessed by animals... but this passion was limited to books and documentaries... until I booked a ticket to South Africa and went living in the Cango wildlife range for 2 weeks thanks to the incredible and exciting Goeco volunteering programs. This was the first time I had the opportunity to interact daily with exotic animals like cheetahs, elephants, lemurs, crocodiles and many more majestic creatures. I felt very overwhelmed with feeling of happiness and gratefulness from the moment I stepped into the sanctuary and realised at that moment that in some way or another contributing to wildlife preservation is what I really aspire to do in future. Since this experience, I felt the love I had for nature and wildlife wasn't just an interest that I had besides studying Bio engineering and doing arts. I felt perfectly at home surrounded by animals and other greatly inspiring people with the same passion as me. Volunteering in all kind of manners, especially if you can decide to do it on your own will give anyone the chance to discover other fascinating places and more importantly themselves… The Cango range was the perfect start for a journey of volunteering in many different places. As this was my first volunteering experience, I was not completely sure if I will like it or not. Therefore, I decided to go to a place that looked challenging as a working experience on one hand but also comfortable and beautiful on the other hand. This range was just perfect as the "working" hours did not look as working at all! Many times, I stayed right until closing time even after the time we were supposed to finish as temporary volunteers. Also, the food and accommodation were largely above my expectations. I appreciated the staff, both permanent and temporary. They all were so welcoming, and their obvious love for nature was really inspiring. I would undoubtedly recommend this program in South Africa and any other genuine wildlife preservation program GoEco organises all around the world. I hope my story and photos will inspire people to do as I did, and contribute to preserve the marvellous nature still existing on our planet.. Matthias Páv ("Pavlofsky")

Have you ever seen something amazing and thought, "I'd like to do that one day!" Before you know it, weeks turn into months and months turn into years and you're still saying "one day." Well that was me after seeing the South Africa Wildlife Ranch program. This was something I had known about for quite some time and always told people I'd like to do it one day. But what was I doing to make it happen? Absolutely nothing! What was I doing waiting around and not planning for this amazing experience? Was I too nervous deep down? Was I unsure of traveling that far away by myself? I decided no more excuses and I applied for the program! The excitement I felt finally deciding to make this happen was the best feeling. 9 months later, I boarded a plane and headed to George, South Africa where I was greeted at the airport by one of the Cango Ranch hosts. I couldn't believe I was finally there! The host was super friendly and welcoming. She did a great job of explaining what would happen over the next few days and what to expect. The accommodations for the volunteers exceeded my expectations. The Zindago house was amazing and Helen, our house mother and cook, made the best food! Meeting all the other volunteers from all over the world was also really cool! Everyone became a family at the ranch and I made life long friends. One of my favorite memories was teaching some of the German volunteers how to make s'mores, which they had never heard of. We had a campfire outside under the stars and had s'mores and shared funny stories. It was an absolute blast. The staff was also just as amazing and treated everyone like family from day one. I never felt like I was an outsider being there. This place truly cares about the animals in their care and they do an excellent job of explaining why they do what they do. It was made clear from day one that they wanted the volunteers to ask every question they had because they didn't want anyone leaving not understanding something. We weren't just thrown into everything and expected to work. We were educated and informed on every aspect of the ranch. They really took their time with us on the education which I really appreciated. On top of that they made it fun!! It was phenomenal and something I will never forget. I was able to interact with a handful of animals and learn so much about them. Feeding the crocodiles was my favorite and something I always looked forward to doing. Even the dirty work was a blast and trust me, you will get dirty! But you'll have an absolute blast doing it. You might have a hard day of work one day and an easy day the next, but the work is always equally fulfilling. The weekend excursions were always something we looked forward to as well. There were endless things for us to do that you just can't experience other places. I feel so blessed to have been able to experience the things I did while there. My only regret was staying only two weeks. I honestly didn't want to leave and never felt homesick being there. I loved my experience so much that I've already planned my trip back to the ranch and will be staying 5 weeks this time. If you are hesitant to take the leap and volunteer at the wildlife ranch, don't put it off! It will change

My most memorable experience was to be able to spent time with the animals, learn about them, spend time with the people and to get to know about all the activities that they to in the ranch and the other institutions that they support.

Absolutely loved my time here, I spent 2 months and it wasn’t enough time, You leave with such good friends. The support you receive from GoEco before during and after your stay with the project placement is amazing always checking up and making sure your doing all good with your placement They couldn’t have done more.

The experience I got from the trip was truly amazing, from the animal encounters, excursions, meeting new people from all different countries, learning about the endangered species and the ranch, working with all the staff at the ranch who were all amazing

Crocodile Dive was very fun. It was great to meet and interact with all the staff members and volunteers. Super fun experience overall. Possibly include the maintenance aspect of the Ranch as an option for daily activities for volunteers.

I had the possibility to watch an autopsy of an iguana. It was a memorable experience and a great opportunity to learn more about the animal. For people that want to become a vet, like me, it was an amazing occasion to see a part of vet’s work.

My greatest memories had to be getting to work with the animals and getting to know them as individuals. I also had a great time on the weekends with my fellow volunteers who soon became like family.

I can't pick just one thing. It was so educational and rewarding. The friends I made are now life long friends who plan on reuniting in the future. I will definitely be doing this program again.

The African wildlife ranch was beyond what I imagined it would be. The staff were fantastic, the animal encounters and daily work was a lot of fun and really educational. I met amazing friends and I will definitely be going back!!

GoEco did a great job of getting me and my sister set up with this volunteer program in South Africa. (African Wildlife Ranch). The cost of the trip was comparable to having signed up with the Ranch directly, the only difference is that GoEco provides the needed travel insurance. The program was exactly as described on the GoEco site, the volunteer work consist of helping with day to day chores on the ranch. (Preparing food for the animals, cleaning their enclosures, preparing enrichment and learning about the animals and their care.) I went for 2 weeks I definitely recommend going for at a minimum 3 weeks since your first week is orientation, your first week seems to go by pretty fast. Also having additional weekends gives you more opportunity to do excursions outside of the ranch on the weekends. My only suggestion would be to maybe offer more information once a person has paid and is signed up for the program. Information like contact information with the organization, so that you feel more secure in the program you have chosen. The Wildlife Ranch's local team was wonderful, they made us feel very welcome and attended to any needs we may have had. They are very transparent, so any questions you may have before, during and after can be messaged to their coordinator before the trip. Overall, this was such an amazing trip thank you to GoEco and the African Wildlife Ranch for providing me with a life changing experience that I will never forget. I hope to one day have the opportunity to go again.