Volunteer with Monkeys in South Africa

Oyster With excellent communication, Oyster was very good in making me ready to go. There were all sorts of documents and items that I needed to take with me and before my departure, Oyster had ensured I had all of this. I felt comfortable and ready to go. I was put at ease as any questions I had were answered. Whilst the trip through oyster was quite expensive, the help provided before, during and after my trip over all areas/ topics was very much worth it. A couple of information points could do with updating though. Thank you! South Africa I spent three weeks volunteering in South Africa at a monkey and baboon rehabilitation centre. Working from 6:30/7 to 4 each day under the hot South African sun was by all means hard work but also one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The people I met there and the time I got to spend with the primates was priceless, making amazing connections with both people and primates alike. The centre relies on the work of the volunteers and does so much to help these great animals. The owners have an inspiring passion towards the project and I hope to return to the project again one day as it truly was an experience I’ll never forget.

This experience was certainly an unforgettable one. There is nothing quite like waking up and being able to cuddle a baby baboon. The atmosphere was incredible and all the volunteers are friendly, it feels like your own little community and people are always available if there's a problem. Anne at Oyster was amazing at putting me at ease in preparing for this trip. Being an unaccompanied minor, I was expecting a lot of stress but she happily answered all my queries and ensured the journey to be as stress free as possible. I honestly cannot recommend going here enough, the project is something you will never be able to appreciate fully until you're fully immersed in it.

Booking my trip to South Africa with Oyster Worldwide was the best way to go. I am 19 years old and had never travelled alone before, especially not to the other side of the world! And so, understandably, my parents were quite concerned for my safety and I was also very nervous about navigating through a completely foreign place. However, thanks to Oyster I actually didn't feel alone. Every aspect of my trip was organised, and no matter how silly or irrelevant the question may have seemed, Oyster (Georgie in particular!) gave me a thorough answer in no time at all. Even when Georgie was away I did not have to wait as one of her colleagues handled my problems. During the booking and planning of my trip and also during my time in South Africa, Oyster was only ever a phone call or email away. I am extremely grateful to Georgie and everyone at Oyster Worldwide for helping me to have the most incredible experience volunteering in South Africa. The actual experience in South Africa was once in a lifetime. It was very hard work, but there wasn't a second where I wasn't willing to do it. Although I was tired, hot, sweaty and sometimes doing tasks that aren't particularly exciting (for example, washing hundreds of mangos!) I never felt like I didn't want to do the work. This was for many reasons, firstly the people who you are surrounded by are all lovely - this includes the owners, the staff there and the other volunteers. Also, the work is so rewarding. I would wash mangos for the rest of my life if it meant I could see just one monkey or baboon go through the incredible rehabilitation process that this project provides. Watching primates who have been so poorly treated in life just completely come out of their shells and interact with other monkeys is an amazing sight to see. It's so rewarding to literally see the difference you are making to these animals' lives. Nothing is as beautiful as this. If you are considering taking part in this project then please do, the monkeys and baboons are so deserving of all of the help that volunteers provide.