Volunteer Review

This placement was amazing. To have the opportunity to work on a nature reserve in a country like South Africa with it's incredible wildlife was one of the best months I can remember. The work was diverse, the wildlife was everywhere (in some cases even in your room) and the organisation is one I am proud to have worked for, even as a volunteer.

We got very involved with the work and felt as though we were contributing to the reserve as a whole. Putting up nesting barrels (for Ground Hornbills), building hides and setting camera traps all provided useful infiormation that may (or may not) have been used since the visit.

Liam was a great teacher. He knew an astonishing amount about the wildlife and management of the reserve. He was always ready with support and answers to any questions. The other members of the management team were also always willing to help so there was never a time where you felt lost or not knowing what to do.

After the first day where we were acclimatising we were thrown into the work. Early mornings to go to the hides, treks to GPS map sites and game counts up a mountain. There were a coulple of times when it was a bit slow and it would have been nice to have more to do. But there was never nothing to do.

We were never left on our own during work time, which was definitely a good thing. However we were given many tasks to do with minimum supervision and no 'hand-holding'. We were given free reign of choosing where to put camera traps and our indivdual projects in the last week. Also we were given the chance to go to a local school and give a talk. This was put together between us volunteers with only minimal input from UmPhafa staff.

Unfortunately I have not yet been able to fully capitalise on the skills I learnt on UmPhafa, however I do believe it shows my commitment to conservation which has helped me move into that industry, if not the practical, hands-on work like I did in South Africa. Still, I feel proud to have it on my CV and the memories are enough to last a life time.

The best thing was we had all chosen to be there so we were happy to do the work. It was difficult being so far away from home, but all the staff were great and really made everyone feel at ease. Plus it was great just to be surrounded by the South African landscape and wildlife.

The travel arrangements were made independently, but as soon as we landed we were met by UmPhafa staff and taken staight to the reserve. Trips were laid on, both shopping and to wildlife watching on other reserves. There was never anything that seemed rushed or underprepared.

The staff invested a lot of time in teaching us the various skills and giving us a good experience. We had all paid to be there, but the time spent with us more than made up for it, and the cost went towards the conservation effort.

They are certainly appealing but there are too many barriers. I would love to work on somewhere like UmPhafa, it would be a dream job, but I have too many commitments in the UK. If anything changes though, I will definitely keep it in mind. I would jump at the chance to go back, even as a volunteer.

There was only 3 of us and we all lived together with the staff so the social side was fine. There was also regular trips to a neighbouring reserve to see people, which was some of the best times I had, and to the nearest town to socialise with local people.

After the payment for the actual trip the cost of living was very cheap. We shopped at a supermarket so all food was reasonably priced, and as we were only there for a month we didn't have to buy too much. The bar we went to was also easily affordable, I didn't have any trouble buying what I wanted, even managed to get some souvenirs.

The bar mentioned above was the main nightlife spot. We went there on a number of occasions which was always great. There was always people there to talk to and it was packed a few times so very popular with locals.

Due to the nature of the reserve there wasn't a great deal around, and the work wasn't exactly 9-5. After I was done for the day I was too exhausted to do anything extracurricular. There was the opportunity to spend some time on a neighbouring game reserve but apart from that it was UmPhafa based work, which was good because that is what we were there for.