Interested in doing conservation work on a Big 5 Game Reserve?

Come and join Kariega Game Reserve as a conservation volunteer. Make a real difference, grow your skills in conservation and have the experience of a lifetime!
Kariega is an extraordinary and exciting conservation project, at the forefront of numerous species reintroductions and conservation drives.

If you want more than just a safari … come and get your hands dirty and learn more about conservation management on a Big 5 game reserve.

Our volunteers also get the opportunity to explore South Africa’s amazing coastline as Kariega is a mere 16 km from the sea... the beautiful Indian Ocean is literally on your doorstep! This coastline has particularly rich marine fauna and flora as well as endless sand dunes and beautiful beaches. To top it all off, we have a brilliant community outreach programme. Our volunteers assist at a local rural farm school by teaching children basic subjects like English. Come and make a real difference and have fun doing so!
Please note that our activities are based on a minimum stay of 4 weeks. Although many of the activities listed below may take place in 2-3 week placements, not all are guaranteed. So the longer your stay, the more in depth your experience. Volunteers will be provided with stimulating practical experience in the following four areas: research, conservation management, education and community development.

Your Experience

Conservation Management

Conservation management activities form a large part of the volunteer programme. Some of these activities involve physical work and therefore a certain level of determination from the volunteer’s side is required. Keep in mind that the "reserve needs" are always taken into account and you will help to fulfil those needs as a volunteer. Daily activities are interesting and varied, and could include assistance with some of the following:
• Game Counts
• Sex and age ratios recordings of specific species like eland and giraffe
• Alien Vegetation Control - Volunteers will assist in the eradication and control of alien (non-endemic) plant species. Bush encroachment control through selective clearing is also done in certain areas on the reserve. This aspect involves physical hard work!
• Soil Erosion Control - Previous land utilization practices like cattle ranching has caused erosion gulleys in certain areas on the reserve. These sites need to be rehabilitated.
• Reserve Clean-Up Operations - Volunteers assist in pulling out remaining old cattle fences and water pipes on the reserve.
• Road maintenance and repairing of river crossings
• Parasite control – This involves the making-up and administering of anti-parasite meds to specific species (when required by the reserve)
• And any other conservation management activity that might “pop-up” at the time and the reserve requires your assistance in -

Research Projects

Most research projects are done over a long period of time. As your placement will only be for a relatively short time with regard to the time frame of most research projects, there is no guarantee that you will be involved in all projects during your placement. Long term research projects at Kariega include:

• Elephant Impact Monitoring - Volunteers will help monitor elephant movement patterns, range utilization and vegetation impact with the aid of telemetry (certain individuals are fitted with radio collars). A part of this research project that volunteers are very involved with, is recording the unique ear markings of each elephant for management purposes. Elephant identification sheets are given to each volunteer, who in turn will assist the conservation department in this regard.

• Lion prey selection monitoring – One of the volunteer programme’s responsibilities is to record as many lion kills as possible. This data provides the conservation department at Kariega with valuable information regarding prey selection. Certain lions on the reserve are fitted with radio collars, so volunteers will learn how to use telemetry tracking.

• Birds in Reserve Project (BIRP) - This project involves preparing a catalogue of the birds, bird numbers and their breeding status in the reserve as part of a project headed by the University of Cape Town’s Avian Demography Unit.

• Hyena tracking and monitoring - Movement patterns and breeding rates of these interesting predators are monitored. None of the hyenas are fitted with radio collars, so it can be quite a challenge finding them on the reserve. Our recent volunteers found a den site … one of our females gave birth!
Volunteers may also have the opportunity to experience the following additional conservation activities:

• Capturing of Wild Animals – Our 2007 volunteers had the AMAZING once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to assist with the capture of the following species on the reserve: elephant, lion, rhino, hyena, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and impala!! Please remember that captures only occur when required by the reserve and not for the sake of the volunteers.

• Game Introduction - There is an ongoing programme for the introduction of additional game , especially as the reserve has just acquired more land that will need to be stocked with various different African mammal species.

• Fire Management - An important driving force in savanna ecosystems (depending on the time of year and fire regimes)

Education / Theory

Each volunteer will be given a field booklet, which can be taken home at the end of the placement. The booklet has been carefully compiled and will aid you during your stay at Kariega. Before you start with each practical task, the relative theoretical background on the subject will be discussed in the form of informal lectures. The theory provides insight into the value of the practical activities in which you may participate. Mammal, plant and bird checklists are also included in the booklet and will help you to identify different species at Kariega.

Practical education will be provided throughout your stay:
• Bush Walks, Game Drives and night drives - identification and discussion of various mammals, plants and birds
• Sleep Outs - Camping out in the bush around a campfire under the African sky (weather dependent)
• Field Skills & Survival - Learn to look after yourself in the wild.

Community development

We have identified an under-funded farm school near the reserve where our volunteer programme can make a real difference. The school is small, yet very under-staffed and local kids aged 4 to 15 years attend the school. Kariega volunteers visit the school one day a week (not during school holidays or rainy days (most of the children walk about 10 km to attend school so if it rains, no one goes to school!), and make valuable contributions to the children’s education. Our volunteers take many of the classes themselves and teach 6-12 year olds subjects like English and Maths. You might also help with the maintenance of the school’s facilities or by giving sport lessons to the kids. Your contribution here is real, and both the children and the headmistress are very appreciative. Guaranteed to leave you with a feeling of satisfaction!

Field Conditions

You will be accommodated in a fully furnished house on the reserve (shared bedrooms and bathrooms). Volunteers will be divided into teams and will be responsible for the preparation of meals on a rotational basis. There will be plenty of opportunity for braai’s (BBQ’s) under the night skies and socializing around a fire.

The working week at Kariega is from Monday to Friday. Working hours depend on the season and may vary from 7 – 9 hours per day. The evenings are at leisure. Saturdays are reserved for a town trip (either to Kenton-On-Sea, Port Alfred or Grahamstown) where volunteers can do their shopping, eat out, visit all the sites of the local towns. Sundays are off time.

Kenton-On-Sea is a beautiful small coastal town only 15 minutes drive from the reserve. The beaches are absolutely breath taking and pristine. Your local "hang-out" is a pub / restaurant overlooking this stunning beach! After their Saturday morning shopping in Kenton (volunteers can stock up on all everyday essentials), volunteers often laze around on the beach, swim in the waves or sit in the beach bar while sipping away on a cold drink and taking in the scenery.

There are also additional activities that can be organised for you on a Saturday (at your own cost and on condition that a few others in the group also want to partake in the activity), including:
• Horseback riding on the beach or in a game reserve
• Whale and dolphin watching from a boat
• Sky diving – tandem (that means you are strapped to an instructor!)
• Deep sea fishing
• Quad bike riding
• Addo Elephant National Park field trip

Dates

There are no set arrival/departure dates for this project, but please note no arrivals or departures over weekends (Saturdays and Sundays). Volunteers are required to sign an indemnity form acknowledging and accepting the consequences of working in close contact with wild animals. Applicants must be 18 yrs old or over. The minimum time period for a booking is a 2 weeks placement and maximum time period is 10 weeks. Most volunteers stay for an average period of between 4 and 9 weeks. Please remember that the longer you stay, the more in depth your experience will be.

Enquiries and reservations

Prices include accommodation for the duration of your placement, all work activities on the reserve and three basic meals per day. Not included are entertainment expenses over weekends and socializing costs (drinks and meals volunteers choose to have while out in town)
Arrangements will be made by Kariega staff to collect incoming volunteers from either the Port Elizabeth Airport or the Grahamstown Bus Depot. Kariega is approximately 140 kms (two hours) from Port Elizabeth and approximately 50 kms (45 minutes) from Grahamstown. Volunteers are to pay for the transfer from the airport / bus station and back, themselves.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

PHONE ENQUIRIES

To speak to Kariega's Volunteer Programme manager, call Helena Warren at +27 (0) 76 100 6809

Ex-volunteer testimonial
“Some places come into our hearts and quickly go, but Kariega stays leaving footprints in my heart. Being a volunteer on Kariega Game Reserve was an experience that I will never forget. I learned so much in my six weeks out there. My personal favourite work activity was tracking and studying the elephants. The work we did was satisfying and rewarding and I really felt that my contribution help improved the reserve. This is definitely an experience that I would recommend to anyone.”
- Jane Scott