Volunteer work in South Africa: A helping holiday

Volunteering holidays are a highly enriching and immersive way to experience a foreign culture at the most grass roots level.

A number of exiting and exotic opportunities are now listed on Bootsnall, where you can choose your destination, activities and budget.

Most include accommodation and some include meals and excursions, all look like fantastic life changing experiences.

These selected opportunities currently exist in South Africa:

Animal Rescue society near Cape Town, South Africa:

This centre is a domestic animal rescue organisation located near Cape Town. Their goal is to provide animal health care and sterilisation to the local impoverished communities along with running an adoption programme for abandoned stray animals. Your work here will take on many roles from feeding and caring for the many animals to working closely with staff as they go out into the local informal settlements to collect, return and vaccinate animals on site. There is also the opportunity to work along side the resident vet, who requires assistance daily; this is not for the faint hearted. On quieter days you can get involved with a programme called ‘Open Paw’ which is a training programme to help the dogs understand basic commands helping with the adoption process.

Lion Monitoring Expedition in South Africa:

This is a chance for any lion lover to get up close and personal with these magnificent predators and other African mammals. Work alongside experienced researchers while learning and putting into practice, tracking and research techniques in South Africa. The reserve is based between the small towns of Gravelotte and Mica in the Limpopo Province and covers over 30,000 hectares of African wilderness. It is home to elephants, leopard, white rhino and various antelope species; you will be in the midst of some of the worlds most fascinating wildlife on a day-to-day basis. This is an amazing opportunity to learn about conservation and predator management, while enjoying a truly wilderness area, excellent wildlife viewing and at the same time contribution to African wildlife conservation. Your assistance in actively monitoring a lion pride is vital for the future development and success of this project and would make a fantastic addition to a gap year, sabbatical or annual holiday.

Lion Park near Johannesburg, South Africa:

The Lion Park is a unique South African tourist destination specializing in the care of Africa’s large predators, Lion (including the rare white lion), Leopard, Cheetah, Spotted Hyena, Brown Hyena and African Wild dog and surplus animals go to different zoos and animal institutions around the world. It is also home to many of the other animals that make South Africa one of the wildlife jewels of the world. Volunteering in South Africa on this project means you can run wild with lions, giraffes and cheetah cubs. Get involved with feeding and caring for the big cats, keeping their environment clean and maintaining the park.

Project Southern Africa:

Experience the real South Africa on a journey of cultural immersion by volunteering in a rural village to help with the development of a pre-school project. Explore the Indian Ocean gem of Mozambique and track the “Big 5″ in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Stunning beaches, coral reefs, interesting culture and abundant wildlife…this adventure has it all.