VOLUNTEERING IN AFRICA

This past year I have been extremely lucky to have the chance to volunteer and study in South Africa and Namibia over the course of seven months. When I first booked up to go I decided to stay for three months, being a first time traveller and very nervous of going alone I didn't want to put myself down for too long, but also wanted to push myself a bit. 

Volunteering in Africa has been the best choice I have made in my life so far, and anyone thinking of going I hope this will help you to make that decision and take a leap!

Volunteers enjoying a bit of time off - GVI Karongwe

What is so fantastic about volunteering is that it doesn't matter where you come from, how old you are or what you've done with your life. I've worked on schemes with people aged from 18-60+; people from the UK, Sweden, Norway, Australia, Denmark, Netherlands, America, Canada, Japan, Korea, Egypt, Mexico, Germany, Switzerland (and probably some that have slipped my mind); people who are students, retired policemen, social workers, accountants, teachers, doctors... The people who you meet are incredible and you never find a dull person. Everyone is a part of the team, no matter what. 

The first place I volunteered was a life-changing experience and what I learnt and discovered here led me not only to go back to Africa but to apply for my upcoming MA in Wildlife Filmmaking. This was with the company GVI (Global Visual International): African Wildlife Expedition on Karongwe Game Reserve. 

The work on this reserve is mainly for research purposes - as a volunteer you collect data on cheetahs, leopards, lions, elephants and rhinos, as well as keeping track on survival of prey animals in order to ensure the reserve is keeping balanced. You track focus animals (which currently includes 3 cheetahs, 2 lions and a leopard) using telemetry and keep note on their movements, what they are doing and what prey they are consuming. As well as this you are involved in reserve maintenance (such as invasive species removal and fence management), and a community project involved with children at a local school. The team who run GVI Karongwe are the most fun, interesting and intelligent people you can meet; they want to teach you everything they know and do so in a way you will never forget. 

Sub-adult Lion - Karongwe

As well as the work on the reserve this particular scheme has an additional trip to Marieskop Mountain where you spend a week mostly on small mammal research, but also helping with collecting data for MA and PHD students at the University of Pretoria. The mountain is one of the most beautiful places I've visited; you can enjoy exclusive access to one of the most stunning sunset sights I've ever been to looking out across Blyde Canyon, and swim in the lake (if it's not raining... which unfortunately it was most of my time there!) 

Small Mammal research. 

I was extremely lucky to be at Karongwe when a cheetah was darted in order to be fitted with a tracking implant, and was able to get closer to a wild cheetah than I ever imagined... And then my luck doubled when later a leopard was darted after sustaining serious injuries; in both instances volunteers were given the opportunity attend the surgeries and really get to see these incredible animals up close. 

Cheetah darted for surgery. 

I could go on forever about my time with GVI - I spent three months there and truly fell in love with Africa and it's wildlife. It's the whole reason this blog ever begun, and a place that I will never, ever forget. 

If you are interested you can check out their website here: http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/wildlife-research-south-africa-expedition

The day after I got home from Karongwe I was online researching where I was going to go next. Within two months I was on a plane heading back. I first spend two months on a Field Guide Training Course at Shamwari Game Reserve where I became a qualified guide. It was an incredible course but I won't be talking about it here as I am focussing on volunteering, but if you are interested feel free to message me! 

My next stop was N/a'an ku se Wildlife Sanctuary in Namibia. On this project you work to care for animals that have been harmed by humans and either cannot be released or are waiting before they can be released back into the wild. The animals include baboons, leopards, cheetahs, lions, wild dogs, warthogs, meerkats, porcupines, caracals and a variety of other animals. The main duties include preparing food and feeding the animals, reserve maintenance work, cleaning enclosures, enclosure patrols, walking with the animals and taking care of orphaned baboons. A huge amount of time is spent with the baboons who have to be cared for 24/7 (that often means taking a baboon to bed with you); they are certainly hard work but you can quickly form a close relationship and learn to interact with them as individuals. 

Three baby baboons!

It's an incredible experience to get up close to animals and really learn their true nature. The sanctuary does a lot of good work and although many animals are set to stay there for the rest of their lives many of them are also released. Whilst at N/a'an ku se you can take the opportunity to visit their Leopard and Cheetah release project which tries to keep track of animals that have been released from the Sanctuary, but mostly focusses on animals on the local reserve with camera traps. It is on the beautiful site of Neuras Vineyard where you feel like to are miles from the rest of the world. 

If you are interested in N/a'an ku se you can check it out here: http://www.naankuse.com/volunteer-at-naankuse.html

The final project that I visited was also in Namibia, but miles out into the desert. It was with EHRA (Elephant, Human Relations Aid) which works to reduce conflict between the African subspecies Desert Elephant and the humans that live in the area. It is definitely the most physical project I have worked on; it works in two week phases in which you spend a week building a wall around water sources that elephants often damage, and a week tracking and taking data on the elephants. The work is enormously rewarding and you will never feel you've worked so hard in your life! 

The start of work! EHRA 

 One thing that really makes this project special is the "back to nature" feeling. Whilst on the building week you set up a camp with a bit of tarp, a long drop and a fire; during patrol it is even more basic in which you set up camp each night and "go"  behind whatever private tree you can! Sleeping you look up at the clearest, most beautiful sky you can imagine and then you spend the day searching for, and hopefully finding, one of the rarest species of elephant in the world. There are no fences, so when you find the elephants (against all odds) you feel an incredible sense of achievement. The main base camp is visually stunning (no giveaways) and the people are incredible fun! 

Watching the Elephants pass with EHRA

If you are interested in this project you can find it here: http://www.desertelephant.org/

During my time travelling I have seen the most incredible sights and had some fantastic experiences. For someone who was terrified of travelling I have come a long way and hope to spend a lot more time doing so! It is a great way to experience a place, you get an insight no other tourist sees and you are doing something to HELP! 

If you are interested and have any other questions, or you have experiences of your own you'd like to mention please don't hesitate to comment/contact me! If you are thinking about volunteering, stop, and just go! You will have the time of your life and never look back. I promise. 

The African Big 5 - PHOTOGRAPHS

It's been a while since I put any of my photographs up on here... so today is the day! 

Here are some of my favourite pictures I have taken of the Big 5 on my trips in South Africa :) 

A young male Leopard taken on Karongwe Private Game Reserve, South Africa

The always forgotten of the Big 5, African Buffalo - taken on Shamwari Game Reserve, South Africa

One of my favourites, the African Elephant - Shamwari Game Reserve, South Africa

Lion Cub relaxing in the sun - Shamwari Game Reserve, South Africa

White Rhino with an incredibly long horn - Karongwe Private Game Reserve, South Africa

A very rare sighting of a Black Rhino and Calf in the open - Shamwari Game Reserve 

Okay - not a Big 5 animal but I wanted to include this photograph of a cheetah - taken on Karongwe Private Game Reserve, South Africa

PROTECTING RHINOS... WHAT IS LEFT?

The state of rhino poaching across Africa is out of control. The numbers of rhinos poached each year has risen dramatically: in the year 2000 just seven rhino's were poached in South Africa... last year (2012) the number was a horrifying six hundred and sixty eight. So far this year there has already been over four hundred and eight - that is more than two rhinos a day slaughtered for Eastern European... people (insert own noun as required). Already the Northern White Rhino has become extinct in the wild and there are only three left in captivity... all because of poaching. Things have become critical and hard action needs to be taken. This post will look at the methods that are being employed to save the rhinos and what might be the best option. 

1) DE-HORNING:

De-horning rhinos seems like the simple solution - if there is no horn for the poachers to take then surely they will be saved? There are several problems with this, first and foremost is that if a poacher has spent several hours tracking a rhino to find it has no horn they kill it anyway, just so they won't have to track it again. Also, horn is so valuable now that even the smallest end left is worth taking - it might not be the big bucks but pound for pound it is worth more in its weight than gold or cocaine. Another problem is that rhino horn re-grows and so each individual would have to be darted over and over (which is pretty bad for their health) and have their horn removed. It also affects the rhino behaviour - males can no longer fight and attraction is lost for females... In the long run this could severely affect how the animals behave and who they choose for mates. As well as this it is highly impractical for larger reserves such as Kruger National Park, for whom it would cost a fortune just to find all the rhinos, not to mention dart and remove their horn. 

2) LEGALISING AND FLOODING THE MARKET

Another solution that is largely in debate is to legalise the sale of rhino horn and, using the huge stock piles of horn that has legally been collected over the years, flood the market at such a low price that rhino horn is no longer worth the risk for poachers. However this was tried with the ivory trade and the problem is that it re-created the market and people who didn't buy before began to want ivory. It could not be provided on a sustainable level and so created even more trade for poachers. 

3) FARMING RHINOS

Along a similar line is the idea of farming rhinos for their horn. Since it grows back (as do our finger nails, which coincidently are made up of all the same properties) it would be viable to have a farm of rhinos and regularly remove their horn for sale. This just seems such a sad solution for me - these ancient wild animals reduced to being farmed. And again it causes the issue of creating more of a market than can be provided for. 

4) RHINO GUARDS

In several areas rhinos have their own personal body guards who stay with them 24/7. This is something poachers cannot get around and is a great way to protect them - guarded rhinos don't get killed. But this is such an expensive way for protection and can only be done for a lucky few... There is no way personal guards can be set up for every rhino in Africa! And again it just seems so sad that these animals cannot be truly wild and go about as they wish... 

5) POISONING HORNS 

On a couple of reserves in South Africa saving the rhino species has resorted to injecting their horns with a poison which, if consumed, will make someone very ill with stomach ache and severe diarrhoea. As a warning to potential poachers the horn is also injected with a visible pink dye which is also detectable through airport customs (even if ground to a fine powder). So far all rhinos that have been treated with poisoned horn have remained unharmed, and so this seems like a great solution. It in no way affects the rhino in health or behaviour patterns. But it also begs some of the same issues as de-horning; if a poacher tracks a poisoned rhino he is likely to kill it so as not to track it again, and larger areas such as Kruger are unable to do this to all their rhinos and so if all other areas poison their horns the killing would just become concentrated to areas such as Kruger. It is also likely that those selling rhino horn will find a method of bleaching the horn and continue to sell it to unaware consumers and continue to rake in profits (although if enough become sick from consuming horn perhaps it would deter them?). 

Every solution has its positive and negative side affects. The main issue is cost and practicality - sadly the best solutions are not really feasible. But one thing is unquestionable, and that is that immediate action must be taken. Rhinos must be saved. 

Added note - my friend Angie, who is in charge of Thandi's Fund Raiser Facebook Page, (raising money in the name of a rhino who was saved from a poaching attack - https://www.facebook.com/ThandisFundRaiser) linked me to another method ongoing which you can read about here: http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30851%3Arise-of-the-anti-rhino-poaching-drones&catid=48%3Adefence-technology&Itemid=109 

South African White Rhino - St Lucia Wetlands Reserve (2012)