Elephants 🐘

Volunteering with Elephants - Wildlife Experience

Yes!!! You can volunteer with the biggest animal on earth - an Elephant.
In South Africa, you can join the research team to study the elephants behavior in the reserve by observing them during the day.
Plus, the volunteers will help in general maintenance around the park, planting, cleaning and preparing food for the elephants.

What the volunteer has to do?

25 hours per week of the following:

✔ Research Lab

✔ Filling Data

✔ Observing Elephants 

Requirements:

✔ Intermediate English

✔ Over 18 years old

✔ Accepts Solo & Couples

About the Program:

The working day starts at 7:00 and ends at 17:30. Throughout the week, there are only four and a half days of work (work on Fridays until 10:30). However, the staff may request assistance from volunteers during the weekends.
You can use the weekends to explore the area and relax.

During the volunteering period, you will participate in all behind-the-scenes activities in each wildlife reserve, including:

✔ Assisting in elephant care; preparing and feeding animal meals, and building animal toys.
✔ General maintenance; repairing and painting the reserve, among other tasks.
✔ Cleaning the reserve and sleeping areas for the elephants.
✔ Participating in scientific research on the behavior and nature of elephants, managed by the reserve. Also, assisting in funding the research by making paper from elephant dung (XD).

Certainly, no prior experience is needed. The tasks assigned to you will be supervised by a staff member from the reserve and a comprehensive explanation will be provided.

💤 Sleeping at the Reserve:

The sanctuary is located in Plettenberg Bay in South Africa. Volunteers will stay in a building called "The BunkHouse," located within the sanctuary. It is close to the elephant sleeping areas and the rooms of the team responsible for volunteers and the elephants. The area is very safe and surrounded by an electric fence.
In The BunkHouse, there are 5 rooms, each with 2-3 beds (shared rooms) and each room has its own bathroom and a large wardrobe. There is a shared kitchen and living room (with a TV), as well as a barbeque area overlooking the park. WiFi is available in all rooms.

• Shared rooms and bathrooms - males in a shared accommodation and females in another shared accommodation.

🍽️ Meals:

The cost of volunteering does not include meals. Volunteers are responsible for purchasing food supplies and preparing them. The staff will accompany you to purchase these supplies.
You can also choose to dine at the park's restaurant (8:30-17:00).

💭 Questions and Answers:

• What is the cost of a flight ticket from Palestine?
$800-$1200 depending on the booking period (the earlier the booking, the better and cheaper).

• How do I get to the reserve?
Fly by plane from your country to Johannesburg, South Africa and from there, take another flight to George city. The person in charge of the volunteers will pick you up for a cost of 1800 South African Rand or you can book a taxi.

Travel to and from the reserve is only on Mondays for 3 Weeks volunteers, and Sundays for 1 Week volunteers. From 12:00 to 15:00, at a cost of 1800 South African Rand. Alternatively, you can book a taxi before arriving in South Africa (booking a week in advance for a lower cost). For more details, contact our team member Lana Wattad.

• What can I do during the days off?
The reserve is located in a beautiful and stunning area called The Garden Route, a tourist region full of various activities.
You can travel on your own using a taxi or Uber (group outings are preferred).

Activities that have been experienced:
- Monkey Land: a large unfenced monkey reserve in a forest.
Swimming with seals.
- Tenikwa: a reserve for large felines (lions, leopards, etc.).
- Hiking or climbing trails in the area.
- Bungee jumping from the world's highest bridge.
- Visiting the market on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
There are more recommended activities that the staff can suggest.

• Am I obligated to get vaccinations?
Vaccination is not legally mandatory, but highly recommended!
You don't need to know the type of vaccination before going to the clinic; just inform them that you are going to The Garden Route in South Africa and they will provide you with the necessary vaccinations.

📆 Registration Dates:

• Days off: 2 days per week.
• Minimum period for volunteering: 1 week (Preference is given to those who choose a longer period)

💳 Registration Fees: (Does not include HomeAwe Fees)

• Volunteering for 1 week: $595
• Volunteering for 3 week: $1,518

Most of the registration fees are for the benefit of the reserve to assist the elephants and fund research. These reserves require continuous support and significant donations. Instead of soliciting donations, they organize these youth programs in the reserve, providing a unique and impactful experience, while also allowing volunteers from around the world to connect and contribute. So this opportunity is considered invaluable compared to a regular tourist trip that would undoubtedly cost more. Here, the experiences you will have with HomeAwe are unique. And the daily life is relatively affordable.

📋 Registration Process:

1. Sign Up through the program's link down below - your details and answers to the questions will be reviewed and based on that, your acceptance will be determined. (It is preferable not to hesitate in providing clear and explicit answers to the questions without any sense of shyness. The clearer, more spontaneous and heartfelt your answers are, the higher the likelihood of your acceptance).
If we do not contact you within 2 weeks, it means that you have not been accepted.
If you are accepted, we will communicate with you via email to arrange the payment of the registration fees to reserve your spot in the program.

2. After you Sign Up, you'll receive an email that has a link to pay the registration fees of $400 to HomeAwe to reserve your spot in the program and to arrange a personal interview.

3. Have a personal interview with HomeAwe for introduction and further explanation of details.
If you didn't make it in the interview, we will refund you with the registration fees ($400).

4. Lana will update the reserve about the date you have picked to volunteer.

5. The volunteer fills out an application form specific to the reserve, and Lana sends it to the reserve's team.
(In some reserves, they may require documents like insurance policies, so the volunteer handles it and Lana sends it to them as well).

6. You send an electronic signature in a PDF file and Lana sends it to the reserve.

7. We start look for a flight ticket for you that matches your volunteer start date.

8. Complete registration fees at least one month before the start date of your program to reserve your spot!