Instead of embarking on a safari holiday why not consider making a difference to the South African wildlife and volunteer to work on one of the many conservation projects that are ongoing. By working together with people from around the world there is an opportunity to work on real conservation project that can benefit the community.

One of the most exciting projects is the wildlife veterinary project which offers you the opportunity to join the day to day activities of an experienced wildlife veterinarian in South Africa. This may involve assisting with wildlife capture, putting tracking collars on predators for research purposes or micro-chipping the horn of a rhino.

Another project that directly involves contact with wildlife is working in a rehabilitation centre for injured, poisoned and confiscated animals and birds. As a volunteer, you’ll be helping with the daily care for all the animals, from feeding them and cleaning their enclosures, to nursing infant wildlife and helping with rehabilitation and releasing recovered animals into the wild.

If you fancy volunteering on South Africa’s coast then there are costal conservation projects available where you will get the opportunity to join in with the marine conservation work done by this incredible project. This may involve monitoring dolphin, whale and seal populations and helping with hands-on conservation work like turtle and penguin rehabilitation or beach clean-ups.