Conservation - SOUTH AFRICA Volunteer Stories

Conservation in South Africa - Anita Talby

Ever felt stuck in a rut? Ever felt like you’ve just done nothing exciting with your life?  Well you’ve come to the right place to change that.  A few months ago I was feeling like I just needed to do something different and get out of my comfort zone.  I looked on the internet, probably as you are doing now, and saw Projects Abroad.  It offered flexibility with starting dates and all the projects looked amazing.  I decided to take a three month career break there and then.  I booked two months Conservation in Peru and one month Conservation in South Africa.

Despite being 34 years old I had never travelled alone.  What a mammoth journey to pick going to Peru!  The views from the plane from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado were breathtaking and well worth all that travelling!  But nothing prepared me for the final leg of my journey, a one and a half hour boat ride down the river Madre de Dios.  I can’t even put into words how beautiful the scenery was, you see similar things on television but to actually see it with your own eyes and be there is extraordinary.  I’ll never forget that first journey.

Arriving at Taricaya Lodge, my home for the next two months was very exciting.  The accommodation is basic but that all adds to the adventure.  The jungle noises were incredible.  I wondered how I’d ever be able to sleep, but you soon get used to it!

The array of animals being rehabilitated at Taricaya was brilliant, Spider monkeys, Capuchin monkeys, parrots, toucans, tapirs, coatis (my favourite!) and a jaguar to name a few.  My first job whilst at Taricaya was to prepare the food for the animals.  I have never chopped so much fruit in my life, but it was great fun, especially actually feeding the animals.  Others jobs included donkey training, bird watching, trail clearing, cleaning out the animals, building cages and collecting fruit.  We were also given talks on the work and research carried out at Taricaya and the issues being faced by the rainforest. 

All the staff were great and the work is so worthwhile, it makes you feel good that you can do your little bit.  We also went on frog hunts, bat hunts and a caiman hunt, my personal favourite.  We took the boat out at night with Stuart, the Conservation Project Director, who stood at the front of the boat and was steered into target to catch a caiman.  Not only was it extraordinarily funny but fascinating too, I even got to stroke one.  Amazing!

One of the main projects whilst I was at Taricaya was the turtle breeding programme.  It was awesome seeing the hatching of these tiny turtles as they dug through the sand to reach the top of the purpose built sandpits.  We released six hundred into the river with the involvement of some local children which made it an even more special occasion.

My adventure at Taricaya came to an end all too quickly and then it was off for the next part of my journey, to do Conservation in South Africa! 

The tiny plane from Johannesburg to Polokwane really tested my nerve.  Then it was off to the Country Blue Lodge for probably one of the best sleeps of my life, 13 hours straight, I was pretty tired!  Arriving at the magical Legodimo game reserve is also something I’ll never forget.  Sitting on the back of the truck I saw my first sighting of wildlife, numerous impalas running free (the first of many!), it was just fantastic.  Soon I arrived at the camp with its stunning scenery and beautiful bush camp set up.  Showering under the stars will make your own shower seem very boring!

Every day is different at Legodimo, tasks involved research drives, data entry, building bridges, clearing wire fences, bird walks to name a few.  Volunteers take it in turns to cook the evening meals by lantern light which is good fun!  If you take just one thing with you though, I would recommend a head torch, invaluable as there is no electricity, and makes cooking at night much easier.  Beware of the bugs though! Many evenings were spent sitting round the fire eating dinner, very relaxing.

Jamie and Nicole (very knowledgeable Projects Abroad staff) and Gerrit (who has so many interesting tales to tell!) arranged many different activities so it wasn’t all work!  We visited the Venetia Nature Reserve to track lions and within twenty-five minutes we were parked a few metres away from twin lionesses, a male lion and their three cubs.  Watching these animals in the wild was totally mesmerising.  One day we visited a crocodile farm and got to hold them (just the baby ones obviously!) and learn all about their life cycle.  We also visited the Mathathane School where the children sang and did drama for us, this was definitely one of the highlights for me. The children were fantastic, it was such a good trip. 

The scariest moment of my whole trip was not angry elephants, poisonous snakes or scorpions but when I took a midnight toilet trip only to come face to face with the affectionately named porcupine Brian.  He was ABSOLUTELY huge and came charging towards me in as much a panic as I was.  I had to jump onto the sideboard in the kitchen to avoid full on contact.  This chance meeting still haunts me now!  Night time toilet visits were never made alone again!

On my last day we visited the Makulu Makete Cheetah Conservation Project and managed to track Chaos and Mayhem the resident cheetahs.  I was able to stand just a few feet away from them and watch them lounging in the shade.  However I had yet to see one of my favourite animals during my stay, the giraffe, but on this, my last day, as we were travelling along, Jamie brought the truck to an abrupt halt and to my right stood staring directly at us was a beautiful giraffe, it was like a goodbye gift from the wild!

So that’s a short summary of some of the many things I did in my three month career break that made me realise there really is more to life, more than you can possibly imagine!  It totally changed my perspective on things, gave me a new lease of life and opened my eyes to a whole new world! So what are you waiting for?

Anita Talby


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