South Africa Cheetah Rehabilitation Project Gap Year Career Break volunteer in africa

SOUTH AFRICA CHEETAH REHABILITATION PROGRAMME
PARYS, SOUTH AFRICA

The cheetah breeding and reintroduction centre is based near Parys, just 100 km south of Johannesburg. It is situated on a reserve bordering the Vaal River, home to a large number of antelope species as well as giraffe. In 2001, work with captive-bred cheetahs began, and during the past three years 20 young cheetahs have been successfully bred and raised. More needs to be done to counteract the rapidly declining numbers of cheetah in the wild, and the Centre aims to do this with their three-phase project, which will see cheetahs released into managed environments that closely resemble their natural habitat.

Location:

PARYS, SOUTH AFRICA

Dates:

Volunteers join on the 1st of the 15th of any month (closed mid December to mid January)

Fees:

£965 - 2 weeks

£1,655 - 4 weeks

Payment:

£180 deposit at time of booking – balance payment of project fee due 12 weeks before departure

Reference:

AV014

Highlights

Working and interacting with the resident cheetahs every day
Helping to monitor young cheetah cubs (should there be any on the project at the time)
Making a difference in the lives of many different species through the maintenance and improvement of the reserve
Exploring and discovering the African bush through the 3 day trip to Kruger National Park (only guaranteed for volunteers joining the project for four weeks or longer)
Making friends for life, both with the local community and fellow volunteers

General Information

Volunteers are invited to join in the work at the Centre, with the beautiful cheetahs, and become involved in saving this incredible species. The volunteer programme is designed to introduce everyone to the fascinating world of African wildlife as well as the cheetah, and to work closely in all aspects of reserve management. Once a month volunteers will be taken on a trip to Kruger National Park, home to the "Big 5" where they can see the best of Africa's wildlife in its natural habitat. This trip is only guaranteed for volunteers spending at least four weeks on the project.

Volunteers will also have the chance to help reintroduce cheetahs back into their natural habitat and play a vital role in raising and training the cheetahs (from the age of three months) to prepare them to hunt for themselves, so that the ultimate goal of contributing to the increasing numbers of free-roaming cheetahs can again be realised. The programme aims to give volunteers a better understanding of conservation and its importance in the 21st century, as well as interacting with the cheetahs on a daily basis. The programme, which has been running for nearly two years, offers a maximum of six volunteer places per month, giving the best possible experience and plenty of time to interact with the cheetahs.

The programme is open to anyone between the ages of 18 and 50 and all volunteers must be in good health and able to carry out the duties required which will include preparation of the meat (usually horses and donkeys) that is fed to the cheetahs. This will include removing meat from the bones. This will be supervised at all times. No previous knowledge or experience is necessary - just the desire to learn, help and make a real difference. It is hard work but incredibly rewarding.

As places on this programme are limited to approximately six per month, volunteers will get loads of hands on experience with the cheetahs each day. During the past 18 months volunteers have helped to maintain and improve the facilities by building shelters and erecting panels to provide shade and protection and have created a database for each cheetah, recording their health, behaviour and feeding patterns, thus creating a clear profile for each animal. Roads and fences also need maintaining and regular game counts take place to monitor the health and activity of the game on the reserve and an education project to educate the local children has been started.

A typical day in the life of a volunteer ...

7.00-8.30	Cleaning the cheetah enclosures and running the cheetahs to exercise them and to provide stimulation
8.30-9.30	Breakfast
9.30-1.00	Morning duties, which could be a game count, a boundary patrol, or the removal of alien invader plant species
1.00-2.00	Lunch
2.00-3.30	Afternoon duties, which could include reserve maintenance, spending time with the cheetahs, or creating firebreaks
3.30-4.00	Cheetah feeding (this can change depending on the time of year)
4.00-5.00 From 5.15 onwards	Evening duties, which might include enclosure maintenance, a quiz or a bush walk. Meeting to go over the events of the day and prepare for the following day. Free time to socialise and have dinner. There may also be other activities during this time.

Volunteers should be prepared for the daily programme to change at short notice to meet the needs of the project. Activities may vary depending upon the experience of the volunteers on the project.

Volunteers will have one free day each week when they can relax on the reserve or enjoy one of the many activities such as river rafting, abseiling and quad biking, which are available locally at an additional cost. Alternatively volunteers can visit one of the many attractions in the surrounding area as a group with fellow volunteers. Volunteers also get time off to relax on Sunday afternoons.

The nearest town is Parys, which is just 10 kilometres away, and regular trips there are organised for supplies. Project staff make regular trips to town for food but there is no access to town for volunteers except for on their days off when they can pick up any items they need.

As the project is based just 1.5 hours from Johannesburg it will be easy to explore some of the exciting tourist attractions in South Africa if time permits.

Support

Support and advice is available from the local Project Managers whilst on the project and from the UK Amanzi Travel Team.
Find out more about Amanzi Travel support

Orientation

A comprehensive information pack will be sent to all volunteers upon booking their trip and further advice and information will be provided via telephone and email before departure. A full orientation will be provided on arrival at the project by the local support team including an introduction to all members of staff and a tour of the reserve. Volunteers will be shown where tools etc are kept and how to use them. Appropriate training and supervision will be provided for all duties. There will also be more information on the current status of the reintroduction project so that a good understanding of the importance of the work is gained.

Accommodation and Meals

Volunteers will stay in a specially designed volunteer house, which is very comfortable and cleaned on a regular basis. There are several areas in which to relax and socialise and there is cable television and a DVD player for watching films. Internet access on the volunteer computer is available at a small additional cost.

Coffee, tea and juice are available throughout the day and snacks and cool drinks are sold in the shop. A substantial breakfast is provided as it is felt that this is the most important meal of the day. Lunch will be a cold spread and in the evening volunteers will cook communally from ingredients provided.

Getting There

Volunteers should fly into O.R. Tambo International Airport (formerly known as Johannesburg International Airport) where they will be met by a member of staff and taken to the project base.
(There may be a number of ways to reach the destination airport - for further information or advice please contact Amanzi Travel)

Let Amanzi Travel help you arrange your flights

Fees

What is included

Programme Fee - a large part of the cost which finances all aspects of the cheetah breeding and rehabilitation work
Return transfers to and from O.R. Tambo International Airprt (formerly Johannesburg Airport)
All accommodation, food and housekeeping costs
All transportation and equipment required to carry out project work
Twenty-four hour support and guidance from the project management team
Wildlife and conservation education during the project, including seminars and lectures that may be available
Additional activities that may be organised during the visit
Full on site orientation

Also included is a three-day wildlife safari experience at the world famous Kruger National Park. This is only guaranteed for volunteers spending at least four weeks on the project, but is offered as an "optional extra" to volunteers spending two or three weeks on the project who can make the necessary arrangements with the project manager who will be able to take payment for it directly. The dates of this three-day trip during 2010 are as follows:

7 - 10 February; 10 - 13 March; 21 - 24 April; 23 - 26 May; 23 - 26 June; 23 - 26 July; 212 - 25 August; 22 - 25 September; 20 - 23 October; 21 - 24 November.