Rhino Poaching Awareness in South Africa

Project Life

Our staff in South Africa will provide all participants with the necessary training and knowledge. You can look forward to:
- attending comprehensive lectures about anti-poaching and its impacts
- receiving training to learn more about fundraising initiatives
- learning more about delivering environmental education in local communities
- learning to use wildlife research equipment
- tracking and monitoring mega-herbivores and large mammals

When you are not on a research game drive, attending a lecture or working on your awareness initiatives, you will be entering the data you have collected, some of which will be utilised by the Endangered Wildlife Trust.

Accommodation
You will be staying in a fairly rustic setting with shared sleeping arrangements in an old farmhouse. You will however have access to solar powered electricity and flushing toilets. Participants will share facilities such as bathroom, kitchen and living areas and camp cooking and cleaning duties are allocated on a rotational basis.

Project Details

The project details will be determined by our partners, and will change as new needs arise in the field.

The rhino poaching awareness aspect of the program comprises of:
- Attending lectures about poaching and how it affects the ecosystem
- Environmental education efforts to create awareness in the local schools and communities through fun activities
- Research game drives
- A workshop about anti-poaching efforts and how it positively impacts reserves, hosted by a SAN Parks representative
- Fundraising initiatives to promote and strengthen our anti-poaching trust

Please note that, due to confidentiality and health & safety regulations, no participants will be directly involved with the field activities of our anti-poaching unit.

In order to ensure that participants receive a holistic understanding of the fine balance of this ecosystem, they will take part in:
- setting up camera traps to capture the animals’ movement and behaviour
- mastering the skill of tracking to identify different wildlife species
- make use of radio telemetry equipment to monitor animals
- cheetah kill utilisation studies (This involves setting up camera traps near fresh kills to observe how much time the cheetahs spend on their kill and what potentially encourages them to leave. The traps capture not only cheetahs but all subsequent activity occurring on and around the kill).
- herbivore sex/age ratio and its effect on predator movement
- elephant impact vegetation surveys to monitor the impact on sensitive areas of the reserve
- community projects that teach the importance of conservation
- darting/fitting radio collars to predators
- invasive vegetation species eradication

How this project makes a difference
Our participants play a vital role in creating an increased global awareness of rhino poaching through conservation initiatives and environmental education. Your fundraising efforts also assists in providing our anti-poaching unit with the resources required to combat poaching.

The research data gathered in the field is used to give an accurate picture of the predators’ impact on prey populations, determine social structures, genetics, and spatial movement of the animals. Rhino spatial movements are specifically noted to allow for focused efforts in those areas. This vital information helps maintain a healthy balance of these natural resources and species, and helps to conserve some of Africa’s most important ecosystems.

All the data that we collect is shared with the Endangered Wildlife Trust to aid them in their efforts to minimise the number of endangered species.

Limpopo's short, mid, and long-term objectives
All of our programs have short, mid and long-term objectives that fit with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This enables us to report on our collaborative impact across the world in a streamlined manner, measuring which UN SDGs we are making a substantial contribution to. Furthermore, this will help our local partners and communities measure and visualize their contribution to the UN SDGs.

Upon arrival to base, you will be educated about the history of the UN SDGs. You will learn about the specific goals of your location, the long-, mid- and short-term objectives, and also clarification of how your personal, shorter-term involvement contributes to these goals on a global level.

Our aim is to educate you on local and global issues, so that you continue to act as active global citizens after your program, helping to fulfil our mission of building a global network of people united by their passion to make a difference.

Specific long term objectives you will be contributing to in Limpopo:
1) To provide long term and consistent data for Karongwe Reserve Management to assist with Reserve Management decisions based on scientific data
2) Increase local awareness of GVI's purpose and impact on Karongwe PGR
3) Increase scientific output
4) Contribute to three large scale reserve management projects alongside the Warden in accordance with the Reserve's Management Plan
5) Increase our in-country capacity by providing environmental and conservation education and training
6) Increase our in-country capacity through community upliftment projects

What's Included

What's Not Included

Exploration

Participating with GVI not only allows you to work on programs assisting disadvantaged communities or endangered ecosystems but it also offers wonderful opportunities to travel in the local area in your down time or further afield either before or after your program. Below is some information on trips and travel options in South Africa.

Side Trips Included
While at the Karongwe Base, participants will visit the renowned Khamai Reptile Park as part of the training. Later on during the phase, participants are also taken to a local curio market where a variety of quality carvings and other gifts are sold.

Optional Side Trips
Participants at base have one day off per week. For longer duration participants, at the end of each 4 week cycle there will be the opportunity to take 4 consecutive days off.

Independent travel from Karongwe is best done by renting a car, something participants usually do in groups to make it more economical. Bear in mind there are additional costs associated with pick-ups or drop-offs at the reserve gate.

Hoedspruit, the nearest town is about 45 mins drive away. In the area around Karongwe Game Reserve you can visit the Kruger National Park, with entry gates no more than an hour drive away. There’s also the ‘panoramic route’ which takes you on various scenic drives along the edge of the Drakensberg escarpment, the Blyde River Canyon and to the historic towns of Pilgrims Rest, Graskop (where Harry’s Pancakes will serve you the best pancake on the planet!) and Sabie, where you can also book onto a variety of adventure activities such as zip-lining, quadbiking, canyoning and hiking, or just chill out with a picnic lunch at one of the many nearby waterfalls.

Further Travel Opportunities
South Africa has a wealth of fantastic opportunities for further travel available for you to explore, should you wish to extend your stay at the end of the course. Possibilities include the spectacular Drakensberg Mountains, the beauty of the Kalahari Desert, historic Zululand, the vibrancy of Cape Town (check out GVI’s Cape Town volunteer programs!), the fantastic Garden Route along the Southern Coast, the world-renowned National Parks of Kruger and Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, and many more highlights that will leave you wanting more. Talk to our support staff about some options for you to explore!