South Africa Big 5 Wildlife and Community

unforgettable, friends all over the world, very good work, fun, sea, great experience, sweet animals...

see beautiful animals, make work that I would otherwise never make, meet nice people

you need good shoes and trousers!

Romms were very clean

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Fun, friendly people, made great friends and saw amazing animals

Cub sitting the white lion cub called nanouk, the chance to ride an elephant an the game drives :) also the touch farm with meerkats Going to Jeffrey's bay for the weekend - great place and great bar!

You don't need mosquito nets or insect repellent for this trip (I made this mistake)

More animal interaction

The People At Kwantu Are Some Of The Nicest And Friendliest People :) Great Place, Wonderful Food And Accommodation !

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Trip of a lifetime, loved every minute, so glad I went!

Making amazing new friends, going on safari game drives almost every day and seeing nearly all of the Big 5 up close, playing football with elephants and babysitting the lion cub!

Research the weather before you go! I stupidly assumed it would be warm all the time and didn't bring any warm clothes - I got very cold in the evenings and early mornings! Be open minded about everything! Some people weren't impressed with the gardening and tree cutting activities, but even the hard work can be great fun if you let yourself enjoy it! Make the most of your weekends in Port Elizabeth, it's a beautiful place with great food and beaches and lots of things to do and explore.

Thank You So Much To Kwantu And RealGap For The Trip Of A Lifetime. I Couldn't Have Wished For A Better Time In South Africa.

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Really good experience to take stock of what is important in life.

It was a pleasure to get to know and work with the guides and rangers at Kwantu and to take the opportunity to learn a lot more about the environment and animals. Very much enjoyed the game drives but also the hard work of fencing and cutting down trees even in temperatures og 38 degrees. The trips to the local school were enlightening and it was brilliant to see such happy children even though they had no electricity in their school and not enough chairs and desks for all of them.

Take a warm hat even in the summer months as night and dawn game drives can be cold. Take the opportunity to try out all the work acitivities. Stock up with "goodies" in Port Elizabeth as the food is fairly basic!

Although The Project Is For A Much Younger Age Group Than Myself (am In My 50s) I Found Everyone Very Friendly And Welcoming. Although At Times It Would Have Been Good To Have Some Peer Communication! At Times The Work Acitivites May Seem Trivial But It Is All An Important Part Of Maintaining A Well Run And Safe Reserve For The Animals.

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Elephant rides, meeting great people and learning loads!

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It was a very gentle introduction to volunteering which is what I wanted when I booked. We were certainly very well looked after and very well fed by the lovely staff. However, at times I felt it was more like an 'activity' holiday (keeping us busy and entertained) rather than volunteering in the true sense of the word. You'll certainly have very memorable, amazing experiences which you wouldn't experience on a regular safari! The 'activities' were repetitive each week so many volunteers felt a few weeks were enough. The weekends were a welcomed change. I was apprehensive about leaving for the weekends but Im so glad I took the plunge! The staff at the Albiet Lodge were fabulous and really helped you find your way. I was travelling with my 17 year old daughter and felt safe and cared for the whole time we were in SA.

Game drives as you get to see the animals often, up close. Interacting with elephants. Increased confidence travelling. Exploring Port Elizabeth later. 2 weeks at Kwantu was enough for us so we explored Port Elizabeth. Did Addo elephant park, lion park and a township tour. People in SA are very friendly and helpful.

The weather was very variable with lots of heavy rain. We forgot our rain coats! If it rains there's not much going on so perhaps take some entertainment. Do some research before you go, there's lots to do in Port Elizabeth so you might like to spend time there. We spent our third week at a hotel (BnB) in PE which was a pleasant base. Sharing accommodation with so many people (16 per dorm) was challenging at times. My 17 year old daughter coped fine, it was more difficult for me (40). Make use of the games room for time out and take ear plugs or music if you're easily distracted when you're trying to relax.

Take It As It Comes. You're In SA! One Day We Left Knowing There Was No Fuel In The Truck And I Thought - Oh Well, At Least When We Run Out Were Going To Have A Relaxing Hour Or Two Waiting To Be Rescued. And Guess What Happened? It Becomes Amusing! Enjoy Every Moment As It Happens, As It Might Not Happen Again!

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Working with the animals. Planting trees, fixing flood damaged roads, really feeling like I was doing something worthwhile! Listening to the experienced Rangers and actually learning! Visiting a school and playing with the children. Meeting some incredible people!

Lion tracking, volunteering at the school, interacting with the cubs, meeting great people from all over the world.

Lion tracking and game drives. Getting to use a machete to chop down trees, although my hand is still recovering! Night games drives and elephant riding.

Game Capture, Chopping down trees, Incredible people, Elephant walks, Wilderness, Riding elephants, Great organisation, Port Elizabeth, Playing with tigers, Clearing areas, Rescuing animals, Fixing sites, the list could go on and on! It was an all round amazing experience!

Make sure you have warm clothes and shoes, if you are going in an African winter, it is still cold! Have a good first aid kit! Make sure that you physically throw yourself into everything they offer, it will be far more fun and you will come out with a far greater experience!

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Really enjoyed the work aspect to the trip - sounds odd but my group got really into digging holes and repairing roads! Seeing the animals in the game reserve was amazing - we tracked the male lion most of one afternoon and followed him visually through the reserve! Visiting the elephant sanctuary was fantastic too! Seeing them up close in the reserve and being able to touch them.

Take decent work gloves - trust me they will be needed! It is very cold in August in the mornings and particularly the evenings so take lots of warm clothes - will get hotter in the middle of the day so take shorts and t-shirts too! Buy decent shoes/boots - they will get very dirty and well used but without them your feet will really suffer!

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Being able to get really involved in a project that is clearly so important to the conservation and preservation of endangered animals is very satisfying. You really feel you've worked on something worthwhile. And getting to ride elephants and play with baby tigers is something of a treat!

1. Take warm clothes for travelling to Africa during our summer because it is their winter and it can be pretty cold! We had to go out and buy extra fleeces and hats at the weekend. 2. Get involved with EVERYTHING offered to you, because time flies and you want to make sure you do as much as possible 3. Enjoy yourself; there's something very rewarding about being part of the work Kwantu are doing, so just get involved and have a great time :)

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the animals the sights the amazing volunteers ive also met

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Be able to play with the baby lion & tiger. Also tree chopping & visiting the local school.

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Couldnt say it better myself! "Great experience, made new friends, totally unforgettable!"

The overall experience was amazing. I would love to return to do something like this again and it was all worth it. Also knowing that you were doing something to help made it more the better!

Be open minded about everything. Be adventurous and bring gloves!

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Different lifestyle, different people, different experiences - absolutely amazing.

The animals were definitely one of the main highlights of the trip - to be woken up by vervet monkeys on the roof and kept awake by the wild lions roaring at night is a pretty amazing experience! Everyone at the reserve was great, from the rangers who seemed to know absolutely everything about the wildlife to the other volunteers you go with. Living on the reserve was a total lifestyle change and the opportunity to handle wild animals and trek through the wilderness is something no one should miss out on.

Definitely get to know the country/area you're going to well before you leave - I felt like I hadn't packed enough of what I needed clothes-wise in South Africa, which could have easily been avoided if I had done more research. Secondly, staying healthy wherever you go is vital - making sure you're drinking enough bottled water, avoiding food which could be potentially harmful and keeping covered in the sun - sunburn and dehydration are so easy to get! Lastly, I would say take advantage of every opportunity you get wherever you are. You're not often going to get the chance to do the amazing activities or see the sites again any time soon, so don't miss out - get stuck in or you'll regret it when you get back home!

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socialising, exciteing, great experiance, friendly, comfortable, fun times, busy, dirty, worthwhile. no regrets

loved meeting so many new people and getting to see all the wild animals

Give full detail what clothes are needed inform people that meals and drinks are not included at weekends

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Wonderful worthwhile experience, made new friends, had tonnes of fun!

Playing with the tiger cubs and doing game capture!

Bring enough warm clothes especially in winter months. Bring nice clothes for the weekends. Be prepared to do any work in any kind of weather as it is all worth it in the end!

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Amazing working hands on with the animals and made some unforgettable memories.

The friends that I made and playing with the tiger cubs. I also enjoyed game capture as it was more hands on than I expected

Read all the information given and phone to ask for any gray areas. Have an open minded approach and make sure you have a lot of memory on your camera!

Absoutley Amazing!!!! Everyday is different. Staff so happy and very helpfull.

Game Capture and playing and interacting with the Tiger Cubs.

Always pack a RainCoat and take with you everyday. As the weather is so hit and miss.

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amazing experience that will remember always, everyone was really nice

The trip was amazing, even chopping trees, digging holes, and going game drives, game count and playing with the cubs, best thing i have ever done

bring good pair of walking boots, gloves and trousers/tops as can get cold

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an amazing, unforgettable trip, surrounded by great people and animals.

playing with the tiger and lion cubs was amazing, something i never thought i would do. riding the elephants was brilliant and seeing all the animals in their natural habitat out on the reserve was great.

put everything into it, as its more rewarding that way. be outgoing and try everything. check for ticks!!!

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unbelievable unforgettable amazing out of this world made great friends learnt new life experiences learnt a lot about the animals

the whole trip was a highlight i had the most amazing time learning all the different animals, playing with the cubs and the wilderness walk was amazing!!!

be prepaired to do work ask plenty of questions to do with the animals have lots of fun

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Amazing experience, met some of the nicest people, didnt want to come home!

It was just an amazing experience. Everything we did was really good, even chopping down big trees in the heat. It made me feel like i did something worthwhile =)

Dont be shy. Make the most of your time. And always think that it is a once in a lifetime experience and not everyone can do what you are doing =)

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Amazing experience, great people, loved every minute, unforgettable!

Everything was amazing! Can't fault it, loved africa, loved the reserve, loved the programme, being up close and touching Lion and Tiger cubs, riding Elephants, learning about the different species of animals and plants/vegetation,

Know what you want to achieve, be prepared to have fun, and just enjoy the experience

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Extraordinary place, extraordinary staff, extraordinary friends, extraordinary animals, extraordinary memories!!!

There are far too many highlights from a month at Kwantu to write here so I will try and summarise a couple! One of the projects we worked on was stable building. It was very rewarding to see the horses using the stable for food etc. It gives you a real buzz! Not only that but you know that your hard work as contributed! Another highlight was the predator interaction which was done almost on a day to day basis. Amazing feeling when you get to touch and play with the lion and tigers! Something I will never forget! Thank you Kwantu What ever projects are on the go at Kwantu you are always involved some involve more work that others but its rewarding. The game drives and amazing sites are awesome and everyone is really friendly.

Don't worry about travelling alone! You meet people at every turn on your trip who are friendly and in the same boat! Forward planning will certainly pay off once you get started Enjoy it!

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Had a fantastic time, the people were awesome, would love to go back.

Interaction with the lions, tiger cubs and elephants. Removal of alien vegetation (ie using a machete to chop down huge trees). Game drives and walks through the elephant sanctury and wilderness. The on site co-ordinators, especially Henny. Trip to Addo National park on my first weekend with Criss Cross Adventures (Chris Pickels and Terri Wolhuter).

Watch out for ticks. Bring a scarf in winter. Don't worry about getting dirty and wearing the same pair of trousers for weeks, everyone does it.

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It made me realize what living "in the moment" is truling like. I made sure I enjoyed every second of my trip and I did indeed. fun breathtaking views hard work heart pumping educational first time for most things great food weekend party's

Kwantu. The staff was great. The animals were amazing. Riding an elephant for the first time was incredible.

Bring a towel to shower with Bring a great zoomed SLD camera with video - and lots of memory cards or a way to transfer your photo's Journal, journal, journal. Even though you will never forgot your journey, it is so wonderful to read about it later.

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Love every minute of it, Met great people, amazing experience!

Playing and looking after lion and tiger cubs

1. Bring gardening/working gloves - you will need them 2. Bring warm clothes as it tends to get a bit cold at nights 3. Emjoy every minute of it because what you are doing is amazing

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Really enjoyable, fab activities, beautiful creatures, friendly people, luxuary setting

* Preditor interaction - playing with lion and tiger cubs * Elephant ride * Building structures and planting trees knowing they will still be there in years to come * Learning a lot about the animals

* Take warm clothes as on a game drive it can be quite windy and feel cold and a waterproof coat came in handy as well!! * Take plenty of toiletries and everything you need as you stay on the reserve all week. There is a small shop that sells a few basic things but not much. * Work gloves / gardening gloves were useful as you do plenty of planting, digging and chopping down trees.

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Best thing I have ever done in my life!

Being with a group of amazing people that all came for the same reason and being able to enjoy it all with them. Plus having the chance to look after and cuddle baby tigers and lions

Make sure you get stuck in and socailise with everyone Pack for every type of weather no matter what time of year it is Don't be afraid to go on your own with no friends it's the best way

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10 words wouldn't sum up this experience. The best experience of my life!

Everything was a highlight. The game drives were incredible. Game capture (throwing yourself at a wildebeast). Building wildlife structures was fun! Playing with the lion and tiger cubs! Watching the lions being fed! Riding an elephant! Going to the local school! The amazing people I met, especially the co-ordinators (who were the most lovely people I have ever met!).

1. Wear long trousers to ensure that you don't get ticks, or spider bites! 2. Get stuck into everything- it's a learning experience not a sunbathing holiday! 3. Wear a thick jumper and trousers when you go into the tiger cub enclosure!

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Great for independence, great people, useful to add to CV.

-Meeting interesting people. -Seeing the animals. -Exploring in the weekends away from the project. -Getting to grips with a continent I hadn't before visited.

1)Research the location of the project. 2)Bring a topup cash card just in case you run out. 3)Dont feel confined by the project - think about travelling in the respective country after the finishing date or moving onto another project nearby.

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F A N T A S T I C !

The main highlight was the other volunteers that I met, they were great and I made loads of new friends. The animals we worked with were obviously a major highlight. However, I really enjoyed doing the hands-on, physical work (despite not really being a hands-on sort of person)

1- Be willing to get your hands dirty. Usually the harder the work was, the more fun we had doing it. 2- Don't be afraid to ask the co-ordinates questions about the reserve, the animals, the plants, etc., even if your question seems really stupid (those are the ones with the best answers). 3- WATCH OUT FOR SPIDERS!!!!!

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Incredible, fantastic. Amazing people now friends for life! Life-changing adventure!

The highlight was the project - and the people we were volunteering alongside and the co-ordinators! Everyone was welcoming, full of knowledge and made my 2 week experience an incredible one, and one that I will never forget. Although we had days with not so good food due to the in-house chef being away, it didn't spoil the trip as you were having too much fun! As well, the project really allows you to look at yourself as a person and gives you a real prospective on life!

Make the most out of every opportunity - you have to, nobody else will! Even if you are not up for the activity - give it a go - you'll gain more respect than if you just stand and moan! Take plenty of decent working gloves - we needed them!

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Amazing place, amazing people, amazing experience! Worth every penny....

Watching a lioness kill a warthog, playing with the lion cubs, sitting around the tv watching world cup games and chatting with the other volunteers... there are too many to list!

Bring warm clothing to South Africa during the winter - it gets ridiculously cold. Try and do some travelling around the country after you have volunteered. Make the most of every moment!

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Amazing, Fantastic, met so many nice people, great food, awesome place, new friends for life, animal palace, loved it

Playing with the lion and tiger cubs and going to the near by school to feed the kids and play with the young children.

Insect repellent Always check for tick bites Bring Long Sleeved Tops (in Winter)

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Cutest cubs, amazing food, interesting project work, making friends, great weekend excersions, knowledgeable co-ordinators, friendly staff, awesome game drives, comfortable accommodation, relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.

Bottle feeding a tiger cub, playing with the lion and tiger cubs most days and watching as they developed. Being able to help with the project work, especially the game counts and game captures. Interacting with elephants and riding them.

If going during South African winter, it does get as cold as English winter! Take layers as it can warm up after 9.30 but still not be just t-shirt weather.

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Fantastic experience, lucky enough to share with some fabulous people.

Experiencing the wildlife and culture of another country, especially working with the lion cubs. The people I met working at the project and other voulneers who were great company.

Be prepared for the weather. Take a decent pair of walking shoes. Take a good book.

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Absolutely Amazing - best experience ever and met some fantastic people.

This trip was absolutely amazing! This was my first time to South Africa and I loved it so much I ended up extending my trip! Bottle feeding the cubs, getting up close with the Lions and Tigers, Game capture and tree falling were all part of my highlights. The reserve treated you like family and all the volunteers got on exceptionally well. I would definitely go again...without any hesitation.

1. This is a conservation project so expect to get your hands dirty! 2. Definitely take a pair of gloves with you - or you'll end up with a fair amount of blisters! 3. Dont pack too much stuff - washing is really cheap.

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