I absolutely loved the trip! I'm extremely happy that I got the chance to volunteer at Seaview. I can't find a single thing that I disliked about my time there. Other than a few minor set-backs on the flight to and from PE, everything was wonderful. The entire trip was memorable, and I don't think I'd change anything about it.
Vivian N.
VAncouver, Canada
I just got back from South Africa. A couple of us volunteers decided to stay longer and roadtrip from Port Elizabeth to Capetown for a week.
I love South Africa. It was an amazing experience. I made great friends at the park and the peope were great.
The most memorable times were when we spent a night bonding around the fire making smores and just having a barbeque. The best was the one on one interaction with the lions. It was phenomenal, absolutely amazing.
Overall it was a great experience and I'm so glad i got the opportunity to go and experience this.
Sincerely,
Lotte K.
University of Colorado, Boulder
The project was a lot of fun.
One of the things that I was somewhat concerned about in the beginning was the food, but once I got there and realized that it far exceeded my expectations, I ended up losing all worries. I actually gained weight from eating so much there.
The people that were our supervisors were really nice, amazing people... they did everything they could to make our stay the best it could possibly be. The trips taken on days off (such as the Elephant Sanctuary, Monkey Land, Jeffrey's Bay, etc.) were a lot of fun and allowed us to be immersed in more of a cultural experience (since most of the park's visitors weren't from South Africa).
When I was there, I wish that I had brought a bit more money (since a lot of places don't take credit cards), a better pair of hiking boots, and a laptop. Three things that I couldn't have survived without were probably good, thick socks and a good pair of sneakers, a sufficient amount of toiletries and a few good books to read.
Sincerely,
Alexis B.
New York
My trip was fantastic! I had some pretty incredible experiences, and met some absolutely fantastic people. Although you had mentioned that there were lion cubs at the project I didn’t really want to pin my hopes on it – so being able to cuddle one on my very first day was a particular highlight!!! If only I could package the whole place up and bring it home here.
The ‘good’ was most definitely the hands on approach! I would not have believed you had you told me I would be spending so much time with the cubs (3, 9 and 10 months old…).
The ‘most memorable’ includes how I felt holding my very first lion cub, the nervousness of going in with the older/larger lion cubs, the sound of the lions roaring in the still of the night, and the nightly shrieks of someone finding a huge spider in their cabin!
The ‘not so good’ was the fact that we had a lot of downtime, however having said that - once we got used to it we found ways of filling in the time.
What might I have done differently? Taken warmer clothes! (even though I came from my winter, the nights and mornings were chillier than I expected – I regretted not taking my polypro (though was thankful I threw my rain jacket in as an afterthought….). Possibly too I might have chosen a less popular time to go, but then I wouldn’t have met so many lovely people.
What would have made it better? I think a little more coordination from the volunteer coordinator could have been done. For example, mealtimes were a nightmare with everyone initially trying to cook their own thing (until some of us informally formed groups to cook/wash-up/etc). Meals could have been a lot more coordinated, possibly with cabins being designated duties on a roster basis (e.g. 1 cabin cooks, another cleans up, another is responsible for groceries, etc). Also, the actual daily duties were assigned on a rather haphazard basis – with some people being missed off completely for more than 1 day in a row, others being given the same task several days in a row, and others being assigned tasks that were actually non-existent. However, this is all minor in the overall scheme of things. I feel so privileged to have been part of something so special.
Also, you and your team were fantastic too. All the information that you provided and the contact that you maintained leading up to my leaving was much appreciated. I have to admit to feeling a little concerned as to whether this would all eventuate (especially as I just did a ‘google’ on the internet and could have ended up anywhere!!!). But everything worked out, and now the world definitely seems that little bit smaller.
Rebecca I have a ton of photos!! Some good, some not so good, and some that fall into the ‘why did I take that’ category. I have attached a couple that show me doing what I enjoyed the most!!!
If you ever need a reference for anyone planning on volunteering through your organisation, I would be more than happy to vouch for your authenticity, professionalism, and service.
Thanks for following up with me, and maybe one day I’ll be able to afford to something like this through your company again.
Kindest regards,
Heather B.
New Zealand
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