South Africa Big 5 Wildlife Conservation

Experience this stunning wildlife reserve whilst taking part in conservation tasks protecting populations of the Big 5 and more!

Location:	Sidbury, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Availability:	All Year Round
Price:	Average $573 per week Starting from $1145
Duration:	2 weeks – 12 weeks
Start Day:	Monday (Every week)

Highlights

Program Overview

Requirements

What's included

Dates & Fees

Reviews

Highlights

South Africa is home to the famous “Big Five” (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and buffalo) and boasts some of the world’s best safari experiences.

Sidbury is a tranquil, rural town located between the Eastern Cape’s wilderness and the city of Port Elizabeth, making it an excellent base for exploring the surrounding natural beauty.

Sidbury is home to the historic Sidbury Anglican Church, built in the 19th century, which still serves as a central point for the community and visitors interested in the town’s heritage.

Sidbury is surrounded by beautiful nature reserves and wetlands, offering great birdwatching opportunities, especially for enthusiasts keen on spotting local species like the African Fish Eagle.

South Africa is often called the “Rainbow Nation” due to its diverse cultures, languages, and traditions. Visitors can explore a range of cultural experiences, including historic sites like Robben Island, the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, and traditional African villages.

Program Overview

About the Program

Located in South Africa’s malaria-fee adventure province, between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown, the 6 000 hectare, big five, five-star nature reserve is positioned in one of the most biologically varied regions of the country. The Reserve is located on the legendary Sidbury Plains, in the heart of Frontier Country, along the banks of the Bushman’s River – a mere hour’s drive from Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

The reserve is home to the big five game animals, including the African lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, African leopard, and White/Black rhinoceros.

The reserve is located in one of the most biologically varied regions in South Africa, with many of the biomes still unspoiled. The wildlife reserve is set in a mix of grasslands, fynbos, valley bushveld and sub-tropical vegetation which is home to African game such as the Big Five, zebras, giraffes, hippos, wildebeest, eland, impala, kudu, springbuck, cheetahs, warthog, lynx, caracal, jackals and meerkat roam the Sidbury plains.

With more than 250 bird species having been recorded in the area, the surrounding are also a bird watcher’s paradise with a great diversity of birds within forest, riverine, gorge and savannah habitats.

The reserve continuously strives for improvement and enhancement, and therefore, in addition to the Big Five, we also boast many other facilities and offerings. These include various accommodation types to suit all guests (families are welcome), swimming pools, a domestic animal touch farm, cricket field, tennis courts, entertainment area and much more.

We would like to remind you that you will be working on a Big 5 game reserve where
the Big 5 are all in their natural state and free-roaming. Therefore, please understand that you will not physically interact with ‘the wild’ Big 5.

The reserve engages in extensive conservation programmes of which you will participate in. this is important as without our conservation efforts, wildlife in this area will not be sustainable.

Why this program?

Get an all-round experience of life on a Big 5 Game Reserve. Become one with nature as you learn about the conservation of local fauna and flora. Your work will play a valuable part in the sustainability of the region, as you assist in general tasks on a day-to-day basis on the reserve.

Sadly all five of the African Big 5 are listed as at risk by the IUCN listings. The southern white rhinoceros and are classified as near threatened while the black rhinoceros is classified as critically endangered. The African lion and African leopard are both classified as vulnerable whilst the is listed as endangered. You will help play a role in the vital conservation of these species.

This wildlife and conservation programme is designed for volunteers interested in having a truly African experience while making a difference to the local wildlife and environment. Activities for this programme vary on a day-to-day basis and are dependent on weather and other factors (so please expect the itinerary to change from time to time!).

What is included in this program?

Your program fees cover:

Accommodation (See below for detailed information)
Meals (3 meals per day when on site at the reserve)
Airport collection/drop off shuttle
Weekend excursion shuttle to Port Elizabeth
Weekend excursion accommodation in Port Elizabeth (dorms)
Branded T-Shirt & Cap
On Site Support Staff
Wifi
Welcome Orientation
Registration Fee
Project donation for the reserve upkeep

What will I be doing?

There is an itinerary of all the activities which are scheduled for each week. The itinerary is designed in such a way that volunteers are divided into groups of up to 10 volunteers per group, depending on the number of volunteers. Each group will have an outdoor volunteer coordinator as a leader and mentor. The groups will be engaged in different daily activities, but will all do the same type and number of activities by the end of the week. In some cases, all the groups might do the same activity at the same time depending on the type of activity e.g. game capturing.

You will start work at approximately 0830 and finish at approximately 1630 Monday to Friday.

You will notice that your activities include some but are not limited to:
• Removal of alien vegetation in and around the reserve
• Lion tracking and monitoring
• School feeding schemes (only during the SA school year)
• Wildlife structures
• Tree planting and landscaping
• Game drives
• Fauna and flora work in the nursery
• Wilderness trail walks and patrols
• Fence patrol
• Game counts (in season)
• Game captures (in season)

Who will I be working with?

Alongside your volunteer team, you will work with the on site coordinator team. For all your activities and welfare during your stay with us, we have specific outdoor and indoor coordinators to look after you.

Indoor coordinators are responsible for items such as your accommodation, transfers, orientation, excursions, meals, laundry, and any other related issues. If you have any problems in any one of the above mentioned, please do not hesitate to approach the indoor coordinator on duty or reception area to speak to our front office manager.

These are the coordinators that you will be working with on a day to day basis for all your daily outdoor activities. They are specially trained in their field and any questions on wildlife and fauna and flora can be directed at them. If you are not comfortable or you are unable to do any activity planned for the day, please do not hesitate to approach your coordinator.

How do I get to the program?

You will live on site at the reserve so will not need to travel to the project site on a daily basis.

For airport arrival, please see details below.

What do we expect from a volunteer?

We expect volunteers to carry out their work duties Monday – Friday.

In order to become a volunteer with us you need to fulfill the following criteria:
• You must be in good physical and mental condition
• You must be able to tolerate a sometimes hot and humid climate
• You must be able to speak English comfortably
• You must be 18 years old or over
• You must have a positive and practical attitude towards wildlife conservation, rural communities and different cultures.

• No alcohol on site at the reserve. You will be able to let your hair down during your weekend excursions.

What can you expect from us?

We will be on hand any time of any day to support you in your placement and trip as a whole. There will always be someone you can speak to or get a hold of should you want to discuss anything or require any guidance.

What should I bring?

Packing List:

Typical working day

You will start work at approximately 08:30am and finish at approximately 16:30pm Monday to Friday. Your day is broken up into three parts which are as follows (please note that the morning times do change depending on Summer/ Winter times):

– 08h30- 09h30 Activities
– 10h00-13h00 Activities
– 14h00-16h30 Activities

Your coordinators start work at 07h00 and between 07h00 and 08h30 they will be either feeding the horses, busy in the touch farm or at the workshop. You are free to join them during this period if you so wish.

These times are subject to change depending on the activities for the day.

Requirements

Age – You must be over 18 years of age when arriving on our project.

Language – You must be able to write and communicate in English comfortably.

Education – Must have a minimum of High/Secondary school education.

Time – Your helping hands are required five days a week.

What’s Included

Accommodation

Volunteers live together in shared single sex dorms. Volunteers are provided with a clean and modern living area where you will have a place to store your personal items, shared bathroom blocks and public areas and living rooms to relax with your colleagues. There is a kitchenette and main dining area where you will come together as a team for meal times.

Aside from the living areas, you will also enjoy the benefit of the on site facilities in your free time. Including a swimming pool, touch farm, sports areas such as cricket and tennis courts, entertainment room including TV, pool table & darts.

For couples, friends or people wanting to upgrade into a private room this may be available at an additional cost. Please get in touch for further details.

Meals

You will be provided with your meals three times a day during your time on camp. These meals are served over three time slots for Breakfast, Lunch & Supper. All meals are served at the shared dining area, and no cooking is allowed in any of the kitchenette areas.

Our basic breakfast consists of cereals, bread, butter, jam, tea, coffee and cheese, but sometimes we serve eggs, sausages or baked beans, and sometimes a combination of the above. As for lunch and dinner we have a wide variety ranging from burgers, chicken and chips, vegetarian dishes, potato casserole and so on.

Clean drinking water is also provided in a number of locations on site for volunteers. No alcohol is allowed on site at the reserve.

Airport Collection

We will arrange an airport shuttle collection for you from Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport (PLZ) at Port Elizabeth / Gqeberha. It is around an 85km trip to the reserve where you will join any other volunteers arriving that week.

The shuttle from the airport to the reserve leaves at 4pm every arrival Monday. This means if you arrive beforehand, you will need to hang out at the airport until the departure time.

It is also possible to arrange a private hire for you from/to the airport for an additional cost if the shuttle times are not convenient to you.

Weekend excursion

On weekends we arrange for the volunteers to have the option to visit Port Elizabeth and spend their weekend exploring here. You will be provided with accommodation in town on Saturday night and a shuttle from/to the reserve. Weekend meals are not included if off the reserve.

Weekend accommodation will be in dorms however you can arrange to upgrade yourself into a private room at your own cost.
are welcome to do so but at your own cost.

Volunteers are also free to organize their own excursion elsewhere during the weekends, but this will be at your own
cost. Please note that should you do so, then make sure to sign out at reception.

You are also free to stay behind during the weekends to relax and unwind at the reserve and enjoy the facilities.

In Country & International Support

From application to arrival, you will receive friendly and helpful advice along the way. Starting from connecting to our international team online once we receive your application to our in country team on site at the project that will be available to you on a daily basis to help you settle in.

Wifi

Wifi is included in the public areas of the camp whilst on site.

Our internet service varies from day to day due to our service provider so we would appreciate your patience in this regard.

CLOTHING

You will be provided with a branded t-shirt and cap on arrival.

Flights

You will be responsible for arranging to your own flights to country. The main international airports closest to this program is: Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport (PLZ) at Port Elizabeth / Gqeberha

VISA

You will require a passport or travel document valid for no less than 30 days after the expiry of your intended visit along with two unused pages.

You can find the visa details and requirements for South Africa here: https://www.dha.gov.za/index.php/applying-for-sa-visa

You can also find if you will benefit from visa exemption dependant on your nationality here: https://www.dha.gov.za/index.php/immigration-services/exempt-countries

Travel Insurance & Vaccinations

We require that all volunteers have their vaccinations for DTP (Diphtheria/Tetanus/Polio) up-to-date. This is mandatory at this project site.

Yellow fever vaccination?

For current vaccination advice you can visit the MASTA site by clicking here.

For travel insurance quotes you can visit the experts at World Nomads by clicking here.

Dates & Fees

Program fees

Starting from $1145 for a 2 week stay

Click here to view detailed program fees details

Duration

1 week minimum to 12 weeks maximum.

We recommend aiming for a 2 week minimum stay if possible, this will grant you the full experience incase of any bad weather etc.

Availability

– This program is available all year round.

– Arrival day is every Monday and our program runs on a weekly basis. Departure day is the following Sunday.

– The airport collection shuttle departs from the airport to the reserve at 4pm every Monday.

– The airport dropoff shuttle departs from the reserve to Port Elizabeth at at 6pm every Sunday.

Review Text

~ NAME / South Africa Wildlife Conservation Volunteer – 2025

Review Text

– Name / South Africa Wildlife Conservation Volunteer

</p> <p>View project reviews of Atlas Volunteers on Volunteer World</p> <p>

Newsletter

Highlights