Skip to main content

12 Week Conservation Experience

Visiting the rhino breeding project
 
KMW darting of Massibambi
More TLC for Tswale at Kwa Madwala
KMW Birds of prey specialist programme
Coming into land

Click on images to enlarge

apply online. Possibly the ultimate life changing experience of living for 3 months on a private African game reserve. The range of activities offered is breathtaking - highlights for many include elephant back trekking, Microlighting and tracking lion at night. This 12 week programme also includes a conservation project which the group undertakes and could be anything from building a viewing platform to monitoring a particular animal species. Meeting the local community is highly important and we assist in the ongoing development of a local AIDS orphanage.


Off-site activities are also available, and included is 5 days of activities such as abseiling, bungee jumping, white water tubing and caving. Getting off the reserve is also important - camping trips to Kruger and across in Mozambique are included. As with all our programmes participants are met at Johannesburg Airport and transferred to Kwa Madwala by road with the reverse process at the end of your stay.

Programme highlights include

  • Aerial game counting
  • Elephant back trekking
  • Tracking carnivores
  • Kruger and Mozambique camping expeditions
  • Birds of prey programme
  • Sabie extreme adventures
  • Conservation project

Detailed 12 Week Itinerary (PDF format)

All our programmes include the following activities which we describe in the detailed programme itineraries as Conservation days. These days can be highly varied and sometimes come down to weather conditions, events happening on the reserve and operational needs:

  • Game drives (day and night) and bush walks, where we cover a variety of subjects such as animal spoor tracking, bird identification, tree identification and biodiversity of species

  • Sleep outs on the reserve

  • Informal lectures and practical experience on various aspects of game reserve management, eco-lodges, maintenance, anti-poaching, hunting, agricultural farming, astrology, birding, alien species

  • Interaction and assistance with the Elephant Back Safari programme at Kwa Madwala

  • Practical ranger skills such as 4x4 driving skills / shooting and gun safety

  • House chores around the lodge- cleaning, painting, maintenance, cooking, firewood collection, marketing, telephone reception

  • Visit to nearby Malelane town for personal shopping and internet/telephone access

Please note that the order of events as listed above may change, for a variety of reasons but that the contents will remain the same.

Further Information on Gap Year Experiences