Wildlife Orphanage and Rescue Sanctuary in Zimbabwe

I volunteered for one month! And I had the best time! I had the opportunity to interact with all animals from guinea pigs to lions and baboons! I also met the locals, which was great and we also helped inform local schools about animals in their area which was really nice too! Overall amazing experience, and I would love to do it again!

It is a wonderful opportunity. It is incredibly rewarding and a chance to get involved with another culture, learn about so many new things and meet amazing people just like yourself who want to help make a difference. My favourite task on my project must have been looking after two baby baboons. This involved going into the baby baboons cage and allowing them to interact with humans by playing with them. This was not always easy as one of them liked to bite and you would have to tell him off as his mother would have done in the wild. Despite this, this task was definitely one of the most rewarding ones! However it did make it hard to say goodbye after three weeks! My greatest achievement actually was not on my project, it was the journey to my project. I have never travelled alone and I have a fear of flying. Getting on the plane from London to Johannesburg was terrifying. I had a break down on the plane as I was so scared, however, the crew members were amazing and put me at ease. Managing that flight was my greatest achievement regarding my trip and it is something I am extremely proud of. I felt that I made a difference, even if it was only small, I helped with improvements around Chipangali which will benefit the animals. One day we went to another town to hang up posters and hand out leaflets which encouraged people who know of anyone who has a vervet monkey as a pet to call Chipangali and give the animal to a better, safer environment. This was a very important task and I really hope it makes a difference in the future for vervet monkey's. My advice for future participants is get involved and make the most of every moment! The whole experience will be one I will never forget however there is one moment that stands out at my ultimate favourite. During my project we took a trip to Victoria Falls, where I got the opportunity to do an Elephant encounter. This involved touching the Elephants, walking with them as they would in the wild in their herd and then feeding them. It was an incredible moment.

Kaya are good at helping you and making sure you have settled into your programme once you are there. They reply quickly and I received frequent emails from them just checking up on how I was. Looking after all the animals... (the whole experience!) was great. My greatest achievement was building a mud tunnel for Breezer the bush pig. Even when I wasn't working and I was just spending time with the animals I felt like I was helping them. My most memorable moments were seeing the stars, stroking the lions and leopards, time with other volunteers, the rhino walk, Victoria falls....everything. Some advice for future participants is to bring more than two pairs of shorts and three t-shirts. Also bring money for snacks - you will have chocolate cravings!