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Town: Gravelotte
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Province: Limpopo
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Rate per week in ZAR: 4250
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Rate Extra Weeks in ZAR: R8500 for 2 weeks, R15 175 for 4 weeks, R26 525 for 8 weeks, R37 330 for 12 weeks, R42 250 for 16 weeks, R46 130 for 20 weeks, R49 775 for 24 weeks
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Facebook Latest Pictures and Project Updates: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.532921836721529.136828.169550263058690&type=1
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Duration: 2 weeks; 4 weeks; 8 weeks; 12 weeks; 16 weeks; 20 weeks; 24 weeks
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Dates: 4 WEEK START DATES
9th January 2012 - 6th February 2012; 6th February 2012 - 5th March 2012; 5th March 2012 - 2nd April 2012; 2nd April 2012 - 30th April 2012; 7th May 2012 - 4th June 2012; 4th June 2012 - 2nd July 2012; 2nd July 2012 - 30th July 2012; 13th August 2012 - 10th September 2012; 10th September 2012 - 8th October 2012; 8th October 2012 - 5th November 2012; 5th November 2012 - 3rd December 2012
2 WEEK START DATES
23rd January 2012 - 6th February 2012; 20th February 2012 - 5th March 2012; 19th March 2012 - 2nd April 2012; 16th April 2012 - 30th April 2012; 21st May 2012 - 4th June 2012; 18th June 2012 - 2nd July 2012; 16th July 2012 - 30th July 2012; 27th August 2012 - 10th September 2012; 24th September 2012 - 8th October 2012; 22nd October 2012 - 5th November 2012; 19th November 2012 - 3rd December 2012
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Introduction: The conservation provides volunteers with a lifetime opportunity that will never be forgotten; to actively contribute to and participate in the daily management, wildlife research and monitoring activities taking place on a game reserve in Africa. The programme fosters the conservation of wilderness and is based on Pidwa Wilderness Reserve in 25 500 hectares of untamed beauty.
Pidwa is well on its way to becoming a benchmark wilderness reserve as it has based all its ideals on mimicking the natural system as much as possible. As the old saying goes, “why reinvent the wheel?”
Unfortunately humans have taken their toll on many wild areas of Africa and natural processes have been affected. The goal of Pidwa is to restore the balance that existed prior to human interference and this requires a little assistance. Conservation volunteers are hands on members of the team responsible for all aspects of this assistance from varied reserve management projects to the research and monitoring of the reserve’s flora and fauna.
Volunteers at the Conservation will experience life on an active game reserve, enjoy world class wildlife viewing, while making a real contribution to conservation and the establishment of a benchmark wilderness area.
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Location: Pidwa Wilderness Reserve is in the Limpopo province in the North Eastern part of South Africa. It is about 70 kilometres from each of the towns of Phalaborwa, Tzaneen and Hoedspruit, and is about an hour’s drive from the famous Kruger National Park. This area is known as the Lowveld, and is rich in wild life habitat and reserves.
Pidwa is 14 000 hectares in size and is the northern half of the 25 500 hectare Greater Makalali Conservancy. The Conservancy was set up by the various landowners within it, agreeing that internal fences be dropped to give the animals a much bigger area to roam freely.
All internal roads are dirt roads so it is easier to check tracks and animal movements. The terrain is gently undulating, with wonderful views of the magnificent Drakensberg mountain range.
The Selati river flows through Pidwa and carries its most water in the summer months, the rainy season in the Lowveld. The river supports beautiful indigenous trees, and is a favourite haunt of all game, and especially lions and elephants.
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Getting to Project: You will first need to fly to Johannesburg’s OR Tambo international airport and then take either a connecting flight or a bus. We ask you to make your way to our nearest town, PHALABORWA, arriving on the start date of your project when we will collect you.
If taking the bus (approximately 6 hours) enquire with ‘Translux’. Although a cheaper option, the bus often adds on a day or two either side of your journey as you will need to board the Sunday morning bus in Johannesburg and stay a night in Phalaborwa ready for collection on the Monday.
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Project: We encourage you to spend at least 4 weeks with us to get the most out of your experience. Longer stays (up to 6 months) are very welcome but the minimum period is 2 weeks. For those staying more than 4 weeks, orientation will include an introduction to important bush skills such as first aid, 4x4 driving, fence maintenance, rifle shooting etc. You will be introduced to research and monitoring programmes and learn the various techniques for recording and capturing data.
Volunteers also take it in turns to carry out various duties on a daily basis at the Conservation. These include meal preparation, data collection, vehicle checks and fence checks. All ingredients are provided for cooking along with easy to follow recipes so don’t worry if you’re not a master chef!
Depending on the season, events such as prescribed burns and game capture and release take place. Both emergency and planned veterinary dartings also occur and volunteers are involved in all of these if they coincide with the period of their stay.
Our activities are not only essential but also aimed at being educational, inspirational and fun. We are proud that we are valuable participants in the running of an active wilderness reserve.
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Animals: Here at the Conservation we pride ourselves on not just chasing the ‘Big 5’ but enjoying every aspect of what the African bush has to offer. While we hope to show you lions and elephants there is so much more to enjoy as well; so prepare to be introduced to a whole new world as we discover the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects that call Pidwa home. We boast 50 species on our mammal list including the weird and wonderful nocturnal species and more than 200 species of bird. ● Lion ● Leopard ● Cheetah ● Elephant ● White Rhino ● Giraffe ● Zebra ● Warthog ● Kudu ● Waterbuck ● Common duiker ● Blue wildebeest ● Sable ● Eland ● Gemsbok ● Red hartebeest ● Steenbok ● Impala ● Nyala ● Common reedbuck ● Bushbuck ● Black-backed jackal ● Side-striped jackal ● Hippo ● Vervet monkey ● Chacma baboon ● Honey badger ● Bushpig ● African Civet ● Caracal ● Serval ● African wildcat ● Spotted hyaena ● Brown hyaena ● Porcupine ● Aardvark ● Cape Pangolin ● Cape tree squirrel ● Small spotted genet ● Large spotted genet ● Banded mongoose ● Slender mongoose ● Dwarf mongoose ● Meller’s mongoose ● Marsh mongoose ● Cape clawless otter ● Thick tailed bushbaby ● Lesser bushbaby ● Scrub hare ● Rock hyrax
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Accommodation: Volunteers stay in a large and spacious, attractively furnished house in the heart of the reserve. The house is set in a very large garden with lovely big trees, protected from the wildlife all around by an electric fence. The accommodation offers:
* Each room is en-suite, sleeping up to a maximum of 4 people.
* There is a double room for couples.
* All linen, except towels, is provided.
* There is ample cupboard space for all your bush gear.
* Mosquito nets are provided above each bed.
* The house has electricity, so hot showers and air conditioning are available as well as power points for the charging of those over worked camera batteries!
* All water at the house is safe to drink
* There is an attractive open plan lounge with big comfy sofas and a dining table for evening meals
* The kitchen is large and has a breakfast table and benches.
* There is a library and study area where you can work at big tables
* In the office you can check the schedule for the day, find information on all the reserve’s wildlife, and make your contribution to the data collection.
* Bongani, your “African mother”, keeps the house, rooms and bathrooms clean for us. She will also do your washing … and even ironing twice a week.
* Outside there is a pleasant barbeque area where we spend many happy evenings.
* There are plenty of outside areas where you can write your diary, take an afternoon siesta or watch the animals stroll by. Herds of impala, giraffe, rhino, elephant and lion regularly visit. The rare antelope breeding camps border the Conservation garden, so there is always something to watch.
* The garden has a splash pool to cool off after a day in the hot African sun, and ample space on the lawns for frisbee, cricket, football and rugby games.
* A small attractive waterhole, built by previous volunteers, attracts plenty of bird, insect and amphibian life.
* The Conservation even has its own vegetable garden. Volunteers assist with its up keep so we can have fresh organic veggies with our meals.
* And last but not least, we have finally been able to establish internet connection! Unfortunately mobile phone signal at the house is poor but there are a few 'hotspots' where you can find a bar or two to send an sms.
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Program: 'Project Impisi’ is a new and important study being carried out by the staff and volunteers. It involves the translocation of Brown hyaena from farming areas, where they are at risk of being shot and killed, to a conservation area and safe environment for them.
Below you can read the details of the research which is starting mid 2011:
Motivation
'Project Impisi' is a ground breaking study with potential implications for the improved conservation of brown hyaena, one of the rarest large carnivores in Africa. Never before has an attempt been made to monitor relocated brown hyaena so the Askari research aims to publish the first information of this kind about the translocation success of brown hyaena. Translocation is the ‘deliberate and mediated movement of wild animals from one part of their range to another’. It is a technique that has been used for many years around the world and has proved both successful and unsuccessful in reducing the damage caused by large carnivores on livestock. Data regarding the translocation of brown hyaena however is severely lacking and when brown hyaena relocations have taken place in the past, adequate monitoring was not carried out and the fate of most of the individuals is unknown. Askari now aims to change that with the valuable 'Project Impisi' research. The success or failure of the translocation could have important impacts for reducing hyaena/farmer conflicts and provide a possible option for brown hyaena conservation in the future. Volunteers assist with every aspect of the research contributing towards an important study with considerable conservation value.
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Program may include: Activities vary seasonally but may include:
* Veterinary dartings
* Prescribed burns
* Game capture & release
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Includes: Accommodation, food (breakfast, home cooked lunch & dinner), training week, equipment, activities, laundry service and local airport pick up/drop off.
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Excludes: International and domestic flights, travel & medical insurance and personal equipment.
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Applicants: This project is open to anyone over the age of 18, fairly fit and in good health.
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Hours: A typical day starts around 6.00 am with a morning work session perhaps removing alien plants, repairing an eroded site or removing bush encroachment. After a mid morning breakfast the team heads out again, this time maybe to track cheetah or brown hyaena with the radio telemetry equipment. After lunch the team departs on another activity such as an herbivore age and sex ratio research drive.
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Freetime: On a Saturday afternoon and Sunday, volunteers have time off. There are no specific activities organised and you can use this time to relax, play sports, use the pool etc; all meals are still provided. Many volunteers join together for local tours or hire a car to do some sightseeing. For car hire you must be over 21 with a valid licence and credit card in your name. Costs for weekend trips must be covered by you; some options for activities include…..
● A trip to the world famous ‘Kruger National Park’
● The Blyde river canyon; waterfalls & boat trips
● Horseback safaris in the bush
● Microlight flights over game reserves
● White water rafting & tubing
● Animal rehabilitation centres and tours
● Cultural tours
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Contact us for more info +27 (0) 83 661 5393
e-mail:
Mail us here
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Rate per week in ZAR: 4250
Rate Extra Weeks in ZAR: R8500 for 2 weeks, R15 175 for 4 weeks, R26 525 for 8 weeks, R37 330 for 12 weeks, R42 250 for 16 weeks, R46 130 for 20 weeks, R49 775 for 24 weeks
Duration: 2 weeks; 4 weeks; 8 weeks; 12 weeks; 16 weeks; 20 weeks; 24 weeks
Dates: 4 WEEK START DATES
9th January 2012 - 6th February 2012; 6th February 2012 - 5th March 2012; 5th March 2012 - 2nd April 2012; 2nd April 2012 - 30th April 2012; 7th May 2012 - 4th June 2012; 4th June 2012 - 2nd July 2012; 2nd July 2012 - 30th July 2012; 13th August 2012 - 10th September 2012; 10th September 2012 - 8th October 2012; 8th October 2012 - 5th November 2012; 5th November 2012 - 3rd December 2012
2 WEEK START DATES
23rd January 2012 - 6th February 2012; 20th February 2012 - 5th March 2012; 19th March 2012 - 2nd April 2012; 16th April 2012 - 30th April 2012; 21st May 2012 - 4th June 2012; 18th June 2012 - 2nd July 2012; 16th July 2012 - 30th July 2012; 27th August 2012 - 10th September 2012; 24th September 2012 - 8th October 2012; 22nd October 2012 - 5th November 2012; 19th November 2012 - 3rd December 2012
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Rates Valid till Oct this year, All Rates
subject to change
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