Balule Conservation Project

South Africa, Greater Kruger National Park

Dates: Flexible | Cost: Worked out on duration of your stay

Volunteer from a few days to a few months!

The Balule Conservation Project offers an amazing opportunity to be involved in the conservation management programme for the beautiful Balule Nature reserve. The project works closely with Save The Elephants Foundation who support the research.

The area you will be working in is open to the famous Kruger National Park and so is in the heart of the Big 5 environment with populations of lion, elephant, black rhino, leopard and buffalo all present.

Latest testimonials March 2011

Hi there Adrian,
Well, what an experience, really 10 out of 10 !! I've never had such an amazing bush experience before or hope to again unless i return which is on the cards one day as soon as poss!!
Craig is a wealth of knowledge not only on " the bush " but also on many other interesting subjects and his sense of humour is out of this world.....I've never laughed so much in my life!!!
He has an extremely difficult task on his hands and those who he is tutoring are very lucky to have him to learn from. The very "rustic' camp was a great experience and we were really well looked after by him and his team.
Thanks for putting me onto his camp and for all your help!
All the very best and thanks again.
Alan

Thank you Craig, and also all of you to have given the best of your place to us, to have shared the wild nature and transmit your knowledge to understand elephants, lions, rhinoceros, buffalo and the Big 5 as well as the birds, the insects, the weather, the sounds of the wild life, everything that I will keep for ever in my hart...........
I am sure that I will be back for me and my grand-children, and I hope also to make on film a documentary on the way you are working to preserve and give the best of your soul to this reserve and all the beautiful animal in harmony with you.
Thank you also for your humour and your fluent talking which I had to try to understand and make me getting better with this beautiful English. I would like so much to spoke better.
Thank you, friendly
Frederique

Volunteer Blogs: July 2011 volunteer 1 | July 2011 volunteer 2

Brief Overview

This exciting project contributes to the overall management of the reserve, by collecting data on wildlife and vegetation. There is a major focus on elephant herds and predators, although from time to time we undertake other studies such as the effect of overhead power lines on giraffes. The research on elephants forms a strong relationship with Save The Elephants Foundation.

The project offers a fantastic opportunity to get involved in some hands on conservation work, whilst contributing to important research. You will get to see some amazing wildlife in its natural environment and learn about conservation and life in the African bush.

"I volunteered there last year in March and had a fantastic time I have to say, really worthwhile, interesting and definitely fun as well"  Viv, previous volunteer

During your stay on the project you will get involved in a variety of conservation activities. There are daily surveys to monitor the various animal populations within the reserve. Other than that you may be asked to help with vegetation surveys (depending on the time of year); waterpoint surveys; alien vegetation removal and the occasional trip into town to re-supply.

All in all, you are likely to be out and about for most of the day and come into contact with many animals of interest, as well as responding to calls from trackers and rangers (from the lodges) when focal species such as mega-herbivores, predators and wildebeest are reported.

Save The Elephants Partnership

Transfrontier (Afreco’s partners) has a formal relationship with Save the Elephants (StE), situated in the Timbavati region of the Greater Kruger National Park. We work closely with Dr. Michelle Henley and her team of researchers on a daily basis to assist them with the photographic finger-printing of elephants in the field as well as monitoring the 36 elephants that have been fitted with satellite collars in an effort to monitor their movements and habitat preferences.

Our involvement with StE includes the monitoring of elephant herds in the field and contributing to the international photographic finger-printing data-base. This entails spending many hours in the field with the elephants, tracking the herds and documenting herd dynamics and photographing their external ear patterns and other distinguishing facial features. This data is then captured on the computers back in camp and forwarded to our research facility where the data is sorted and added to the international database.

This information is used to assess population size (Jolly-Stochastic model) as well as social interactions, herd dynamics and a “fear landscape”. It is also designed to demonstrate the effects of human activities on elephant distribution and behaviour.

StE works throughout Africa and is headed up by Sir Iain Douglas-Hamilton. They have been appointed as the primary elephant researchers in the Greater Kruger National Park and are engaged with various projects including community out-reach and the monitoring of elephant impacts on the woody vegetation and investigating mechanisms to reduce impacts of elephants on large trees.

We are proud to have been identified by StE as significant role-players in the field of elephant monitoring and feel priviliged to be able to contribute to their work.

If you have a particular interest in Elephant’s please let us know and we will tailor your stay to our elephant research activities – however you will still get involved in the full range of our work.

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Accommodation and the camp

The camp has a screened bush shower, a camp-fire and a viewing platform that offers amazing 360 degree views over the bush – and is a great place to enjoy the sunset with a beer or glass of wine.

What is included?

Included in the price is accommodation, 3 meals a day whilst on the camp and all project related activities. We will pick you up and drop you off at Hoedspruit. You will need to bring some spending money to pay for snacks, alcoholic drinks and any treats that you might wish to have with you on camp.

For more information please visit www.transfrontierafrica.co.uk

You can also email email Afreco via the enquiry buttons on this page.

Or contact Adam at Transfrontier Africa will also be happy to assist adam@transfrontierafrica.co.uk

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Gallery

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Total Payment Protection (topp) Policy cover:

In compliance with the UK Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 an insurance policy has been arranged with Travel & General Insurance Company plc, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, to protect customers’ prepayments in the unlikely event of our financial failure and paid in respect of:

• non-flight inclusive packages commencing and returning to the UK

• the ground handling aspects of packages where the customer is responsible for arranging travel to the destination

• offered in this brochure/literature/document/on this website (subject to the terms of the insurance policy), for:

• a refund of such prepayments if customers have not yet travelled, or

• making arrangements to enable the holiday to continue if customers have already travelled  

Customers’ prepayments are protected by a topp policy.  In the unlikely event of financial failure please contact the claims helpline on 0870 0137 965. A copy of the policy is available on request.

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