Karma Yoga, Life of a Volunteer, South Africa
In the spirit of the holiday season, I thought I would switch gears this week and write about karma yoga, meaning a selfless act of giving back. During my travels, I had the opportunity to volunteer in one of my top 5 destinations, South Africa.
Since I was a little girl, I constantly desired to be surrounded by some of my favorite apex predators, the big cats and great whites. So, I thought, what a better way to visit a country than by immersing myself in volunteer programs that can allow me to do just that. Being indecisive in choosing only one program, I decided to go with three, Living with Cheetahs, Living with Big Cats, and Living with Great white sharks.
Living with Cheetahs was my first introduction to South Africa, and it was an epic introduction. Straight from the airport, about a 3-hour drive outside Johannesburg in Bela-Bela, I arrived at the Feracare Wildlife Centre.
Recently known as the Ann Van Dyk Cheetah Centre, established in 1971, this cheetah conservation project has received international recognition for bringing back the extinction of the cheetahs and the endangered list in 1986. Still currently on the vulnerable list with only 7,100 cheetahs left from 100,000 a century ago due to habitat loss, poaching, illegal pet trade, and conflicts with farmers. Sadly, they are now re-entering the endangered list.
Feracare is also home to wild dogs, zebra, giraffe, ostrich, and other species. During my week volunteering, our days consisted of feeding the animals, cleaning the meat room and cages, game drives, and hands-on interaction with some animals.
Next is the Living with Big Cats project, located about 2hrs outside Johannesburg on Glen Afric Farm. This sanctuary is home to many rescued and injured animals, including lions, hippos, giraffes, zebras, tigers, horses, elephants, and cheetahs. The number one goal is the well-being of the animals in a protected and safe environment with zero tolerance toward the canned lion hunting industry!
As a volunteer, I assisted with farm maintenance to improve the animals' living conditions, including cutting down trees, building enclosures for the mongoose, and cleaning horse and elephant stables. We also interacted with the animals on elephant walks and helped feed the big cats during feeding time. On my off day, I got to visit The Cradle of Humankind.
I ended my volunteer experience at shark alley, as seen on the Discovery channel, during my favorite week of the year; shark week. I've been obsessed with sharks for as long as I can remember. Cage diving with great whites was number one on my bucket list, so I decided that I would hang out with these top ocean predators at some point in my journey.
Marine Dynamics Living with Great White Sharks, based out of Gansbaai, 2 hours outside of Cape Town, is believed to have the most significant concentration of great white sharks globally. The conservation effort for sharks and all marine life enticed me to volunteer with their company. Every day I had the opportunity to be on a boat and watch these majestic creatures.
As a volunteer, we would prepare wetsuits, help anyone who might get seasick (some days it was a bit rocky), and hand out tea or hot chocolate to keep guests warm. Some days we also got to work at the African penguin and sea bird sanctuary that rescued injured or sick animals and released them back into the wild when healthy again.
One of the perks of volunteering was getting into the cage to view these prehistoric predators. On the first dive, I was nervous, but eventually, I realized how beautiful and graceful they were once I faced my fears, not the monsters depicted in Jaws. After my worries had dissipated, the only thing that scared me was the cold water!
Sharks are sadly disappearing; without them, our marine ecosystems will collapse. It's estimated that tens of millions of sharks are killed yearly for their fins. Out of all the different types of sharks, it is believed that there are less than 5,000 Great White Sharks left on this planet.
One of my goals is to continue to do whatever I can to help make people aware and save all these fantastic creatures. My only regret was wishing I had more time than a week at each program. I would recommend at least two weeks to get a full taste of how rewarding these projects can be.
From the fantastic individuals I met and the team running the show, I want to thank you for one of the most amazing times of my life. I plan on volunteering again soon. Working on these projects was exciting, rewarding, educational, and a dream come true.
Anyone interested in a life-changing experience or a different perspective on how we see the world check out www.volunteersa.com. Room & board are included in the cost of this volunteering program. The rest is a donation towards the conservation efforts since no government funding is available.
Happy Travels!!