How the EHRA Volunteer Project Works
EHRA's wildlife volunteer program
is structured in 2-week (11 nights) rotations, but you can repeat up to a maximum of 12
weeks(132 nights). A volunteer group has a maximum of 14 people, of all ages and from all
walks of life who join the program and come to Namibia to experience life in
the African bush! Minimum age is 18 years old and there is no maximum age
limit.
Meeting Point
The meeting point is Swakopmund and
we will give you help and advice on getting here. We organise your travel arrangements from the
airport in Namibia's capital Windhoek, and the transfer to A La Mer Hotel or Amanpuri
Travelers Lodge whichever you choose to stay at. On Sunday evening ( 18h30) there is a short briefing
for all volunteers at A La Mer Hotel, which is important, because you get to meet our
staff and learn what will happen the following day when the program begins. We
leave Swakopmund on Monday at 12:00 noon. We then drive to EHRA's Base Camp on the Ugab River, where you will
spend the night and listen to a full briefing about the volunteer program for
the following week.
Week One - Building Week
On Tuesday morning the group
travels to the local Namibian farm or homestead where you will spend building
week, building a protection wall around the water sources or building
alternative water points for the elephants. Volunteer teams live in mobile base
camps in the vicinity of the homesteads and elephants. Tents are provided by EHRA this week and soon you
will make the camp your home! All cooking is
done over the fire and you work in pairs taking turns to be on kitchen duty,
which includes providing the first cup of coffee to everyone in bed and preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner. We have
great recipes which cater for all dietary restrictions.
You rise early to beat the Namibian
heat and then stop around noon to travel back to camp for a traditional African
siesta and lunch. In the afternoon you
start working after 2:30 pm and work for a couple of hours, before it is time to head back to camp for the obligatory sundowner. Evenings are spent
talking and relaxing around the camp fire and listening to the sounds of Africa.
Building walls is sweaty, hard work
but each volunteer does what he or she is capable of doing, and you work as a
team to complete the project.
Base Camp
Saturday morning you pack up the
camp and travel back to the EHRA Base Camp for a much deserved shower and
relaxation. The next two days are yours to
explore, read, take a swim in the elephant drinking dam and RELAX!
Week Two - Elephant Patrol
On Monday morning volunteer teams
pack the Land Cruisers and leave on elephant patrol. This is an amazing week
where you join the EHRA trackers on a (mostly) vehicle-based patrol traveling
through the area to track the local herds of desert elephants. This week is your reward for all the hard
work on building week.
The aim of this week is to track
the elephants, record data on births, deaths and new elephants, GPS their
positions and take ID shots and notes about each and every elephant. In 2014 we have started a genetics
project to ascertain which bulls are the main breeding animals. This involves collecting elephant dung, which
is something all volunteers will help with!
EHRA believes effective
conservation management is only possible through knowing each elephant
personally, through its physical features and its personality traits, as well
as having accurate and up-to-date information on numbers and movements. This is
particularly important when 'problem' elephants are declared. The information gathered on patrol is entered
onto our online database which maps each herd's movements using Google
Earth. From this we can ascertain which
farms and homesteads elephants visit regularly and therefore may require
protection walls. The database also holds all ID photos of the elephants.
During patrol you sleep at a new
place every evening, depending on where the day's tracking has taken you. You sleep under the stars, and for many
volunteers, this is one of the most magical experiences of the project, and
indeed, of their gap year or career break!
It is unlikely that you will see
many other humans during the week, your company being the areas wildlife!
Aside from elephants, you can
expect to see giraffes, oryx, ostriches, kudu, zebra, springbok and if you are
very lucky black rhino or even leopards or lions, and hundreds of
different birds.
On Thursday afternoon after
spending 4 days and 3 nights out, you travel back to Base Camp to spend your last night in the desert if you are with EHRA for only 2 weeks.
Friday morning you say your
goodbyes and climb in the Land Cruiser for the journey back to Swakopmund. Friday nights are always a fun night out
where we all eat together in one of the local restaurants.
Swakopmund
Swakopmund is a great little town,
safe, by the sea, surrounded by sand dunes and with lots of activities to keep
you entertained, such as skydiving, kayaking, dolphin watching and sand boarding
to name only a few. There are lots of cafes, interesting shops, restaurants, a few
bars and even a cinema! For anyone traveling onwards through Namibia we can
also help you to plan your trip and recommend the best agents, car rentals, places
to stay and to see.
If you would like to get in touch
with a past volunteer to hear first hand about their experience please do let
us know.
