Types of volunteering vacation in Namibia

Volunteering projects in Namibia focus on the country’s diverse wildlife, so you’ll leave Windhoek or Swakopmund behind and head into remote landscapes, to work in an animal sanctuary or track elephants or cheetahs. Conservation projects usually include some building work or other manual labour, too, either around the animal sanctuary or out in the community, where you might be protecting villagers’ wells from thirsty elephants, for example. Responsible volunteering organisations offer fully vetted placements that genuinely benefit wildlife and the community, and they know each project inside out, so ask lots of questions and find the right one for you.

Namibia’s cheetahs and other big cats are at constant risk of being killed by local farmers who regard them as a threat to livestock. Carnivore conservation projects hope to solve this issue by gathering data that demonstrates how big cats are not a threat. Volunteers help monitor large carnivores in a fence-free wildlife reserve, contributing to ongoing and invaluable research. A typical day might include game counts, camera trap setting and collecting, footprint collecting, spoor counts, helping with capture and release, and radio telemetry tracking of collared animals.

“The average age of our volunteers is quite young, with most being in their 20s. We do still have older volunteers join, and I always say to those looking to volunteer that the most important thing is you have a passion for wildlife and conservation, and that you travel with the mindset of giving back to an experience rather than taking something from it. This way, no matter the age of the volunteers, everyone will have a common goal.”

“Working at a wildlife sanctuary offers a very different experience than working ‘out in the field’. At a sanctuary, volunteers work around wildlife on a daily basis and have the opportunity to see animals close-up on a regular basis, as they are usually working to help rehabilitate them for future release or care for those that cannot be released. When working in the field, volunteers are mostly conducting research on released and wild animal populations. Where possible, we recommend combining time volunteering at a sanctuary and also in the field at research and release sites, which is something you can do at the Namibia Wildlife Sanctuary. This lets volunteers better understand the whole process of wildlife conservation across Namibia, from understanding human-wildlife conflict, to rescue and rehabilitation, release and monitoring.”

“The fee paid by volunteers goes toward a variety of aspects including airport transfers, accommodation, three meals per day and a donation to the project. This contributes to paying for food for the animals, veterinary care, enclosure construction and maintenance, rescue and release efforts and staffing among many other things.”