anyone interested in working on a game reserve

Projects Abroad runs a nature reserve in the wilderness of the Southern African Bushveld, called Legodimo. We are right on the frontier of South Africa and Botswana and elephants visit the swimming pool at our remote but comfortable lodge next to the River Limpopo. From zebras to eagles, from kudu to porcupines, this is the heart of wild Africa.

Conservation is not easy in Southern Africa where drought, deforestation, desertification and land degradation are major environmental problems. Reserves like Legodimo are essential havens for wildlife and important sites for research into effective conservation protocols.

Our reserve is near the southern end of a string of "frontier collaboration" reserves going right along the South African frontiers with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Just recently they were all joined up, creating a true wildlife path. The elephants have wandered into Legodimo in great numbers. When will the lions follow? We expect it to be soon. We have seen the first signs.

These "frontier collaboration" reserves are of global importance for conservation, and you can get involved with vital conservation work by volunteering with Projects Abroad. You do not need previous experience - expertise and experience are always welcome but not essential in much of our work. Volunteers are welcome on a gap year, a career break, for university research, or as part of a summer vacation.

The main activities you have the opportunity to get involved in include:
•    Erosion control and soil reclamation in risk areas
•    Alien plant control and removal, and bush clearing in encroached areas
•    Building of new structures such as bird hides and elephant mud baths
•    Game censuses
•    Removal of fences to open up old migration routes across the Limpopo
•    Monitoring elephant migration and impact on the bio-diversity of the reserves
•    Species lists - especially of Limpopo birdlife in partnership with other groups
•    GPS of existing roads and mapping of the game reserve
•    Protection of Inyala, Baobab, Marula and fever trees and 'tree wrapping' to prevent elephant damage

Data collected across these projects is used to gain a greater understanding of the populations and their migration habits, which is passed on to various co-operating groups.

Volunteers will spend the majority of their time at Legodimo but you may also get the chance to work in other locations such as the Mapungubwe Trans-frontier Park in South Africa, followed by a day or two learning GPS techniques and wild dog or elephant tracking skills at Venetia Game Reserve. Alternatively, you might find yourself spending a week removing alien plants or practicing your new tracking skills on leopards, lions, African Wild dogs (Cape Hunting dog) and elephants in the Limpopo-Shashe Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA).

Due to the absolute wildness of this reserve, volunteers are never to leave camp without a qualified member of staff, so the group makes weekly trips to town to use the internet, call home, help re-stock the fridge and get hold of anything you've been craving since the last trip. In your spare time, volunteers can climb the enormous ancient Baobab tree (which seats 20!) for a classic African sunset and superb game viewing spot, or swim in the river, or even have a go on the zip line we've rigged up!

Accommodation at base camp is in large but basic bedrooms surrounding a large open air communal area with a fire pit and kitchen facilities, where much of the food is cooked over a traditional open Braai - a kind of barbeque. Hot water showers and toilets are open to the stars with traditional termite-mud walls. There are also opportunities to camp when working at some of the other national parks.

Living in the heart of our own reserve on the Botswana side of the Limpopo River, on the very frontier with South Africa, you will be in the midst of a wild landscape teeming with animals. The scenery is stunning, and our fully qualified staff ensures both safety and that all our volunteers are well informed about their surroundings. A visit to Legodimo is a chance of a lifetime.

This project is available for two weeks if you don't have time to join us for a month or more. Although you will gain a valuable cultural insight and work intensely on a variety of conservation activities please be aware that you may not be able to make the same impact as someone volunteering for a longer period.

0845 344 7562

Help, Learn, Explore. You can do all of these with Projects Abroad. We organise flexible volunteering programmes in the developing world. We have sent 20,000 volunteers away to 23 different countries since 1992. We offer projects such as Teaching, Care, Conservation, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Journalism, Business, Law and Human Rights amongst others.