Samara Private Game Reserve is a hub of conservation and animal reintroduction efforts in the Great Karoo basin. Samara offers volunteers of all ages the opportunity to get their hands dirty in a unique SA bush experience.
Samara Volunteer Programme
Individuals who sign up for the Samara Volunteer Programme are involved with ongoing wildlife research and management projects, as well as assist with community development and environmental education programmes.
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As a volunteer you may:
- experience the incredible and unique landscape of the Great Karoo
- contribute to the conservation of this land (plants and animals)
- make a valuable contribution to this ambitious and worthy cause.
- enjoy hands-on involvement in the field.
- learn to respect and admire the wonders of the African bush
Samara Projects
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The projects you will be involved with at Samara include management and rehabilitation efforts, which involve hands-on reserve work, as well as research projects which require data collection and analysis.
Some of the projects volunteers may be involved in:
- Animal movement and population demography research
- Reserve maintenance i.e. fence patrols and building “bomas”
- Land rehabilitation e.g. stone and brush packing and tree planting
- Invasive alien vegetation control.
- Game capture – eland, kudu, oryx and white rhino captures scheduled for 2010
- Game introduction
- Cheetah monitoring
- Tracking academy - Samara is home to the SACT tracking academy run by one of only two Master trackers in South Africa.
- Vervet monkey research
- Community outreach
Other activities include:
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- Camp-outs, star gazing, bush navigation and survival skills.
- Bird surveys
- Educational talks by the reserve manager, rangers and researchers.
- Samara ‘night life’
- Creating a nursery of plants important for the rehabilitation of the land
- The Samara Volunteer Programme is open to all ages. A decent level of fitness will be of benefit.
- Check out the Samara Volunteer Programme Facebook Page
- For further information, including rates, programme duration and accommodation details contact Samara
Here’s what one previous volunteer had to say about her Samara experience…
I heard about the Volunteer Programme via the Samara newsletter. I immediately knew it was something that I wanted to experience, even though I''m certainly not the typical target-market gap year student (I''m a 41-year-old mother of 2, living in Cape Town). But my love of the Karoo is such that I really wanted to learn as much as possible about it''s fauna, flora and general environment.I was really looking forward to the programme, but wasn''t sure how I was going to fit in, with such a young couple as Hayley and Alwyn running the show, and my fellow volunteers also being far on the south side of 30. Well, not only was I welcomed whole-heartedly, but I left Samara at the end of my stay with tears in my eyes, feeling part of a family of dedicated, enthusiastic and committed people. My experience surpassed all my expectations, and this was wholly due to Hayley and Alwyn''s efforts.They made me feel part of the team from the moment I arrived, and were gracious hosts as well as an amazing resource in terms of knowledge about the various aspects of the reserve. They are clearly dedicated conservationists who love their job, and are also extremely personable and great company.I would like to congratulate you on what you have achieved on Samara. It is truly a magical, beautiful place which I would recommend to anyone wishing to experience the best of Karoo hospitality. I was genuinely sad to leave.RegardsA.M