Game ranges south africa

To further my conservation studies and eventually to become a reserve manager. Advice for someone starting out in your field? Respect nature and animals in their natural habitat. If you want to become a game ranger, be persistent.

Look for ways to volunteer with animal welfare and conservation organisations in your local community. Get a feel for how you engage with animals and how they engage with you.

Remember also that conservation is not only about animals but also about the environment, so look for ways to get involved in green projects like recycling and other environmentally friendly initiatives.

Be persistent in your studies. It is necessary to study subjects such as ecology or nature conservation at a university or college to obtain a degree or diploma to become a game ranger.

The practical part of the course is usually conducted in a hands-on wildlife and nature-based training programme. It is beneficial to register with the Field Guides Association of South Africa FGASA , which also offers a learning syllabus covering a large variety of topics including animal behaviour, birds, reptiles and amphibians, botany and grasses, ecology, astronomy, and survival. University of the Witwatersrand Bachelor of Science: Zoology www.

University of Pretoria Bachelor of Science: Zoology www. You will receive a tourist stamp upon arrival allowing you stay in the country for free for up to 90 days. You need to make sure your passport is valid for a minimum of 30 days after you leave South Africa. Most of our volunteers are independent travellers and you will become part of a group of people from around the world here. It is fine to travel with friends or as part of a small group too however- more the merrier!

We are happy to sign off your completion of this programme to show that you have achieved the Residential section of the Gold Award. You should visit your doctor or travel nurse to find out what vaccinations you will need. Your routine vaccinations will need to be up to date; hepatitis A and Typhoid are likely. Please check below for where the closest hospital to the project is- your doctor may ask to know this so that they can provide information on rabies. There is good access to pharmacies, doctors surgeries, first aid clinics and hospitals in and around Port Elizabeth.

Safety is the main priority here as you will be living in a reserve full of wildlife. The accommodation is in a large and fully enclosed area away from the main reserve.

When working out on the reserve you will always be accompanied by a member of staff, whether that be a game ranger or an other expert in the field. You will receive a health and safety briefing on each different activity that you undertake to ensure that you understand it fully. It is at the far end of the Garden Route linking it to Cape Town. This makes it very much on the tourist trails and you will not feel out of place here! The city is very modern with large shopping malls, a beautiful promenade and great free time activities.

During your weekends you are free to go to Port Elizabeth, where safe accommodation is located in the leafy suburbs of the city. Crime in South Africa is mainly concentrated in the larger townships of the country however you are advised not to walk alone at night time and to take a taxi back to the accommodation if you have been out and about at night time. The streets are less well lit in South Africa than you might be used to at home.

There is wifi access available but this can be intermittent. You will need to take a device to be able to connect to it. Please bear in mind that you are in Africa, and signal and speed are unlikely to be as reliable as you might be used to back at home. Your project is Monday — Friday, with evenings and weekends generally free. That being said, as you are working to pass your exam, you will find that several evenings and weekends will be spent studying or learning more from the game rangers.

If you are keen to do some organised travel after your project, we are pleased to be able to offer you a Garden Route tour. This lasts for 6 days and takes you from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town with some exciting stops in between.

The trip only leaves on selected dates each year, and as such you will need to coincide the end of your programme with the beginning of the tour. To find out more about this, and see the upcoming dates, visit our Garden Route tour page.

Supervision will be fairly intensive during the first few days, when you will receive a thorough induction and work-related training. Once you are comfortable with things, you might not always have a supervisor working alongside you, but there will always be staff and other volunteers around to help, and you will always be accompanied for any high risk activities. This will start from the moment you are picked up from the airport until the time you are dropped back to Port Elizabeth.

This is also true if you choose to leave the project during your time off. We will give you plenty of guidance and advice about this. Oyster has personally hand-picked some of the best volunteering projects out there. With so much amazing choice, it can be hard to make a decision. Our Animal Welfare Destination Manager, Anne, has written a guide to help you to choose the best animal volunteering project for you.

Got a question or want to chat to Project Manager Georgie who has first-hand experience of the project? Set arrival dates every year. Whilst late-availability is possible, we would advise booking as soon as possible to guarantee your ideal dates. We are a highly experienced gap and responsible travel organisation that has been sending volunteers and paid workers to diverse and exciting destinations around the world since Our project pages are packed full of information that you may require before booking a place with us.

Many game rangers hold diplomas in nature conservation or have bachelor's degrees majoring in the natural sciences zoology, biology, conservation ecology, wildlife management, botany etc.

This list is not exhaustive but may provide you with some idea of some of the tertiary courses on offer in the field of nature conservation. Southern African Wildlife College: www. College of African Wildlife Management: www. Tshwane University of Technology: www.

Field rangers work at the "coal face" of conservation. They work in protected areas across Africa and are tasked with, amongst other things, ensuring the territorial and biological integrity of these wild places.

GBP rates are indications of approx recent values. Currency convertor at www. Please bear in mind that the sooner you apply, the better your chances of securing your placement! Arrangements will be made for the Amakhala staff to collect incoming participants from either the Port Elizabeth airport or bus station R ZAR each way.

Amakhala is approximately 70 kms 45 minutes from Port Elizabeth. Flights and buses can be booked online at www. This module 17 will cover the absolute basics in terms of the topics included, and is thus only a very brief introduction to conservation management and historical human habitation of Southern Africa.

The historical human habitation section of this module will include the following:. Course Activities In the early days of guiding, guides were referred to as "Game Rangers. On completion of the course, an optional theoretical and practical examination can be taken. Transport The closest town to Amakhala is Port Elizabeth.