African Wildlife Photography And Conservation Highlights

The highlights

• Improve your photography skills in a 3 day intensive course taught by an award winning professional photographer
• Spend many hours in the bush, taking pictures of the Big 5 on game drives
• Learn and photograph smaller species of flora and fauna on bush walks
• Help to create a photo database for awareness and educational purposes
• Help raise awareness in the local community about the importance of conservation
• Get involved in local conservation projects within a World Heritage Site
• Immerse yourself in the local Zulu culture
• Make friends for life

Optional activities and excursions

• Weekend Photography Tour to the Drakensberg Mountains
• Game drives in the beautiful Hluhluwe and Umfolozi National Parks
• Visits to the beach, and snorkelling at Cape Vidal
• Whale, dolphin and sea turtle viewing (seasonal)
• Deep sea fishing
• Boat cruises on the St. Lucia Estuary
• Weekend trips to the stunning Phinda Private Game Reserve
• Weekend trips swimming with dolphins in Mozambique

Where will I sleep?

During your placement, you will stay at our large and comfortable project house situated in St. Lucia located a 10 min walk to the beach. It is a fully furnished house with a large lounge, satellite television, barbeque area, garden, swimming pool, and a jacuzzi. The house is staffed with cooks and laundry / cleaning ladies. All bedding is provided, so you will not need to bring a sleeping bag with you, although sometimes it is useful in the colder months (June – September). You will be sharing a bedroom with one to four people. Members of our African Impact team will be staying on the same property, so that they are always available to assist you with any questions or issues you may have.

We find that volunteers living together and working closely together with their volunteer coordinators is the surest way of ensuring their safety, and of being able to attend to their most pressing needs. For this reason, we expect all volunteers to stay only in the accommodation provided for them and do not allow volunteers to spend nights away in the town or nearby villages, unless they are away on pre-arranged sightseeing excursions.

Project Meals:

You will be provided with three meals a day. Breakfast is on a help-yourself basis and usually consists of cereals, toast, tea and coffee. Lunch and dinner are full meals, and will be cooked for you by one of our chefs at your volunteer house.

How do I get there and travel around?

The nearest airport to St. Lucia is Richards Bay Airport, which is about a forty five minute drive from St. Lucia. There are daily flights from Johannesburg to Richards Bay and these can be booked online at www.flysaa.com

You will be picked up from the airport by one of your project managers.

What does the cost include?

• The project fee entails financing that goes directly back into the project that you are involved with. It facilitates funding for items such as educational materials for the schools and tools for conservation work
• Transport between Richards Bay Airport and St. Lucia
• Orientation program, including a photography course administered by an experienced wildlife photographer
• All daily transfers to and from your projects during your stay
• Full board and lodging, which includes 3 meals a day at our volunteer house
• Laundry service during your stay
• Assistance at your projects by African Impact staff and volunteer coordinators
• Any visits to other African Impact programmes based in St. Lucia

• Personal travel insurance for the duration of your placement (expected to include cover for repatriation)
• All transport by air or bus to Richards Bay
• All items of a personal nature, such as curios, gifts, clothing (work and other)
• E-mail / Internet and telephone calls
• Soft drinks, wines and spirits
• All visas for border crossings
• Any excursions over-and-above your planned itinerary in St. Lucia

Do I need experience, is there orientation?

For this project, enthusiasm for photography and African wildlife is essential. Photographic knowledge and experience is helpful, but not necessary. This project has been established for all levels of ability from complete beginners to professionals. Please note that you will be taught how to edit your photos on Photoshop and spend a good deal of time during the 4 weeks editing your images – for this reason a basic level of computer literacy is required in order to participate.

Upon arrival in St. Lucia you will have a comprehensive three-day orientation program, which is included in your fee. This is facilitated by your project volunteer coordinator and includes:

• A 3-day wildlife photography course taught by an award winning photographer
• Overview of the aims of the project and your role as a volunteer
• And introduction to St. Lucia and its surrounding areas
• A brief introduction to all our other projects that we are involved in St Lucia
• Optional basic language lessons - You will learn some basic words & sentences in Zulu, the local language in St. Lucia
• At the orientation, you will also receive and be talked through our detailed “Welcome Pack��?, which will contain further useful information for your time with us and is available for you to read at any time
• An introduction to the Green Vision Foundation and the Photographic database

Project Support:
Throughout your stay at your placement you will have the support and guidance of experienced field-workers and coordinators. They are part of our greater African Impact support team, and will provide you with competent 24-hour field support and assistance.

A day in the life

Here is how a typical day in the life of a St. Lucia photography project volunteer might take shape. Please note that your itineraries may differ from this, depending on your own experience and the number of other volunteers on the placement at the same time; this is simply to give an example:

• 07:30 - Get up, eat breakfast, and start getting ready for your project
• 08:30 - Head off to the photography area for that day and start taking photographs of wildlife. You may focus on finding different animals on different days through a varied programme of bush walks and game drives
• 12:30 - Lunchbreak. You will be picked up, and taken to your volunteer house, where lunch will be waiting for you
• 14.00 - Start of your afternoon projects. You may be working on adding your new pictures to the database, or you may work on a conservation activity with local children
• 16.30 - End of the working day. You will be picked up from your project and taken home, where you will evaluate the day with fellow volunteers and project coordinators, and discuss the schedule for the next day
• 18.30 - Dinner at your volunteer house. After dinner, you may be presenting your top 5 images to the other volunteers