About i-to-i What i-to-i trips and TEFL are, how and why we do what we do!
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About i-to-i What i-to-i trips and TEFL are, how and why we do what we do!
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Set in over 30,000 hectares of African wilderness this project in particular will delight wildlife lovers with rhinos, elephants and leopards all wandering by (but hopefully not too close!). Lions will be your primary focus though, and you’ll have the opportunity to actively monitor a lion pride and get up close to these amazing animals. Recently the research has expanded to include Rhinos and Elephants and these studies are combined with the focus on the Lions in the reserve making for an even richer experience. Your help is vital for the immediate and long term success of the project, so your contribution, like your memories, will last long after you return home.
You will be met at the airport and taken to Pretoria Backpacker’s hostel in Pretoria. You’ll need to arrive in before 4.15pm so that you’re all ready for the orientation which kicks off at 5pm. The journey from the airport to Pretoria should take around 45 minutes. The orientation is a crucial part of settling in to life in South Africa and will take you through what it’s going to be like at your project, do’s and don’ts, how to stay safe and it’s your prime opportunity to ask any burning questions that you haven’t yet had answered. After the orientation you’ll have some time to relax and prepare before your first day at the project tomorrow.
If you aren’t able to arrange a flight to get you into Johannesburg before 4.15pm then we’d recommend you fly in a day early. We can arrange an early airport pick-up for you including one night’s accommodation , please give us a call for more information.
Today you’ll jump on an early morning bus from Pretoria to Phalaborwa. At the end of your 7 hour journey the team will meet you and take you to the project. You’ll have the rest of the day to settle in. Take your time, because this is your home for the next few weeks!
The first day will be all about settling in and getting to know how things work. The team at the project will be on hand for you to ask any questions and to get to know them.
Daily life starts with getting up at the laid back hour of either 4 or 5am (ouch!). Everything is done with the animals in mind, so the time you wake up depends on where the lions are! Lions are the priority of the research and it’s important that they are tracked and located every day as part of ongoing monitoring of their introduction into the reserve. You’ll leave camp in your 4X4 car armed with the telemetry kit, data recording set, spotlight for catching the glint of an eye in the early morning night and the most important item; a box with hot coffee and snacks for the mid morning pit stop.
But it isn’t just about the lions. The elephants, rhinos, zebras, leopards, wildebeest, eagles, vultures, elands, kudus and many more amazing animals will all play a significant part in your daily life. You will spend hours every day getting the chance to see and be part of these animals environment and you realise how amazingly formed they are for the land that they live in. The sun gets too hot to be out in at midday so you’ll head back to the lodge anytime between 9am – 11am.
On a typical day you will attend two research drives per day (morning and evening), with additional research being conducted during the day as and where necessary. When you’re not out on drives or inputting data on the computer, there’ll be plenty of other tasks that need attention such as basic maintenance of the accommodation and surrounding areas. Past volunteers have built a new wall around the shower block, ripped up old carpets and cleared areas to make way for new exciting areas for the accommodation. This is totally optional but will be great for team building and tanning those arms and legs!
Say your goodbyes as the project team drop you back at Phalaborwa to catch your return bus to Pretoria. Your return bus ticket to Pretoria is included in your project fee.
Because the journey back takes 7 hours, we recommend you book your flights home to depart late in the evening on your last day of your trip, or even the day after. If you need an overnight stay in Pretoria, our team can help you to arrange this.
Return transfer from Pretoria to the airport is not included but our team will be able to advise you of the best route depending on your onward travel after the project, the costs will be around US$20.
This research programme was developed in 2004 with the aim of monitoring behaviour patterns, movement and the impact on prey and predator species that reintroduced lions have on the reserve.
The overall aim of the Lion monitoring expeditions is to learn more about their behaviour and produce a detailed annual report that will enable the reserve owners and managers to determine the carrying capacity and sustainability of large predators on the reserve. If there are too many lions and not enough animals lower down in the food chain, the reserve cannot operate in a natural way. Therefore occasionally Selati has to manage the animals in the reserve. They do this by careful live capture and transfer of animals or using trained hunters to lower the numbers of specific animals.
Recently the research has been expanded to include Rhino and Elephant studies within the reserve creating a more detailed and fascinating picture of the interaction between the different species. In addition the research programme is currently expanding and is hoping to incorporate the illusive leopard as well as helping the reserve monitor its vegetation communities.
The stunning Selati reserve is a 30,000 hectare habitat boasting high concentrations of wildlife. The park has around 90 elephants, 50 rhinos, numerous leopards and plentiful game species.
A pride of lions was introduced to the reserve in 2004 and a specific programme is needed to monitor all aspects of their behaviour and habits to allow reserve managers to assess their impact on the reserve. The aim of the research is to produce detailed reports on the feeding ecology of large predators and to determine the capacity of the reserve to sustain large animals.
This is a unique opportunity to get involved with a pioneering research programme and gain knowledge from highly trained staff. This is a chance for you to learn skills such as tracking collared lions using radio telemetry, navigation techniques, using a GPS, animal identification and gain an awareness of the fauna and flora in the area.
Forget the noisy confusion of normal life and settle into the laid back ways of the bush. With only the sounds of the birds and the wind, you’ll truly have the chance to find calm again and appreciate the hours as they tick to a slower rhythm.
The results of the research you'll be helping with and your direct involvement in the project will allow reserve managers to make well-informed decisions about how to manage the animal populations of the game reserve.
Once trained, you will generally be out in the game drive vehicle twice a day, tracking, spotting and then observing and recording the lions' behaviour. The hours vary depending on lion movement and activity so you could be out late into the night. During the heat of the day, you will find yourself entering the data you have collected from the field, becoming involved in reserve or house maintenance or getting involved with the other research programmes conducted on the reserve.
Your project fee not only goes towards your food, accommodation, and full training but also is also crucial in funding and maintaining the research programme.
Please note that if you’re going on any of the projects based in large reserves all clothes worn in the reserve should be in neutral colours that will blend easily into the background. For these projects binoculars will also be a good addition to your kit list. Past volunteers have found taking a pocket knife/pen knife quite useful.
Please note that the weather can become quite cold during the months of May to September, please remember to bring some warm clothes with you.
It may seem like a strange concept to pay for your volunteer experience. You'd be right if you think you shouldn't and the truth is you actually don't! Your placement is free; it's the benefits around it that you pay for. It's important to note that i-to-i is a travel company and not a charity. We provide a professional travel service. We are responsible for finding and assessing worthwhile projects across the world, preparing you fora the volunteering experience and supporting you whilst you're there.
Here’s some more information about what your placement fee covers….
We work with hundreds of locally run partner projects around the world and are constantly sourcing new opportunities. We visit all projects to check that they are worthwhile and legitimate and we also conduct a thorough safety assessment before we'll send volunteers there. More
Almost everyone who works for i-to-i has traveled extensively or worked overseas. This means we're a goldmine of information; we're always available to offer support and guidance before, during and after your trip.
Once you book on to a project you'll receive a Welcome Pack that contains loads of general information about volunteering, about your chosen country and how to have fun and stay safe. We'll also give you advice on visas and inoculations.
It can be pretty daunting arriving in a different country for the first time - especially after a long flight! If you arrive on your project start date, there'll be a welcoming face at the airport to pick you up and take you to your accommodation.
Soon after you arrive you will attend a thorough orientation with our in-country team. This is to cover important safety and security information. You'll also get some tips about sight-seeing options for your time off and maybe even learn some of the local lingo!
Accommodation is included with all projects and meals are even included with some. We only use locally-owned and operated accommodation so that part of your placement fee is filtering back into the local economy. Most projects offer homestay, guesthouse or shared volunteer houses as standard accommodation, but some offer the chance to upgrade to a more comfortable living standard. More
Your in-country team will arrange a pick-up for you at the airport and will conduct your orientation upon arrival. All coordination teams are English speaking and are locals of your destination country. They won't be at your project every day, but will be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you need them. More
Aside from the local support from your in-country team you'll be given access to a 24/7 emergency phone line manned by our response team in case any problem should arise while you're overseas. We also hire crisis management professionals to be on hand in case of a situation that requires additional expert support. More
The safety and security of our volunteers is paramount. For this reason we provide ongoing crisis management and emergency response training to our local teams around the world. We also fly in our in-country coordinators to the UK regularly for thorough training to help them offer the best safety to the thousands of volunteers they support each year. More
We don't fund our projects directly from the project fee that you pay us. Instead we choose to support a number of projects every year through a grant scheme for tangible long-term initiatives. In the last 3 years we have distributed over US$250,000 to our most needy projects to help them in the great work they do.
We make no secrets of the fact that part of your placement fee is reinvested in to recruiting volunteers just like you! The volunteers recruited in one week will typically deliver over 2000 man-days of service. The difference this makes to projects overseas is immeasurable. Many of our overseas projects rely on assistance from international volunteers, so it's necessary for us to put together brochures and websites to find the people who can support them. This recruitment process is vital to ensure programs have a constant stream of reliable volunteers.
Volunteering through a company like i-to-i has a lot of intangible benefits to developing overseas communities and the individual projects that we work with. To find out more about our placements. click here
The following information details what will happen during the first few days of your arrival. We aim to provide you with a safe and soft landing into your destination by picking you up from the airport, giving you an orientation that helps to settle you into the country as quickly as possible. This is also the best time to ask any questions you have about your time in South Africa.
You will arrive on the Arrival Date - Monday and will be met at the airport (we recommend you arrive before 16.00 in order to attend your orientation at 17.00).
You will be taken to the Pretoria Backpackers (see contact details below) where you will have the first day/night to recover from your flight.
The hostel has a bar that also serves food and an internet terminal so that you can write home if you need to. It is located within walking distance of the main shops if you wish to have a wander – just ask at reception for directions.
Note: If you are arriving early and making your own arrangement please be at the address
below on the arrival date before 17.00 for your orientation:
Pretoria Backpackers
425 Farenden Street
Clydesdale
South Africa
+27 (0)12 343 9754
http://www.pretoriabackpackers.net/home/
Your orientation will take place at 17:00 on the arrival date at Pretoria Backpackers and will introduce you to life in South Africa as well as important information about staying healthy and safe. The orientation will be held as an informal session with some fun things too!
You will stay at Pretoria Backpackers on Monday night before transferring to your permanent accommodation on the Tuesday. The transfer will be arranged for you by the team; transfers vary according to distance but will be from 1-2 hours up to 8 hours for the Monkey Sanctuary. Tuesday will also be the first day that you meet your project and start working as a volunteer.
From here on in you will spend your time with the project but the in-country team are there if you need them.
It's important that you get adequate travel insurance for your i-to-i experience and as many of you will be working this often means standard policies won’t work. The good news is that no matter where your coming from we have already found a policy to suit you.
The best time to get your insurance is when you book your project as this means you can get a fully tailored policy exclusive to i-to-i, just ask your consultant for further details at the time of booking.
EU Customers – find out more here >>
Australian customers - find out more here >>
All other customers - find out more here >>
As with insurance we advise you get these booked as early as possible to avoid high prices and to make sure you arrive on the right day. The i-to-i team is right up to date with the best deals no matter where you’re flying from; their insider knowledge could save you some time and money.
Early airport pick up is possible to arrange on the day before the listed start date if required. You will be met at Johannesburg International airport and transferred to Pretoria Backpackers for your overnight accommodation. This backpackers is where the
The cost of this Early Pick-up service is US$ 220.00
You will stay in a basic but comfortable farmhouse lodge on the reserve and sleep in shared dormitory style bedrooms. The volunteer house gets frequent visits from elephants and nocturnal wildlife - the lion's roar is often your sunrise wake-up call!
The lodge is communal with backpacker-style bedrooms and a communal lapa (thatched roof) and braai area - two words you will become extremely familiar with! Bedding is not provided so you should pack a sleeping bag. There is a safe at the farmhouse which you are able to use.
Food is provided and you will take turns to prepare food for the group and complete house duties on a daily basis. There will be the opportunity to take a trip to town when the staff go to replenish stocks. You’ll find most amenities are available in town, including a supermarket, internet café, and public telephones. At weekends in your free time you might want to hire a car, the project staff will be able to assist you with this.
The house is equipped with solar electricity and paraffin lights are available when necessary. There are facilities to charge batteries and cell phones. You’ll be expected to complete house duties on a daily basis. A 'donkey boiler' provides hot running water for most part of the day.
We recommend you’re back at your accommodation in the evenings before dark, due to the active wildlife at night.
All necessary resources are provided for you but you may wish to bring items for your own entertainment such as playing cards, books and personal music players - you won't find a TV to entertain you here!. Please note that on reserve projects you will be up early and at night when it can be chilly even in the summer months so be sure to bring some warm clothes with you.
Tap water in South Africa is generally safe to drink but you may wish to bring your own drinking bottle and buy your own bottled water.
A mosquito net isn’t necessary unless you plan to travel through the Kruger area as this is a Malaria zone.
The farmhouse you will be staying at is located inside the Selati Reserve.
Your accommodation is inside the project, in fact you will be so close that you can often hear the wildlife right outside your window!
A journey into South Africa’s history is to haul through periods of racial tension, oppression and hope. Its multicultural mix originates from the earliest settlers, the San (also known as Bushmen) and Khoi-Khoi tribes, followed by Bantu-speaking groups, and through to the swarm of European traders. The Dutch were among the first European settlers and arrived in the 17th century, establishing their presence through their own dialect, Afrikaan, and religion in the form of the Dutch Reformed Church. By the end of the 18th century, the British began to push their presence forward into the country’s towns. It was a period of flared tensions with Zulu chief Shaka renouncing war on neighbouring tribes. Meanwhile, the Boers (Dutch Afrikaner farmers) and the British became locked in conflict; the Anglo-Boer War lasted from 1899 to 1902, ending with the British taking control of the Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State (OFS) and consequently ruling the country.
By 1910, the Union of South Africa was created and gave political power to whites, while blacks set up political parties in protest, the African National Congress (ANC) the best known. It ushered in the beginnings of apartheid, which became widely ingrained after the Afrikaner National Party came to power in 1948. Violence against protests from blacks was enforced and the black population were evicted to so-called Homelands. In the 1960s, leaders of the ANC were imprisoned, notably Nelson Mandela, and the country became isolated having left the Commonwealth and declaring its republic status. After a long period of racial divide and conflict, in 1989 FW de Klerk came to power with the aim to rid the country of apartheid and instil democracy. The following year, Mandela was released from prison and in 1994 became president after the ANC won the country’s first non-racial general elections; the country also returned to the Commonwealth. The country’s democratic stance has steered it toward a more harmonious future, though economic inequalities between whites and blacks exist, but as the most developed economy on the continent it is in a good position to reconcile with its past.
Naturally, South Africa’s seasons are the reverse of the northern hemisphere with summer heat burning from November to March and cooler winter temperatures from June to August. Temperature wise, spring (September to October) and autumn (April to May) provide a happy medium. Certain must-do activities are restricted to specific times of year: safari is best from June to September and the whale watching season is June to December. The busiest time, hence the most expensive, is during the summer months, while the major school holidays are during December and Easter.
Given the distances involved, flying is the most convenient way to travel between the main destinations, while land transportation can efficiently pick up the rest of the mileage for exploration in and around. There are an assortment of domestic carriers to choose from that fly the main routes, with most running from Johannesburg or Cape Town; these include South African Airways, Nationwide Airlines, Kulula and 1Time. Booking early is advisable to secure discounted rates.
There country also boasts a comprehensive bus network that covers the main cities; the road trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town is around 20 hours (compared to a 2 hour in a plane). The main bus companies are Translux, Greyhound and Intercape. Baz Bus is aimed at the backpacker crowd and provides a hop-on, hop-off service and also travels to remote areas. It’s a good way to discover the picturesque patch of coastline that is the Garden Route, which it services en route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.
Train travel can work out longer than by bus, with the trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town edging toward almost 30 hours. If you’re after a little luxury, try the Blue Train or the Rovos Rail for a taste of stylish travel.
Car rental is an attractive option thanks to the good road conditions, great scenery and the flexibility driving allows. The big car rental companies like Avis and Budget have outlets and it’s essential to be fully insured and have a valid driver’s licence. It’s also a convenient way to get around cities as public transport can be unsafe.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s website provides up-to-date political news, travel advice and information on visas
The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA)
Bus company Baz Bus
Domestic airline 1Time
Bus company Greyhound
Bus company Intercape
Domestic airline Kulula
Nationwide Airlines
South African Airways
Bus company Translux
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We work in partnership with hundreds of established projects that are run by local communities. The information on our website comes directly from the projects and we work with them to ensure this information is as accurate as possible. However, due to the very nature of the projects themselves the exact details of what happens on a daily basis can change with little or no notice. If you have travelled with us and have any updates to this information, please let us know.
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