by the Safari Dispatch team
Volunteering / Conservation & research

Vulture conservation, Southern Drakensberg

Wildlife ACT
Maloti-Drakensberg Park buffer zone, near Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa · Conservation & research
YOU PAY
R25,916 for 2 weeks
Then R21,135 for each extra 2 weeks. The Durban airport shuttle is extra, about R1,800 each way.
LENGTH
From 2 weeks, starting on a Monday
MINIMUM AGE
18
INCLUDED
Accommodation in a farmhouse with food (volunteers cook for themselves). The shuttle from Durban airport costs extra (about R1,800 each way).
WHO IT SUITS
Reasonably fit volunteers aged 18 to 65+: nest monitoring involves hiking. Small groups.

Bearded and Cape vultures are in trouble in the Drakensberg, mostly from poisoning and power lines. Wildlife ACT’s team here monitors the birds and keeps their safe feeding sites going, with volunteers working alongside.

What volunteers do

  • Watch and record vulture nests, mainly from May to November, which means hiking and long hours of observation
  • Keep the vulture-safe feeding sites stocked and record which birds use them
  • Set up and service camera traps, and catalogue the footage
  • Help with poisoning call-outs and clearing invasive plants
HOW TO APPLY

Apply on Wildlife ACT’s own website.

Go to Wildlife ACT’s application page ↗Read the full programme page ↗
  • Say which dates you have in mind and how long you can stay.
  • Tell them a little about yourself: your work, any useful skills, and why this programme.
  • Ask what the cost covers and what it doesn’t (flights, transfers, visas, insurance).
  • Ask what they advise about visas or permits for volunteering in that country.
Applications go straight to Wildlife ACT. We never take a fee.

We list this programme from Wildlife ACT’s own website, last checked 15 Oct 2026. Costs and dates change, so confirm them with Wildlife ACT before you book.

Applications go straight to the programme, never through us, and we never take a fee. Do you run Vulture conservation, Southern Drakensberg? Email editor@safaridispatch.com to update this listing or have it removed.