Frequently Asked Questions
Our Wildlife and Conservation Volunteer Programme and Game Ranger Course can be booked online with live dates. All other programmes (school and youth groups, family volunteering, the hospitality internship and the wildlife veterinary experience for groups of 5 or more) are tailor-made: send us an enquiry and we will come back to you with a quote. See all options on our Book or Enquire page, or call +27 42 203 1400 / email reservations@kwantu.co.za.
Our volunteer packages are all-inclusive: accommodation in single-sex volunteer dorms, three meals a day, scheduled airport transfers from Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), transport and dorm accommodation for the weekend excursion, a Kwantu T-shirt and cap, and dedicated indoor and outdoor volunteer coordinators.
Not included: flights, visas, travel insurance, laundry (small fee per load), internet use, private transfers and personal spending money.
The Wildlife and Conservation Volunteer Programme is open from age 16. The Game Ranger Course, Hospitality Internship and Wildlife Veterinary Experience are for ages 18 and older (the veterinary experience is for groups of 5 or more). Family and School/Youth programmes welcome children from age 7, accompanied by parents, teachers or guardians.
New volunteers arrive on Mondays. Our scheduled shuttle leaves Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) for Kwantu at about 16:00 on Mondays, and departing volunteers leave Kwantu on Saturdays at about 09:00. Shuttles wait for the group, so departure times are set by the earliest flight. Private transfers can be arranged at an extra cost.
If you are not arriving by plane, please meet us no later than 15:00 at Al-Beit Lodge, 49 Admiralty Way, Summerstrand, Gqeberha.
Volunteers work Monday to Friday in groups of up to 10, each led by an outdoor coordinator. Working hours vary between our summer and winter programmes; at the moment the day starts at about 09:00 after breakfast, runs until 12:00, and continues from 14:00 to 16:00 after lunch. We adjust these times from time to time. Activities depend on the weather and season, so the weekly itinerary can change.
Volunteers stay in single-sex dorms at Kubs Quarters or Mafusa Camp. Couples can be accommodated together at an extra cost, subject to availability. All meals are served at the Mafusa dining area.
Weekends are free. We offer an optional weekend excursion to Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), with transport and dorm accommodation provided. You are also welcome to stay on the reserve and relax, or make your own plans at your own cost (please sign out at reception).
No. There is no animal interaction at Kwantu. Volunteers do not touch, feed, hold or handle any animals. Kwantu is a free-roaming Big 5 reserve where the animals live in their natural state, and there is no hunting. You will see wildlife on game drives and take part in the conservation work that protects it.
Kwantu is a strictly non-alcoholic environment for volunteers, smoking is not allowed in the dorms or around animals, and dorms are single-sex. Some areas, such as the predator enclosures and the wider reserve, may only be visited with a coordinator, and the gates are locked from 19:00 to 07:00.
Yes. Laundry is done on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a small fee per load. Internet is available at set times each day for a small fee.
Game Reserve
Just like Kwantu: A Game reserve is a large area of land with a wonderful geographical nature, where world animals lives safely, and where we can find strange world animals.
Safari
The word safari was brought from an Arabic word Safara, which mean a journey or travelling around a certain area to observe. In 2003 Steve Jobs announced that Apple had developed a web browser and named it Safari meaning browsing around the internet to observe. So then the word Safari is now used to refer travelling around African Game Reserves or National Parks, to observe and photograph wildlife—or hiking and sightseeing, as well.
Conclusion
The difference between Game Reserve and Safari is only that, a Game Reserve as a place while Safari is a journey often to observe and photograph wildlife in that place (Game Reserve).
Kwantu Game Reserve is a home of world-life, that has different kinds of strange animals. It is a land that is rich in terms of geographical nature. So it is a place that school pupils from different parts of the world can came and find lot of things to learn about. And it is good for education researches.
Also Kwantu have lecture rooms that accommodate about 500 people, including dedicated lounges, finished with attractive comfortable couches and bed rooms. Which is good for a large number of pupils` educational group visits.
Kwantu Private Game Reserve is located in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Between Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Makhanda (Grahamstown). It is 90 kilometres away from Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) town. Kwantu is along the banks of the Bushman’s River – a mere hour’s drive from Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
South African entry is straightforward and hassle-free, all visitors to South Africa must be in possession of a valid passport in order to enter the country and in some cases, a visa. The Department of Home Affairs’ website provides information on: visa costs, processing time, where to apply and the requirements.
Kwantu Private Game Reserve is in a malaria free and bilharzia free region. And has access to professional medical facilities within half an hour. Also it is fully equipped with health instruments in terms of anything that might comes up. So you don`t have to take some special medical precautions; You only need to bring your personal medical needs.
A passport and current drivers license is all required to hire a motor vehicle in South African.