Most of South Africa is free of malaria. There is, however, a risk in the north and north east Mapurnalanga, notably the Kruger National Park as well as north Kwazulu-Natal and in low-lying areas on Swaziland.
The highest risk of infection is during the hot, rainy month from November to April.
Malaria is caused by a parasite carried in the saliva of the female anopheles mosquito. It has a variable incubation period of a few days to several weeks, so you can become ill long after being bitten. The first symptoms of malaria can be mistaken for flu, starting off relatively mildly with a variable combination that includes fever, aching limbs and shivering, which come in waves, usually beginning in the early evening. Deterioration can be rapid as the parasites in the bloodstream proliferate: get medical help without delay if you go down with flu-like symptoms within a week of entering or three months of leaving a malarial area. Malaria is not infectious, but it can be fatal if not treated quickly.
If you are travelling to South Africa please seek medical advice on the recommended anti-malarial drugs you may need to take.
If you are patient, enthusiastic, enjoy working with children and want to gain some valuable volunteer experience, then this worthwhile programme is waiting for you!
This is a unique opportunity to reach and experience the heart of real South Africa in a small community near Cape Town and get involved with the children as you help with their sports activities at the school, one thing is for sure, their enthusiasm will be unbelievable!
Travel to an amazing location in South Africa where you will not only have the opportunity to soak up the wonderful surroundings and lifestyle but also help brighten the lives of orphaned and disadvantaged children in Cape Town
There are hundreds of children in Cape Town’s inner city who live in poverty and are do not have the opportunity of an education and who have to grow up quickly to be able to survive. They do not experience a childhood that you or I take for granted. This is where your help will prove invaluable!
Join our action packed adventure tour and take in amazing scenery and incredible animal experiences. Enjoy the best South Africa's wildlife and try out thrilling abseiling, zip slides and sky high canopy tours.
Help the local children of the Masiphumelele township learn the basic skills they need in life including literacy, language and communication skills. Your interaction can greatly influence a brighter future for these disadvantaged children.
This is a great opportunity to experience the real South Africa in a small community near Cape Town, as well as making a massive difference to children’s lives by helping them to reading. Not only is this a very rewarding project but you will also be helping towards a generation of children build a brighter future.
Blighted by poverty and social immobility, the Tanzanian community of Dar es Salaam is in need of help and support. By volunteering at this project, you will help provide children, youths and adults with the educational and life skills needed to avoid falling into the poverty trap.
This project is a wonderful opportunity to see some of South Africa’s most amazing wildlife and spend time on an interesting volunteer project on a stunning Big 5 Game Reserve. Volunteers can play an active part in the conservation effort, develop useful skills and gain fascinating cultural insights assisting with a nearby community project.
Combine outdoors adventure with worthwhile volunteer work as you explore the best of Tanzania! Get up close to a range of wildlife, marvel at the incredible scenery, and make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children!
Give underprivileged children a new lease of life and better future prospects! Help to teach maths, English and science and get involved with a range of activities as you explore the incredible island of Zanzibar!
Provide the children of Stone Town with the literacy, numeracy and communication skills they desperately need to build successful futures and absorb the amazing culture of Zanzibar!
The children of Port Elizabeth are desperately in need of care and education. You can help to improve their standard of living and their future prospects through community work and teaching.
If you choose the 14-week placement you can catch a glimpse of the football greats as the trip will include accommodation and meals during the 2010 Football World Cup!
This distinctive programme offers the opportunity to help the cheetah by clearing the sickle bush, allowing them to exist and hunt in their natural habitat. You will also track and monitor both cheetahs and leopards as well as enjoy being in close proximity to these incredible creatures.
Schools in Malawi are seriously under funded with little resources and a lack of trained teachers to educate classes of sometimes up to 200 children. Volunteer help is desperately needed.
Uganda has one of the highest orphan populations in the world. Volunteers are desperately needed to help improve the lives of vulnerable and orphaned children in this area.
This conservation project in the Namib desert is about getting out into the field and really making a difference at the forefront of elephant conservation. This is your chance to get involved in vital elephant conservation in Namibia.
Volunteering on this programme gives you an exciting and rare opportunity to work with and care for the animals of Africa on a daily basis. You will look after numerous species, ranging from baboons and meerkats to lions and cheetahs, helping to feed, care and clean them, while also maintaining the centre’s enclosures and grounds.
Sample Ghana’s fascinating and largely undeveloped culture. Take part in projects that provide medical care and tackle the AIDS epidemic, improve education and leisure activities in orphanages and schools and build new facilities for the community.
Set off on the adventure of a lifetime through Africa’s wide and varied landscape! Get up close to big game, take a trip to Kruger National Park and help to preserve the continent’s most iconic wildlife. Zimbabwe - Namibia - South Africa.
Get involved with successful projects that aim to give children and families the means to sustain themselves. You can help provide food, shelter, clean water, training and health care – and most valuable of all, emotional support.
On an epic journey across Thailand, China, Malaysia, Africa and Australia, the ultimate wildlife experience gives you the chance to see some of the world’s rarest and most incredible animals and contribute to their preservation. Zimbabwe - Thailand - China - Malaysia - Australia - USA.
A fantastic opportunity to work on a pioneering lion breeding and rehabilitation programme supported by some of the world’s leading ecologists. Walk and work alongside lion cubs and take part in research activities, facilitating the lions’ safe release back into the wild.
As seen on ITV’s incredible Lion Country series, meet the stars of the show yourself!
Discover stunning Zambia on this unique programme as you assist with lion walks, gather research and teach conservation, all of which will help to achieve the ultimate aim of the project; to release wild borne offspring from captive bred lions into appropriate national parks for their survival.
As seen on ITV’s incredible Lion Country series, meet the stars of the show yourself!
Learn about the ways of the African wilds and the culture of the Massai by volunteering on this incredible project. You can help to gather vital data about wildlife activities, immerse yourself in the nomadic culture, and explore the stunning landscapes of Kenya.
Make a significant contribution to essential conservation work in Zululand by setting up, and helping to
run, projects that will help to save some of South Africa’s most endangered species.
Work as a classroom-teaching assistant, or as a sports coach in Zambia. The aim for both of these projects is to take children from the streets, improve their educational and social skills to give them more opportunities for the future.
If you have an adventurous streak and love the outdoor lifestyle then this could be the perfect programme for you. You will have the most amazing once in a lifetime experience, as you get up close and personal with these notorious creatures!
Make a small but meaningful difference to people in Nairobi. Work in a hospital or orphanage, reaching out to people who live in poverty. You can teach and care for the children, help repair infrastructure and learn Swahili too.
You will have a unique chance on this project to work closely with the beautiful black-faced Vervet monkeys, along with other African wildlife, caring for their welfare, and rehabilitating them before allowing them to be released back into their natural habitat.
Provide much needed voluntary assistance to African communities, in exchange for a culturally enriching experience. This programme is located close to Victoria Falls, with many opportunities for travel to Zimbabwe, Zambezi National Park and many other African highlights.
Put your DIY experience to good use – or learn as you go. Help build and repair homes and other facilities, get involved with painting projects and generally give underprivileged children a safer, more secure environment.
Zimbabwe is a well-established country for voluntary work in conservation, especially for working with wildlife in Africa. At this project, volunteers actively participate in lion conservation practices, working closely with the lions and wildlife re-introduction programmes.
As seen on ITV’s incredible Lion Country series, meet the stars of the show yourself!
Make a vital contribution to a beautiful but impoverished country. Help set up sports training sessions and competitions. A little time will make a lasting difference.
This project in Swaziland not only gives you great hands on experience in care and social development, but you can help make sure that the children get a future that is dramatically better than their first years of life.
On this volunteer programme, you have the opportunity to work with African children and contribute to the under-privileged communities in a positive way. You can really make a difference by sharing your skills through sports or computer literacy training, it is a fulfilling programme particularly for any first time traveller or for those wishing to gain teaching experience.
Our Mozambique community development project offers you the opportunity to contribute to important community support and sports programmes, working with children in rural African villages. There’ll be plenty of opportunity to explore Mozambique whilst you’re here.
Live and work on a safari ranch, helping with efforts to protect black rhino, elephants, buffalo and more. Assist with anti-poaching measures, look after rhino, help with training elephants and get a feel for the real Africa.
The online TEFL courses are internationally recognised, giving you the opportunity to travel and teach wherever there are people who want to learn. The only decision you really have to make is where you want to go and make a difference!
The Ultimate South African adventure! Tour South Africa’s world famous Kruger National Park, work on projects with underprivileged communities in Swaziland and flop on an Indian Ocean beach and relax in Mozambique.
The Whale Shark is the world’s largest living fish, and the idea of seeing them up close is either scary or exhilarating, depending on whom you talk to. Volunteers on this project will be able to learn about and observe the behaviours of the whale sharks off the coast of Mozambique, during many scuba diving sessions.
Schools in Swaziland are in desperate need of your support, where you will get out as much as you put in. Challenging teaching projects make fun, rewarding and totally worthwhile experiences. Most importantly they give a lot of disadvantaged children a much better chance of a better future.
This unique project based in the Kruger National Park looks at the role of the game ranger in managing a game farm or wildlife reserve. It is ideal for those interested in wildlife, African conservation and people who want to learn something during their grown up gap year.
This family run farm dedicates its time to establishing the most suitable and secure home possible for neglected or orphaned wild animals in the African Savannah. Volunteers are trained to care for the injured or orphaned animals.
Experience the wonders of the African savannah and a five day Kruger safari, help to conserve it and gain an intimate understanding of the ecology. Your work will take you to a variety of areas including a nature reserve, a National Park, a Community Reserve and a Private Reserve.
Change the lives of the underprivileged children and adults of this South-West Zambian community by working on various volunteer projects. From building homes, assisting with medical care and lending a hand with education you can put your skills to the best possible use and explore the African wilds on a Botswana bush camp and safari!
If you are looking to learn more about the diversity of Africa's animals and eco-systems during a career break, this programme will provide you with a special experience. The project takes you to the forefront of numerous species re-introductions and conservation work.
Hone your journalistic skills and gain hands on experience at newspapers, radio stations and TV centres in one of Africa’s most vibrant destinations. Gain an insight into the inner workings of the media industry and work with local journalists as they assist poorly funded organisations and volunteer projects.
Join our Swaziland Community Sports Project and help to coach sports and support community projects, whilst experiencing the enriching and unique culture of this mysterious and enigmatic African kingdom.
Spend a year in South Africa and become a fully qualified field guide. Learn about field research, game capture, patrolling and more, through practical tuition and on-the-job training. You’ll then be eligible to work all over Africa.
Teach English and computer skills in the morning and organise sports sessions in the afternoons. The lessons will greatly improve the children’s prospects, while sport will keep them fit and give them a chance to enjoy themselves.
This programme deals with the rehabilitation and care of abused horses in the Wild Coast area of South Africa, and is a must for anyone who really loves horses. You will ride on trails through the dramatic scenery of the Wild Coast, passing through beach lagoons and lush green game reserves.
Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. Join this trip and feel a real sense of achievement as you reach the peak and witness spectacular views over Tanzania and Kenya.
Spend your time encountering and photographing a large variety of animals and birds, the project also involves you spending time amongst the local communities, communicating to them the areas conservational needs.
If you are interested in African reptiles and hands on conservation, then you should consider joining this unique voluntary project. Working directly with reptile experts, your days will be varied and full of adventure.
Immerse yourself in Kenyan life and become part of a project to improve life in a rural village. Live and work with the community, helping with tasks such as construction, teaching, landscaping and painting.
Family Friendly! A rewarding two-week experience for families looking to give something back to underprivileged African communities. Plus, you’ll experience the beauty of Kenya through a varied activities programme. Minimum age 6 years.
Offer vital support to young boys in Tanzania – AIDS victims, and those who have been neglected or abused. Teach them the skills and show them the affection they’ll need to lead happier lives as adults.
Janet Horsley had an incredible time on her tailor-made gap year, blazing a trail through Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America, read her story here.
Gap Year for Grown Ups have many Career Break Voluntary Projects in Africa for grown up gappers. Because Gap Year for Grown Ups is the leading authority and only specialist source of ideas and options for grown up gap years, it has the widest range of volunteering programmes in Africa. These include animal/wildlife conservation, teaching English in Africa, community volunteering in Africa and Voluntary work with children in Africa.
Visit the 
