Polokwane is the capital of the Northern Province. It is a modern city, which serves a rich agricultural district, providing a central hub of the region, featuring impressive art exhibitions and elegant historical buildings. It is strategically places on the Great North Road, and half way between Pretoria and the Zimbabwean border.
Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Potgieter founded the town on the farm Sterkoop in 1884. The city has enjoyed a long history of prosperity and has grown rapidly given its proximity to Gautend and the rich agricultural district surrounding it. The countryside is the setting for some of the most prosperous cattle ranches in South Africa.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Make your round the world trip the voyage of a lifetime, blazing a trail through Africa, Asia, Australasia and Latin America on this action and culture packed programme! South Africa - India - Malaysia- Thailand - Australia - New Zealand - Argentina.
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 
