Volun­teering Malawi - Theo

Profile

Name: Theo

Age: 19

Project: Wildlife Monitoring Liwonde

Location: Liwonde National Park

Duration: September til October - 4 weeks

Rating

Support from the NATUCATE team:

Arrival:

Partner on-site:

Accommodation:

Volunteer project Malawi: Wildlife monitoring - Report from Theo

1. Would you like to give us a brief overview of your tasks in the project?

On a typical workday, we drove through the national park in an off-road vehicle, using a telemetry device to locate animal species such as lions, cheetahs, or wild dogs in order to monitor their population and distribution within the park. Another task involved collecting and analyzing data from camera traps. However, there were also frequent emergencies or other deviations from typical wildlife monitoring.

2. What was the biggest challenge for you during the project?

I found it difficult to cope with the lack of sleep, and the heat also got to me at times.

3. Was there anything you particularly liked? Or something that you remember particularly negatively?

For a brief moment we were able to observe some of the few wild dogs in the park after a long search in the middle of the national park away from the roads - that was really great.

4. Did you have certain expectations before you travelled to the project?

I wanted to experience life in the African bush as closely as possible. This expectation was definitely met.

5. Did you do anything in your free time that you could recommend to future participants?

We went on a great trip to the Zomba Plateau and hiked there with the other volunteers.

6. What tips would you give other participants?

I would buy as many snacks as possible in Lilongwe. We sometimes went on long hikes through the bush where it's good to have some provisions with you.

7. Can you estimate how many additional costs you had on site?

That depends on which excursions you go on. But outside of the excursions, I mainly spent money on snacks.