Every day was amazing and full of incredible experiences and new people. The days flew by as we were so busy working on the farm, hanging out and making new friends, and learning about the wildlife in a very hands on manner.

Hard work pays off, and this doesn’t go unnoticed by the amazing crew. I managed to go onto an exclusive boat trip which had less clients on board, giving me more opportunities to capture some great footage of the sharks who displayed incredible activity, breaching around six times in the space of two hours.

The African Wildlife Orphanage’s main goal is to care for orphaned or injured animals until they are able to be released back into the wild. If that’s not a viable option, they’re lovingly cared for the rest of their lives. These animals are also used for educating young local children about the creatures that share their environment. Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, so many of the children living there have never had the opportunity to see or touch wild animals.

The biggest shock for me was when one volunteer mentioned that we had the opportunity to spend the night with a cheetah—Zena was rescued from a family who kept her as a pet and therefore she is unable to regulate her own body temperature. At night, she either sleeps with the project leaders or two volunteers. Sleeping with Zena was like sleeping with a dog-sized cat; she purred, cuddled, and gave kisses.

Dolphins are beautiful cetaceans and one of the sea’s most-loved animals. They are playful, social and considered to be extremely intelligent. There are close to 40 different species of dolphins, and they can be found not only in tropical waters but also in rivers and in cooler ocean waters off the coast of Europe.

Swing into the opportunity to volunteer with playful, intelligent monkeys! Monkeys, like apes, belong to the primate family. Some enjoy calling and swinging from trees in tropical rainforests, others prefer to stay on the ground in hot, African climates. Monkey conservation and rehabilitation programs are ideal for volunteers who want to provide care for wildlife, up-close. ​In South America, volunteers can join an actual monkey sanctuary, located remotely in the Ecuadorian rainforest!

Volunteering abroad is an amazing experience; you have the opportunity to learn about a new culture and have a positive, lasting impact by helping the local community. Volunteer opportunities can be short or long term, and can often double as internship opportunities. These projects provide students with real-world experience in a hands-on, interactive, learning environment.

Australian wildlife is known to be unique, which is probably why you want to make the long journey over to experience volunteering with Australian animals. But there’s more to Oz than the kangaroo and the koala, so here are a few more creatures that you can look forward to seeing when you volunteer at a wild animal sanctuary.