Kamilla Pahlefors has just returned from the Moholoholo Rehab Centre and she’s written us this fantastic blog post about her time out in Africa:

I spent 2 weeks at the Moholoholo Rehab Centre in May-June in 2010 and I had the most fantastic time there! Of course the most exciting part of the gap year projects is spending time with the animals and feeling that you contribute to the important work carried out at Moholoholo.

But before going there I wondered a lot about the practical details, and I’m very pleased with how all of that worked out! I felt completely safe and taken care of during my whole stay – the friendly Moholoholo staff met me at the airport and during my two weeks I spent a lot of time with the other students as well as with staff, while taking care of the animals. We did smaller and bigger excursions – collecting an animal that needed to be brought into the centre, releasing three animals back into the wild, going on a boat-trip in the beautiful Blyde River Canyon and going to the private game reserve Nhoveni which is situated next to Kruger Park where we had an awesome day with driven safari as well as an exciting bush walk. The student cottages, with 2-4 beds per room are very nice with a proper bathroom in every room, which is a big plus. The food at Moholoholo, especially breakfast and dinner, was very good with a number of things to choose from – I can be a bit picky with food but always found several things that I liked. One thing I would have done differently if coming again, is to make sure to pick up some snacks like fruit, energy bars etc to eat when you get hungry because with a lot of work, especially in the mornings, you do get hungry before breakfast (work starts at 7 and some days at 6.15 and breakfast is around 8.30 or 8.45) or in the afternoon before dinner.

The animals you meet on the gap year projects at Moholoholo can vary from time to time of course, but the permanent residents are mainly big cats (lions, cheetah, leopard, servals) and birds, both carnivores and small birds, plus hyenas and wild dogs within the centre. The temporary animals that I had the chance to meet were a baby black rhino, a baby hyena, baby cheetah, and a bush baby to mention a few. Just outside the centre, on the Moholoholo game reserve, you can see giraffes, zebras, white rhinos, hippos, all sorts of antelope, storks, vultures etc… And you do see them – the students often get to go on trips into the reserve, and every evening you drive through the game reserve on your way to dinner.

I have collected some of the most amazing memories of my life during my stay at Moholoholo – things such as baby sitting a 200 pound baby rhino, “rhino sitting” as the students say, or taking her for a walk and watching her gallop at full speed… cuddling with two baby cheetahs, suddenly having a bush baby on my shoulder because it decided to jump to me – they are Great jumpers, going for a bush walk early in the morning, seeing giraffe tracks and deciding to follow them and managing to find them on a semi open field where we could take awesome pictures – giraffe in the morning sun with the Drakensberg mountains as a mind-blowing backdrop.  Also more unexpected things can happen; becoming really good friends with a warthog – a skinny one who’s in the centre to bulk up a bit -  is not something you expect but we grew really fond of each other! Another experience was meeting Shinandi – a fullgrown cheetah that was hand raised; I got to walk into her camp and sit with her, and stroke her which was a truly unique experience for me.

I can strongly recommend you to try the gap year projects at Moholoholo if you like animals and want a chance to get close to them while working with them day to day – you will experience more than you could ever imagine back home!

If you find that you’re always spotting big cats on your gap year projects it could be due to the aftershave you’re wearing. Zookeepers in the Bronx have found that Calvin Klein Obsession stimulates curiosity in big cats. The aftershave was tested against 11 other scents and to their surprise, researchers found that big cats spent more than 11 minutes sniffing and nuzzling up to a tree sprayed with Calvin Klein Obsession. The results were so compelling that there are plans to introduce Calvin Klein Obsession into zoos all over the world. Upon hearing the news, one team tracking jaguars …

Whether you’re on your way to South Africa on your gap year or to watch the World Cup that everyone’s talking about, it seems that the sharks are eagerly awaiting your arrival so they can put on a show of their own. During the months of April to September, we see about 64,000 cape fur seals arrive on Seal Island near False Bay.  This gives the great white sharks in the area the ideal opportunity to flex their fins and perfect their hunting skills. Anyone visiting Cape Town during their gap year, or perhaps heading to the Green Point Stadium …

A gap year is a wonderful way to get yourself out into the big wide world while, at the same time, doing something a little more worthwhile than spending a summer lying on the beach in Spain or getting drunk with your mates (or both!). But before you set off on your adventure of a lifetime there are a few rules of behaviour you should take into account. Pic by Christopher Isherwood Do’s Do – get adequate insurance before you go; both travel and medical. Consider any ‘out of the ordinary’ things you may be doing (like a bungee jump) …

Hi all! Remember that we still have our fantastic ‘Voice of Conservation’ competition still going on, but hurry as all entrees must be in before the 6th August! In order to be considered for this position we need to see that you’re as passionate about Wildlife Conservation and Animal Rehabilitation as we at Worldwide Experience are. You will also need to prove to us that you’re a natural when it comes to social media, blogging, video creation, mashups etc… After all if you’re going to tell the animal’s stories, you need to know how to talk to the world. So …