Work with sharks, whales, penguins, seals, dolphins, tourism, research and community development. You’ll be taught, guided and lectured by very skilled field teams. Sharks, Whales, Penguins, Seals, Dolphins... this is an extraordinary project in a beautiful location, white beaches and blue ocean. And two hours from Cape Town. Fantastic! Go on whale watching trips that are not just magical but rewarding too. And then of course there's the Great White Shark, the greatest modern day predator of all

This project will give you the opportunity to work with sharks, whales, penguins, tourism, research and community development. There is a huge variety of work that you will be doing and this will largely depend on what work is being done at the time you are there.

You may be fortunate enough to spot the ‘Marine Big 5’:
• Shark – The Great White
• Whale – Southern Right, Humpback and Brydes’
• Penguin – African
• Seal – Cape Fur
• Dolphin – Bottlenose, Common and Humpback

You'll go out to sea a minimum of once every other day. For example, a 30 day stay enables you to go to sea at least 15 times. This will be the minimum (depending on no-sea days and weather), but could be much more.

Your day will start off with prepping the boats and the tourists for their trip. Much time will be spent with the tourists educating them about the sharks, assisting the tourists, as well as observing sharks, possibly taking part in cage dives, if time allows, and maybe helping out on the daily research projects on the vessel, by assisting with data recording.

After the trip you will help wash down the boat and equipment before attending a presentation or conservation activity (1 -2 times for week) or having much-welcomed relaxation time.

During the summer time (November, December, January and February), the project is very involved in Tourist trips and dives (these fund research and community development projects) and thus they have very little time for the research and development side of their work during this period.

Activities on "No-Sea" Days:

On days when the weather is unsuitable for boat departures, you'll be involved with activities arranged under the auspices of the Dyer Island Conservation Trust. Examples of these are:

  • Beach Clean-ups and the Fishing Line Bin Project (recycling involving schools and the local community)
  • The Wood Project - clearing alien vegetation and providing firewood for heating and cooking to the local poorer community.
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  • The African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary Project
  • Shark Egg Case Monitoring Project
  • The African Penguin Nest Project

Accommodation

The Volunteer Lodge that will be your accommodation during your stay, is equipped with 4 cottages that house 4-6 people each. Each cottage has a bathroom, kitchenette and living areas as well as daily living essentials. There is a large garden with barbeque facilities, swimming pool and an activity area with board games, pool table, table tennis table and foosball.

Wi-Fi / Internet:

There is FREE Wi-Fi / Internet in the accommodation.