Find out what Oyster volunteers have said in these reviews of our wildlife conservation volunteering project in Borneo:
“The entire project and everyone involved with it provided a first-rate service throughout the trip and it proved to be a truly remarkable experience for me and my family. We felt fully prepared about what to expect and were able to ask questions throughout – always getting a full and swift response. Nick at the flight centre was excellent, especially when the Malaysian Airline website kept crashing and organised seating, special assistance and private transfers for us in KL which really helped. Georgie has been a great support throughout, and I felt I could trust her to ensure our trip would run smoothly. Mark in Malaysia is a formidable guy, an excellent educator, passionate conservationist and 100% dedicated to the work they are doing on the ground. He is infectious and brings out the best from every volunteer on the project. I must particularly praise the patience and kindness with which he supported our son with learning disabilities – Mark made him feel valued and as such he was able to make his own contributions to the project. There were so many magical moments but seeing a mother and baby orangutan, in the wild, at close quarters will take some beating! Also for the sheer hilarity that ensued – the boat breaking down late afternoon in a croc infested river led to the most incredible wildlife observation experiences of the trip. Grasp that nettle and do it. It will be like nothing else you’ve ever down as a family before and from it you will get to observe the different relationships between your children, see their own interests develop and emerge, meet incredible people and have a school vacation like no other! It has given us a time together that we might not otherwise have had. I was really keen to help my children understand a little bit about the world around them, especially after the impact of Covid. This experience has absolutely provided that, it has pushed them outside of their comfort zone, got them away from the constant pinging of phones and given them a new perspective on the opportunities that are available to make a positive contribution to the world.”
Gallagher family August 2023
“Mark is an amazing project leader, so intelligent and passionate. Our teammates are awesome, too. We’ve all bonded. The tree planting is coming along, and we’ve seen many wonderful animals.”
Matt, February 2020
“Anne was super nice and helpful. She was always on top of things. I think it is great that you conduct an interview ahead of the booking, as this is critical for less experienced travelers. Anne did an amazing job in ensuring that I was well prepared for the travel. Mark in Borneo was amazing. He is super knowledgeable and so enthusiastic a out his work.”
Grit, November 2019
“This trip was amazing. I’ve been very lucky to be able to travel but this was my first volunteer vacation and it was spectacular. OWW was easy to work with and gave me enough info to make it all easy – loved every minute. I expected it to be more work and to need downtime afterwards but the project was designed really well to be a really perfect balance of work and vacation things/seeing the area/critters and so forth.Thanks for facilitating such an amazing opportunity with an amazing organisation doing meaningful work on the ground!”
Liz, November 2019
“We collected the saplings and took them with us on the boat to the planting sites. Our aim was 200 trees in 3 hours. We were infilling gaps in the forest so that the orangutans would have a corridor to move along. One day we visited a site that had been planted 6 years ago and the trees were tall enough to support the orangutans. I really enjoyed my time on the project and hope to have made a difference to the orangutan corridor. I would certainly recommend the project to anyone wanting to help the orangutans.”
Dot, October 2019
“It has been so much fun! I’ve seen a lot of wildlife, including orangutans, but no elephants yet. The work is quite tiring but very satisfying. I’ve particularly enjoyed meeting and spending time with the locals. Everyone is amazingly kind and welcoming, and it’s really incredible learning about the culture here. The food is especially good. All around it’s been great with no issues. Thank you for organising everything- I appreciate all your help!”
Amanda, August 2019
“It has been so much fun! I’ve seen a lot of wildlife, including orangutans, but no elephants yet. The work is quite tiring but very satisfying. I’ve particularly enjoyed meeting and spending time with the locals. Everyone is amazingly kind and welcoming, and it’s really incredible learning about the culture here. The food is especially good. All around it’s been great with no issues. Thank you for organising everything- I appreciate all your help!
Gemma, May 2019
“There many highlights throughout the programme but the main one for me personally was seeing Orangutans in the wild for the first time. Many other highlights include the amazing people I met in Malaysia and the rainforest maintenance work as it felt so rewarding to see the end goal of setting up a replanting site.”
Saskia, August 2018
“Everyone who assisted from start to finish were extremely helpful and made it effortless. The people that I met along the way, knowing I made a difference (even if for a few days) and seeing the variety of wildlife living in their natural habitats was amazing. Be prepared to work but the rewards are well worth it. ”
Claudia, August 2017
“The project was good and I am definitely missing it – but not the humidity so much. I just wanted to say a big thank you for being there and helping me out before and during the project. ”
Alanah, July 2017
“I thought we would be lucky to see one orangutan, but we saw 12! We were lucky enough to see a female making a nest just a few metres away. It was an amazing feeling to clear a brand new site of vegetation, and to go on to plant 250 trees in that area. Thank you!”
Gemma, July 2016
“My favourite project activity was tree planting after clearing a brand new site full of grasses and bamboo. Followed by all the hard work preparing 250 planting spots + saplings and mulch! We worked really hard as a team to get there and it was most rewarding, knowing we did this ourselves and are giving back to the world. Homestay food in particular was amazing! Tried so many dishes and never had the same dish twice. Really felt like I was embracing culture here.”
Will, July 2016
“The tree maintenance was hard work but it was very rewarding. It is a fantastic opportunity to learn about the process of rehabilitation and the biodiversity in the rainforest. The project
manager is a walking encyclopedia on Borneo so I was able to learn a lot from him about the country, the culture and the environment.”
Jessica, July 2016
“My time in Borneo was so much better than I ever imagined! We were lucky enough to see 8 orangutans, as well as as crocodiles, a wild array of birds, monitor lizards and the 6 other primates found in Sabah. The locals were so friendly and willing to teach us their ways. I especially loved learning their local dances! Amazing wildlife, the most friendly people and a community that is really developing and trying to save their rainforest and river!”
Hannah, April 2016
“It wasn’t just the appeal of seeing wild animals in their natural habitat, but for me it was all I had studied at university being put into action, and had finalised for me what work to pursue in the near future. I would definitely come back to volunteer again, especially to see the progress of the planting sites which we were involved with.”
Alexandra, December 2015
“I loved my time abroad and I found myself just this morning thinking about what a good experience it was.
I would definitely say I miss it already.”
Donovan, October 2015
