• Volunteers should aim to arrive in Swakopmund on a Sunday.
• It is encouraged that you fly in to Walvis Bay (WVB), where you will be collected by a pre-arranged transfer service. The service costs about £20 to take you in to the guest house where you will be staying on your first night.
• Alternatively, you can fly in to Windhoek and a transfer can be arranged from here. It is best to arrive either on a Saturday or early on the Sunday morning for this transfer to be available. The transfer would cost approximately £35 and takes about 4 hours.

The Namibia volunteer project is structured into two distinct weekly programmes:

• Week 1: Building Week
• Week 2: Tracking Week

This means that if you participate for two weeks, you will engage in one week of each programme. For those staying four weeks, the schedule alternates between two weeks of building and two weeks of tracking.

You will depart from Swakopmund on Monday morning for an exciting journey into the desert. Your first night will be spent at Base Camp, where you’ll prepare for your upcoming project. The following day, you’ll head to the farm to help construct a protective wall around a vital water source. Expect to complete this rewarding building project by the following Saturday, allowing you to return to Base Camp for some well-deserved relaxation and a refreshing shower! You’ll have Saturday afternoon and Sunday free to unwind and explore the stunning surroundings.

On the next Monday morning, you’ll set out again to track elephants for a week, returning to Swakopmund on Friday. If you’re only participating for two weeks, please arrange your flight to depart on Saturday.

For those staying longer, you’ll return to the desert on Monday morning after a weekend filled with the vibrant activities that Swakopmund offers. Most volunteers extending their stay choose to enjoy the city and beach life in Swakopmund at the end of their two-week period before heading back into the wilderness.

The building projects take place on farmsteads surrounding the Base Camp in Namibia, owned by local families who rely on livestock for their livelihood.

Each farm features water holes that pump water from deep underground. Elephants in the wild can detect this water and will attempt to access it, often damaging pipes and breaking pumps in their pursuit. Unfortunately, because the water is so deep, these efforts are futile, leaving farmers to contend with the loss of their water source and livelihoods in this arid environment. They must then start from scratch to rebuild and sustain their families.

Our volunteers work diligently on farms frequently visited by elephants. Your primary task will be constructing protective walls around windmills and pumps, preventing elephants from accessing and damaging these critical water sources. The walls will reach approximately 1.5 meters in height, and depending on the number of volunteers, you can expect to complete one wall during the building week.

Throughout this experience, you will acquire essential skills such as creating foundations, mixing cement, selecting appropriate stones, and ensuring the stability and strength of the walls. By the end of the week, you’ll have gained valuable knowledge about wall construction.

Volunteers are encouraged to participate in all aspects of the work, and it’s important to maintain good physical fitness, as the tasks can be challenging, especially for those who may not be accustomed to physical activity. After lunch, you’ll have a siesta to rest during the hottest part of the day. Staying well-hydrated is crucial, so aim to drink at least three litres of water daily.

• Early Start: Volunteers rise with the sun, and wake-up times shift with the seasons in Namibia.
• Food Preparation Duties: Each day, two volunteers are assigned food prep responsibilities, waking up slightly earlier to brew tea and coffee and prepare breakfast for the team.
• Building Work Schedule: Construction activities typically commence within 60 to 90 minutes after waking, ensuring a productive start to the day.
• Break Time: A morning break at around 10 AM allows volunteers to enjoy snacks and refreshments while relaxing before continuing their work.
• Lunch and Siesta: Lunch is served around midday, followed by a well-deserved siesta during the hottest part of the day, allowing volunteers to recharge for the afternoon.
• Afternoon Work: Volunteers resume work at approximately 2:30 or 3 PM, with finish times varying based on seasonal temperatures, usually wrapping up around 4:30 or 5 PM.
• Dinner Preparation: Volunteers on food duty wrap up their workday a bit earlier to begin preparing dinner for the entire team.

Wild Elephant Tracking and Monitoring Project: During the second week of your volunteering experience, you will engage in the thrilling task of tracking and monitoring wild elephants in Namibia. This exciting opportunity might lead to your first sighting of these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat! As part of your group, you will learn to follow the elephants’ tracks, gaining invaluable skills in wildlife tracking.

Contributing to Elephant Conservation Efforts: Once you locate the elephants, you will gather vital data and conduct research that significantly contributes to the overall elephant conservation efforts in Namibia. This tracking work is crucial for understanding the behaviors and movements of these majestic animals.

Data Collection for Conservation: Each time your team observes the elephants, you will meticulously record details such as which elephants were sighted, their location, and the time of the sighting. This data helps conservationists understand elephant movements and identify areas where farmers may be at risk of human-elephant conflict. By pinpointing these high-risk areas, the project can prioritize building protective walls on farms, helping to safeguard both elephants and local livelihoods.

Wildlife Conservation and Repopulation Efforts in Namibia: While many species have faced the threat of extinction in this region due to hunting, significant efforts are being made for wildlife repopulation. Nature is also playing a vital role in this restoration process. In addition to elephants, you can observe a variety of wildlife, including ostriches, zebras, giraffes, and springboks. If you’re fortunate, you might even catch a glimpse of the elusive black rhino in its natural habitat.

Experience Life at Base Camp During Tracking Week: On Thursday afternoon of your tracking week, you will return to Base Camp after an exhilarating 4 days and 3 nights in the Namibian desert. The shower facilities and sit-down toilets will be a welcome change, though many volunteers find it an adjustment to transition back to a more populated lifestyle after days spent in the wilderness.

You’ll spend the night at Base Camp before heading back to Swakopmund on Friday if your trip is concluding, or you can choose to enjoy the weekend at camp. For those staying longer than two weeks, you have the option to relax at Base Camp or return to Swakopmund for a weekend getaway.

Many volunteers opt to revisit Swakopmund to take advantage of the stunning beaches, indulge in sand and sea sports, enjoy dinners and drinks, and simply unwind. Additionally, Friday nights are filled with camaraderie as volunteers often dine out together to bid farewell to those leaving the project that weekend.

Experience Physical Labour During Building Week: Throughout the building week, you will engage in essential tasks such as lifting and carrying materials. As a volunteer, you’ll be involved in making cement, pushing wheelbarrows, collecting rocks, and staying active throughout the day.

Each volunteer contributes according to their own capabilities, fostering teamwork to successfully complete the building project. It’s important that you feel comfortable with basic lifting and carrying while working in the heat. If you have any concerns, don’t hesitate to ask. We welcome individuals of all backgrounds, shapes, and sizes to join our conservation efforts!

On this project you will be working close to wild elephants. As such you must not interact with the animals.

Oyster assesses projects carefully to ensure that they offer high standards of animal welfare and environmental practice. We also check that volunteers understand key points of good practice before working with animals. To find out more, see our animal welfare policy.

We are an approved activity provider for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. You are able to put the time that you spend volunteering abroad on this project towards achieving your Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. We are happy to sign off your completion of this programme to show that you have achieved the Residential section of the Gold Award.

There are ATMs in the town of Swakopmund so you should take enough money to last you for 2 weeks at a time.

If you are going for over 4 weeks, you might like to consider getting a cash card. Cash cards are a safe and convenient way to take your money travelling with you – they act just like debit cards but do not have the same fees as you might have to pay on your bank cards from home. Check out our blog for details on how the card works here.

No visa is necessary for under 90 days from UK and most western European countries. You will receive a tourist stamp upon arrival allowing you stay in the country for free for up to 90 days.

You need to make sure your passport is valid for a minimum of 6 months from when you arrive in Namibia.

If you are under 18, there is some paper work which needs to be completed by parents. We can guide you to this. This is an attempt to support efforts to stop human traffiking from and to Africa.

You should visit your doctor or travel nurse to find out what vaccinations you will need. Your routine vaccinations will need to be up to date, it is likely that you will need Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid and Yellow Fever. The project is not located in a malarial area, however some parts of the country are. If you are travelling either before or after the project, you may require anti- malarial protection. You should follow your doctor’s advice.

For any more information, including entry requirements related to Covid-19, please see the Fit for Travel website or the UK government’s travel advice page for Namibia.

There are medical facilities within one hour’s drive of the project site.

Namibia is a very friendly country and one which is very open to tourists, as they rely quite significantly on tourism in their economy. The town of Swakopmund – where your journey begins – feels like Bavaria on Sea, as it was formerly a German colonised area. The streets are wide and well lit and there is a lively restaurant scene here. If you are going out after dark, do make sure to take a taxi home.

Your main project will be based out in the desert. You will receive full health and safety briefings to cover all that you do, especially where elephants are concerned. Follow guidelines carefully as you may encounter these gentle giants out and about. You will always be with a member of staff on this project and will be staying either in a treehouse or a protected area, so an elephant can’t come wandering through!

The main base camp for the project is located about 5 hours from Swakopmund, and an hour from the town of Uis.

There is internet in Swakopmund, so you should expect to be able to get online once every 2 weeks. At the end of build week there is the opportunity to go into the local town where there is WiFi.

You should not expect to have any signal on build week, at Base Camp or whilst tracking. There is no phone signal at Base Camp. Please make sure to inform parents/ loved ones/ concerned friends of this before departure.

Namibia is one hour ahead of GMT (GMT +1)

In Namibia, a mixture of European plugs and South African plugs are used.