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Gondwana Game Reserve
This team is based in Gondwana Game Reserve in the Western Cape which is also a Big 5 reserve. Here, reserve managers are trying to balance the conservation of large mammal species that have been reintroduced to the area, with protection of the hyper-diverse fynbos habitat within the reserve. These two objectives are potentially at odds given the low nutritional value of fynbos for browsing herbivores. The reserve therefore needs to maintain a balance between managing for fynbos biodiversity and more nutritional grassland areas for herbivores. The reserve is using a number of active management strategies, including regular burning, to find this balance and Opwall teams are working to monitor the success or otherwise of these techniques. You will be based in a fenced tented camp inside the reserve and will spend time each day in camp completing an Advanced wildlife conservation and management course, specialised in fynbos ecology. When in the field you will be involved in assessing vegetation usage by monitoring floral diversity and browsing pressure at enclosure plots set up in each of the main habitat types in the reserve. You will also perform bird point counts at each of these sites and assist with vehicle based large mammal distribution surveys that run throughout the reserve.
The research activities in both reserves include helping with the following:
Operation Wallacea and our partners, Wildlife and Ecological Investments (WEI), coordinate large-scale research programmes to provide an empirical backbone for key conservation projects in South Africa. Our main aim is to assist conservation managers with pressing large-scale issues that they do not necessarily have the resources to address themselves. The South Africa research programme covers a series of reserves across the country, each using slightly different management strategies to conserve wildlife in their reserves. Big game areas in South Africa are fenced to avoid the spread of disease and conflicts between communities and dangerous animals. However, in reserves surrounded by densely populated areas such as those within the Kwa-Zulu Natal region human-wildlife conflict can be a major challenge. Here, our research teams are looking at the extent of this conflict with a special focus on large mammal species. Large mammal distributions are monitored regularly through game transects, and nocturnal mammal distributions are assessed using a matrix of camera traps set up throughout the reserve. By combining this information with our knowledge of areas of dense human activity, we can begin to understand how human disturbance can alter large mammal movement and behaviour.
The restriction of natural movement caused by fences can also lead to locally dense mammal populations with high levels of vegetation impact. Elephants, for example, are ecosystem engineers and their impact can alter vegetation structure and composition. By directly monitoring feeding impact on vegetation and its knock-on effects to other taxa, such as birds, our teams can assist the reserve managers to better understand how elephants can affect long-term change in the ecosystem.
The costs of a school group expedition can be highly variable. There is a standard fee paid to Opwall for all expeditions but the location you are flying from, the size of your group, and how you wish to pay all impact the overall cost.
You can choose to book the expedition as a package (which includes your international flights) or you can organise your travel yourself and just pay us for the expedition related elements.
If you are booking your expedition as a package, you also have the option of being invoiced as a group, or on an individual basis.
Climate
Our South African terrestrial ecology taster expeditions run in March, which is the transition from summer to autumn in South Africa. While daytime temperatures can reach a comfortable 20-25°C, nights are significantly cooler, often dropping below 10°C. Rainfall is still a possibility, and occasional strong winds can make conditions feel colder than expected. Warm layers and waterproof clothing are essential for staying comfortable in the field.
Fitness level required
Moderate. The wilderness training activities can involve long hikes as the reserve does not have dangerous game. However, the research activities take place in or close to the game-viewer vehicles for safety.
Creature comforts
You will be staying in large safari-style tents with bunk beds. Hot running showers and flushing toilets are provided in a separate block, with large, structured tents used for the kitchen and communal areas. There is very little phone signal in Somkhanda, and the site does not have access to wifi.
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