South Africa - Siyafunda, Makalali Game Reserve (15 September - 6 October 2025)
Project Overview:
Situated near the town of Hoedspruit (near Johannesburg) – the Greater Makalali Game Reserve is a 42,000 hectare private conservancy. More than 25 years ago, it was seven farming properties owned by different families, but over time the families decided to focus on conservation and eco-tourism and took the fences down within their land to create a large and safe space for wild animals to roam.
The mission of the Reserve is on now to create a natural corridor “from the Canyon to the Coast” – essentially attempting to rewild the swathe of land between Bryce Canyon (bordering Kruger National Park) all the way to the South African coastline.
Siyafunda is one of the properties on the Makalali Game Reserve and is focused on research and conservation efforts. We volunteered here for three weeks – staying in the main campsite and helping with everyday tasks alongside the guides, interns and other volunteers.
Key Insights:
We are fortunate enough to have been on safari before (both on this trip and in previous years in Kenya and Tanzania) and so we have had some amazing animal encounters in other places. This was a completely different feeling, it wasn’t just running down a safari checklist or hoping to catch a glimpse of the Big 5. It was so much more meaningful because we would know the story behind the animals, their families, their personality and the dynamics within the ecosystem. Their story gave much more significance and depth to our experiences. We also afforded the animals so much more respect and space, there was no crowding them, stressing them or chasing them with multiple jeeps as we have seen elsewhere. The result is that we got to observe them in a much more authentic way.
The walking trails were a highlight for me – learning how to track and read signs, walking through the bush, and seeing animals on foot – which gave me a more visceral appreciation of their size, strength and power.
The quality of the people at Siyafunda stood out as especially high. Every guide and intern we came across took pride in knowing the history behind the animals, plants and landscapes. It was clear that their priority was conservation and respect for the natural environment they were entrusted with. Here were real owners and stewards of their land, not people just trying to provide us with a good time. What was also fascinating for us was learning how each of the guides and interns had got here, often with career change and wanting to do something with more purpose.
We saw the strength of them working as a united team. I’m sure that this is galvanised by the mission orientation, but what also impressed me was their ability to lead in scarcity, which was partly resourcefulness and partly the way they would quietly sacrifice their own time, ideas or energy for the good of the team.
Our experience here reinforced an idea that we had felt before that our connection with the organisation is as much through its people as what it does.
It was really interesting to see how – even in the bush – they are embracing technology as an enabler for their work. Whether it is data entry, motion capture cameras that auto-upload images at key sites, it was impressive to see their commitment to collecting clean data and then using their database as a key resource. We also got to see them beginning to adopt the use of LERA (Low Energy Radio Array), which is essentially a “smart gating” system (think energy saving Internet-of-Things technology applied to boundary lines, tracking collars and gates that can help track and protect key species with even less intervention).
We found that the Siyafunda team has such high integrity in what they do, which permeates through into the interns, volunteers and their interactions with other lodges.
I am really proud of the girls for their attitude and spirit throughout – again they were the youngest and were actively doing their fair share. They also had a lot of fun, made friends and brought a lot of laughter and joy to the camp – making cookies, playing games around the campfire, playing pranks, helping with data collection and entry, cooking and cleaning.
What our day looked like
Early start - usually up at around 5am to be ready to roll on the jeep at 6am for our first game drive, which would be focused on a particular objective that the guides had discussed at the beginning of the week.
The morning activities usually run until about 11am. We then have some lunch (including cooking and cleaning duties on a rotating roster) and help with data entry. We set out in the afternoon on a game drive at about 3pm and return at about 7pm, for dinner.
Twice a week there was “maintenance” work – once for Siyafunda and once for the Greater Makalali Reserve. This was often clearing trees/bush, the work is tough and everyone is expected to get involved.
We had some incredible experiences with animals big and small here, made all the more meaningful for the fact that we got to know the ecology and different dynamics really well over the three weeks. Some particular highlights (pictures below) included:
Seeing a pride of Lions (the Tembi pride) with four lionesses and thirteen cubs feasting on a zebra…only to be chased away mid-meal by some irritated elephants!
Seeing a pack of African Wild Dogs, who had just come out of denning with their new pups – and seeing them go on a hunt where they chased down an impala (we found the carcass the next morning).
Seeing wild Cheetahs (two brothers) up close on foot.
A curious black rhino trying to sniff us out whilst we were stationary in a vehicle, and getting to within 5 meters.
A herd of elephants casually grazing and moving past, and two of the adult males having a bit of a wrestle.
Tracking white rhinos on foot, and having to hide and take cover before they noticed us as they were having a family argument - the mother and one of the adolescent males were literally going head-to-head for about 15 minutes whilst we hid behind some nearby trees (she won 😊).
Who we met
This experience also marked by the connection we made with some wonderful people.
From Siyafunda
Claire, our main guide leader for our first week. She is so knowledgeable, calm and maternal. A lot of the guides and interns look to her. The girls interviewed her for their podcast, her story
Jess, our main guide leader for our second week. She is a brilliant guide and is so much fun and has incredible stories. She clearly loves the animals, and has a way of passing that passion on to whoever is with her. She is also featured on the podcast.
Derek, our guide leader for the walking trails and most of our third week. Derek has been at Siyafunda for over ten years, and is the font of all knowledge. He has a wicked sense of humour and took us on some great adventures. He also clearly cares for all the guides and interns. And he is surprisingly good on an obstacle course (although pay attention on the monkeybars!).
Luke, another guide leader we only really met in our last week as he was on leave beforehand, but developed a strong connection with. Super calm, kind and compassionate.
Maurane, so glad she was interning here whilst we were there. She really looked after us, and was always a bright and positive influence on the whole group. Incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about doing the right thing. I have a feeling she will do amazing things in this arena.
Alice, another intern (now guide – congrats!), also featured on the podcast – another person who brings joy and adventure into the room. Made such an effort with the girls and is a very cool role model to inspire them to dream big and have the courage to follow their dreams.
Bronwyn, an intern who quickly became a close friend. So passionate about the animals and work, warm, welcoming and always keen to play games with us. She really helped us settle in our first week and got on with the girls so well. She will be a terrific guide.
Floris, an intern (now guide – congrats!) who was also a key part of our stay from the very beginning through to the end. Really intelligent, knowledgeable, curious and kind. Also a great cook!
Other volunteers
Alex and Patrick – a couple from Swiss-Germany, who were so much fun and got involved in everything. Alex is so kind and warm, and after a long career so far in publishing, she is having a career change to be a voice actor.
Caue – the young man from Brazil, who was very cool and always up for a game. He taught us some Brazilian card games (Trucu is my favourite). Has so many interesting stories, and a great outlook on life (Anaya interrogated him for a couple of hours on one of our drives, so we got his whole history!).
Marie – our friend from France who we got close with. She and Div would sometimes journal together – such a good person and positive influence on the group. (Don’t let the poker face fool you – she is a card shark too!).
Dora and Szonja – a mother daughter power couple from Hungary. We are so glad they decided to return to Siyafunda and we spent our last 10 days together. Szonja is a really impressive young lady only 14 but wise and knowledgeable for her age – intelligent, compassionate, hard working. Dora is a strong and driven person who inspired us with how she thinks about raising her kids – I think we had so much in common in how we are approaching our travels and experiences.
