If you’re a prospective traveller to exotic foreign shores, you’ll have a few (or a lot!) of questions and concerns. Perhaps you’re also the type of person who wants to leave your mark on society in a small but measureable way. How can you do that? Where to go, where to stay when you get there, what to see, what to take with you?
You might be a veteran volunteer, or a noob just beginning to explore your volunteering options – either way, have you ever stopped to ponder the modern history of volunteering? Even if history has never been your “thing”, it’s interesting to discover the roots of something we might take for granted.
That font of ever-expanding wisdom, Wikipedia, defines adventure travel as follows:
“Adventure travel is a type of tourism, involving exploration or travel with perceived (and possibly actual) risk, and potentially requiring specialised skills and physical exertion…Adventure travel may be any tourist activity that includes the following three components: a physical activity, a cultural exchange and connection with nature.”
“Picture yourself on a boat on a river...”
As a young child, when you first jumped off a boat into unknown waters - you might have been nervous of sharks or jellyfish, afraid of how deep or cold the water was, or whether you were able to swim back to the boat, or whether other people would notice and help you if you struggled, or even if you’d ever get back to shore again.
One of the biggest issues affecting societies across the globe is poverty, and its many causes and effects. Most volunteers naturally want to travel to developing areas of the world, as these areas are perceived, rightly, to be more in need of assistance when it comes to tackling issues like lack of education and basic skills, and resources in general.
When you’re planning your volunteer trip to the other side of the world, ask yourself whether you want to travel alone or rally some friends to join you on your adventure. Here are some ideas to think about to help you (and your friends) make up your minds which option will be best for you.
Some of South Africa’s tourist attractions are worldwide icons: Robben Island, Table Mountain, Kruger National Park, or the Cradle of Mankind, for example. These places are rich in scenic, cultural and historical interest; and shouldn’t be missed by visitors to the country. But there are also places that are not quite as well-known, but have plenty to fascinate travellers looking for something different.
Travelling of any kind requires an adjustment period once you touch down. If you’re a volunteer, you’re probably going to immerse yourself in a community very far away from your own. You’ll be living in conditions and performing tasks out of your comfort zone. Volunteers can undergo a range of emotions while settling into their chosen project and accommodation.
You’re probably familiar with the concept of teaching overseas, as an opportunity to live and work in a foreign community – it’s been a popular option for educated and adventurous folk since we were first able to travel abroad with relative ease. People used to associate teaching in a foreign country with paid work, through TEFL programmes or initiatives like the UN Peace Corps.
Even seasoned travellers can have some head-scratching moments, wondering what to pack for their overseas volunteering trip. On the one hand, you want the freedom and convenience of travelling “light” and avoid the hassle of lots of space-hogging luggage.
