Volunteer in Victoria Falls

Zimbabwe is the true home of Conservation Travel Africa, and we pride ourselves on being Zimbabwe volunteer and ethical travel specialists. Volunteering in Victoria Falls is a wonderful experience, with a magic that compels people to come back time and time again.

During the rainy summer months (November – March), the spray from the Falls can be seen for miles around, and the water can be heard throughout the town. While volunteering in Victoria Falls, volunteer can experience some of the world’s best one-day white water rafting, take a sunset cruise on the mighty Zambezi River, bungee from the Victoria Falls bridge, visit the world-famous vulture restaurant and sample local culinary delicacies such as warthog, crocodile, kudu, and even a mopane worm!

For an exciting, unique and rewarding time, we highly recommend taking the time to experience Victoria Falls, wherever you are visiting in the region.

Read our blog post: When to visit Victoria Falls and what to do there!

Victoria Falls and the surrounding area has a spectacular range of wilderness habitats to explore, from the Victoria Falls rainforest area to the Zambezi River and dry woodlands. However, even before you have even explored one of the National Parks or private reserves, it is not unusual for visitors to experience elephants, baboons and warthogs walking down the main street – and sitings of buffalo on the roads out of town are not uncommon.

Visitors to Victoria Falls should remember that the town is built in the heart of a National Park, one of the wildest regions in Africa and that the town is in effect, a game corridor. It is one of the magical things about the area, that a number of National Parks are on your doorstep with a huge variety of game regularly seen – including lion, leopard, elephant, and buffalo.

Traveling with a Conservation Travel Africa team who are immersed in Zimbabwe’s wildlife industry, means that you’ll achieve your dream safari holiday, whether your interests are conservation, safaris, tours, adrenalin activities, or a once-in-a-lifetime family adventure.

Home to some of the most welcoming, resilient and long-suffering people in the world, Zimbabwean hospitality is incomparable.

In 1851, when David Livingstone first arrived in the region, the Makololo people were established as rulers in the area, but the Toka-Leya people can claim to be the ‘true people of the Falls’, living much closer to the waterfalls. Their Tonga traditions survive to this day, and Mukuni village, which was the original seat of power, is only a short distance from the Falls. Many cultural traditions associated with the Victoria Falls and Zambezi River stem from the Tonga culture, including the river-spirit, NyamiNyami.

The rural areas surrounding Victoria Falls town are home to some of Zimbabwe’s harshest environments, with temperatures in the region reaching 30+ degrees for eight months in the year, with no rainfall between April and November. The poverty levels of these communities is high, protein and vitamin deficiencies are common, many children are orphans and a high number do not attend school. Joint community projects in these areas have been very successful – where communities and organisations have worked together on projects to improve livelihoods, particularly agriculture and horticulture, uplift skills, improve access to education, and initiate healthcare projects.

There are plenty of activities in Victoria Falls, but we have selected some of the most popular and must-do below! To add any of these, or more, to your volunteer itinerary, please do get in touch.

Victoria Falls Rainforest Tour: Mosi-au-Tunya (“the smoke that thunders”) has the largest sheet of falling water in the world (1,708m wide and 108m high), with spray rising 800m and visible from 50km away, when in full flow. The rainforest area is opposite the main section  We highly recommend a David Livingstone – guided tour of the Falls with a professional guide, who is also an expert on the David Livingstone story. Clive’s animated rendition of Livingstone’s life, is the perfect accompaniment to a tour of the Falls.

For white-water rafting, the best time to visit is when the waters in the Zambezi are low (August – December). These rapids have been referred to as the best one-day white-water rafting in the world.

Siduli Hide – a lesser known attraction is the termite-mound shaped Siduli Hide at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, where guests can watch the action at an amazing waterhole – encountering animals who are completely unaware of human presence. Well worth booking, especially when accompanied by a guide.

Game drives and walking safaris are a must if you are not experiencing a safari already. We can recommend a local private guide, who is renowned as hosting some of Southern Africa’s best walking safaris. There are numerous opportunities for wildlife viewing, both in the Zambezi or Victoria Falls National Parks, with Chobe National Park in Botswana also just a short drive away – unique for combining a river safari with a guided safari by vehicle. The perfect way to spend a day.

A hike down to the Boiling pot within the Batoka Gorge is also an opportunity not to be missed. This hike takes you down into the gorge, where you can stand under the spray of the Falls or enjoy a dip in the natural pools surrounded by rainbows. A totally breathtaking experience and a completely different way to view the waterfalls.

The Pot and Paddle is an immersive experience where you are guided by Chefs to prepare your own potjie (poy-kee) dinner on the banks of the Zambezi River, before departing on a river canoe safari or raft drift through the Zambezi National Park. After your water activity, you are dropped back at the waterfront, where you will enjoy a 3-course meal, with the potjie – a traditional slow cooking method done in a three-legged cast iron pot – as the main course.

For the artist in you, join an Art Safari, an interactive and cultural experience. Choose from an elephant art safari, where you spend time observing these gentle animals with your easel beneath the trees next to a waterhole. Also available are village art safaris, where you will travel into a rural homestead with traditional huts and communal living area, depicting rich African cultures. In both cases, a private tutor is provided to guide you through a painting workshop with a difference.

Read our blog post: When to visit Victoria Falls and what to do there!

Updated October 2022:

• Fully vaccinated travellers do not require a PCR test to enter Zimbabwe. You should have received  full dose of a WHO-approved vaccine, no less than 14 days prior to your travel. 
• Please bring a printed copy of your vaccine certificate, which should ideally have a QR code. 
• Vaccinated travellers do not require a PCR test to depart from Zimbabwe. You must check the requirements of your airline and destination country as these may require a test. 
• Those volunteers who are not fully vaccinated will need to bring with them a negative PCR test, no more than 48 hours old at your time of your first flights departure to Zimbabwe. Please print the test results and present them on arrival into Harare. 
• Those volunteers not fully vaccinated may require a PCR test to depart from Zimbabwe. Please check the requirements of your airline, destination country and any transit countries. 

For more information please visit the UK Foreign Office website or the Zimbabwe High Commission in your country of origin.

For the latest updates of countries affected by coronavirus and for any travel restrictions, please visit the following websites:

World Health Organisation daily situation updates
UK FCO Travel Updates – Zimbabwe
CDC Traveler’s Health (USA) – Zimbabwe.

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