PROGRAM FEE : 1750 PROGRAM PLUS SAFARI FEE : 2400

Transcription

1 PROGRAM FEE : 1750 PROGRAM PLUS SAFARI FEE : 2400

2 WHAT IS? Love The Oceans is a charitable non-profit marine conservation organisation working in Guinjata Bay, Mozambique. Guinjata Bay, whilst home to a huge host of marine life, has never been studied in depth for any prolonged amount of time. LTO hopes to protect the diverse marine life found here, including many species of sharks, rays and the famous humpback whales. We use research, education and diving to drive action towards a more sustainable future. Our ultimate goal is to establish a Marine Protected Area for the Inhambane Province in Mozambique, achieving higher biodiversity whilst protecting endangered species. We offer a cutting edge volunteer program that gives individuals the chance to work alongside our marine biologists and the local community, helping with conservation, through research, education and diving, over a 5 week period. We are currently offering positions for a select number of participants in 2017 on the following program dates: May 28 th July 2 nd August 13 th September 17 th July 2 nd August 6 th September 17 th October 22 nd At the end of the above programs, we also offer an optional 5 night safari. These dates DO NOT include the 5 nights Safari. Please allow 5 extra days for this. Prospective volunteers are welcome to submit an application form, their resume and a photo in order to apply for a place on a program. LOVETHEOCEANS.ORG INFO@LOVETHEOCEANS.ORG THEOCEANSORGANISATION THEOCEANS

3 WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING? As a Love The Oceans volunteer you form an essential part of our team. After the training week, you will be rotating around our 4 principal activities: Fisheries Research Teaching and Painting Coral Reef Surveys Whale surveys Our volunteers have Saturday mornings and Sundays to participate in optional extra activities such as surf lessons, sailing trips or just relaxing on the beach. Saturday afternoons will be spent teaching the local school children how to swim. We are here We stay in backpacker style accommodation in Guinjata Bay and rooms will hold a maximum of 6 people (genders will be separated). Running water and electricity is available at all times with the exception of a few power cuts! Mosquito nets are provided. Your program is fully catered, however you may want to bring money for internet, drinks and treats. You are required to bring an unlocked mobile phone with you in order to buy a local sim for internet as there is no wifi available. The local shop is a short walk away and holds a few western treasures.

4 After you have settled in, your program will start with an intense training week. We aim to ensure that everyone on the program has the same level of knowledge about LTO, the conservation work we do and your role and responsibilities as an LTO volunteer. In this week you ll learn about your next month in Mozambique. It is during the training week that we will get to know each other better, refresh diving skills and learn new skills as you come up to speed with the research requirements. We expect you to learn and work together, setting a positive tone for the coming weeks. Toward the end of the week you will be placed into a team and will rotate around the following key activities: Fisheries Research Collecting fisheries data will allow us to assess how sustainable the fisheries are. From these assessments, eventually we would like to determine minimum landing size for individual species, as well as changing certain fishing legislation. We cover two fisheries sites; Guinjata Bay and Paindane Bay. A third may be sporadically covered in accordance with the shark fishing. Both sites have resorts and active local fishermen. The Guinjata research site is next to our dive centre, while the Paindane research site is a 45minute walk. Expect to walk to both sites. Every group will have a mobile phone so help is always at hand. Every day on fisheries you be responsible for recording the data into the logs along with the corresponding images (check shark and ray IDs with a field specialist if unsure), cleaning the collected shark/ray vertebrae, and ensuring equipment is clean and stored. This work can be upsetting at times but you cannot get involved in releasing animals; we are there to photograph and collect data in order to achieve a long-term solution.

5 Teaching and Painting Educating the next generation of fishermen in schools about sustainable fishing and why the ocean is important helps the local community protect their biodiversity assets assets because of ecotourism and fisheries. As part of your volunteering, you will help at Guinjata and Paindane School Monday-Friday. You will be teaching year olds about the marine environment, as well as painting classrooms which are in much need of some TLC. You will not be partaking in construction work as we prefer to employ local builders and put money back into the local economy. Surprisingly few local children are confident in the water. Part of our commitment to the local community is teaching the school children how to swim, helping to fuel their passion for the marine environment with a view to them one day being able to experience the underwater world for themselves. We also teach sea safety in our lessons. This is very important as children drowning is not uncommon in this area due to a strong rip and lack of awareness. You can help teach the children (and some adults) how to swim on Saturday afternoons. We ask for our volunteers to bring out 5kg of donations (books or stationery) for the children as well as any marine themed toys.

6 Coral Reef Surveys LTO collects coral reef data in order to lobby for a marine protected area which could enhance eco-tourism, bringing more money into the region and an alternate income to unsustainable fishing. We strongly believe we re in a biodiversity hotspot and we need coral reef data to prove our area is worth protecting. To expand LTO s coral reef logs, you will be diving and snorkelling to complete LTO surveys. You will identify different fish and coral species you see on each dive, and be responsible for logging the data into the scientific logs at the end of each day. These dives require confident divers with good buoyancy. PADI Open Water is a prerequisite for our programs. Whale surveys Humpback whales typically migrate through Mozambique between June and September. LTO is collecting data on these magnificent creatures, looking at surface behaviour and pod formation, never before studied in our area. As part of LTO s team, you will be armed with a camera, binoculars and survey sheets in order to record sightings of humpback whales and any other megafauna that passes through (orcas, whale sharks, manta rays). You ll be going out on the dive boat with the divers but will remain on the boat while the other volunteers dive, in order for you to conduct the whale surveys.

7 PROGRAM EXTRAS Safari Weekend Activities We offer an optional extra 5 night safari that you can enjoy at the end of your volunteer program. You will leave Guinjata bay to explore the Balule Private Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger Park Ecosystem, staying at Ku Sungula Safari Lodge. During your 5 days you will participate in game drives, bush walks, a scenic tour through the Drakensburg Mountains (to see God s Window, the Three Sisters and Bourke s Luck Potholes) and have an animal behaviour bush walk and lecture from experienced field guides. You will then be transported to Johannesburg Airport. All of your meals are included, but the beers are on you! This trip is highly recommended. There are optional weekend excursions you can participate in. They are not compulsory but have proved great fun in the past. These activities need to be paid for separately in cash in Mozambique. - Yacht Trip We sail the Inhambane estuary on a yacht, with the chance to snorkel a few islands. - Surf Trip A day trip to Tofo (the tourist hub) for a fun surf lesson and shop around their market. - Diving Courses PADI scuba diving courses are available at Guinjata Dive Centre, from open water to dive master. - Ocean Safaris Local dive centres offer various Ocean Safari tours where you can search for whale sharks and whales from the boat in an afternoon.

8 F.A.Q.S ARE THERE ANY PREREQUISITES TO JOINING THE PROGRAM? Applicants must be 18 or over at the time of arrival. Applicants must be at least Open Water PADI qualified HOW CAN I GET MY PADI BEFORE THE PROGRAM? If you are not Open Water qualified, it is possible to come and do your Open Water the week before your volunteer program starts at an extra cost. Please for details. HOW SAFE IS IT? Mozambique has struggled with civil conflict in the past, but now it is restricted to the north. LTO is based in the south in a more remote location which has been virtually untouched by political conflict. Your accommodation has a 24 hour guard and is in a place where the crime rate is very low due to a close knit village community. There is a local police station and main hospital is approximately a 30minute drive from our base. The closest decompression chamber is Durban, South Africa. Your included transport is secure as you will be escorted to and from the airport/bus station by LTO or an LTO partner. Those doing the optional safari trip will be escorted to the accommodation, and afterwards dropped at Johannesburg airport by Ku Sungula.

9 F.A.Q.S WILL I GET TO MEET ANYONE BEFORE I GO? We will have a few meet and greets before the trips so you can meet the staff and other volunteers. Unfortunately if you are not based within relatively close proximity to any other volunteers, meeting before the trip may not be possible but we can put you in contact with previous volunteers from your area as our past volunteers have come from UK, Australia, America, Norway, Canada, India, South Africa, and France. DO I NEED A VISA? YES You will need to get a TOURIST VISA at your local Mozambique embassy. Our volunteers must apply for a ONE MONTH SINGLE ENTRY tourist visa. You need a visa to get into Mozambique no matter how long your stay. After one month you can get the visa extended at the local immigration office and we will assist with this. Do NOT get a 30 day multiple entry visa as this will cause problems (requiring you to travel by local bus on a 12hr trip to the border). Your entry border is Inhambane and your exit border is Ressano Garcia if you are doing safari. HOW LONG CAN I STAY? Volunteer programs run for 5 or 6 weeks (depending on whether you choose to do safari). How long you can stay in Mozambique depends on your visa/visa extension. Some volunteers in the past have chosen to stay longer in order to do more dives. Please us for details. WHERE DO I FLY TO? Love The Oceans will pick you up from Inhambane airport, Mozambique. There are direct flights from Johannesburg (South Africa) or Maputo (Mozambique) to Inhambane. If you are doing the safari week you will be dropped at Johannesburg at 6.30pm on the last day of your tour. Therefore you need to book your return flight out of Johannesburg no earlier than 8.30pm on the last day of the program, or the next day.

10 F.A.Q.S DO I NEED INSURANCE? Dive insurance is required for diving. Medical insurance is also mandatory. Travel insurance is strongly recommended. DO I NEED MALARIA MEDICATION AND JABS? Malaria medication is highly recommended. Please ensure it is compatible with diving. It is up to you to sort the jabs you are required to have with your GP as these are different for everyone. Mozambique is NOT a yellow fever district. WHAT CLOTHING DO I NEED TO BRING? We live on a beach so light clothing is recommended although you need to bring a waterproof as you will be on site no matter the weather. Bring warm clothes for the evenings as the wind can pick up. Flipflops are fine for daytime activities but bring at least one pair of covered shoes and long trousers/skirts as full coverage is needed when teaching at the school (You need trainers for safari). You will be sent a FAQS sheet with a packing list upon acceptance to the program. There is also a copy of this on the website. There is a washing machine available (at a cost) but we recommend bringing powder so you can do your own washing by hand free of charge. Please remember to bring clothes to paint in too. CAN I DIVE RECREATIONALLY? Recreational diving is allowed on weekends (at your own expense). CAN I BRING MY OWN DIVE GEAR? There is a room where you can store your own dive kit. Your full kit hire is included in your volunteering price. If you own a dive computer we recommend you bring it.

11 INCLUDED: - Accommodation in Guinjata Bay - Breakfast, lunch and dinner - Transport to and from Inhambane airport - All program snorkelling and diving - All diving kit hire - Training, guidance and mentoring by the marine biologists and scientists at LTO - Full access to accommodation amenities and facilities - All research equipment - Cultural tour around the local area F.A.Q.S THE PROGRAM : THE SAFARI : PRICE: 1750 PRICE: 2400 (inc. program) INCLUDED: - Panorama Route tour, - Game Drives - Bush Walks - All food (extra beverages excluded) and accommodation at Ku Sungula Safari Lodge - Guidance from experienced field guides - All transport (Transfer from Guinjata and drop-off at Johannesburg Airport) Please note: the safari itinerary is subject to change. BOTH THE PROGRAM AND THE SAFARI DO NOT INCLUDE: - Flights - Visa expenses and insurance - Optional extra activities - Extra food or treats A 250 deposit will be required within two weeks of your acceptance onto the program that is non-refundable. Please note, once fully booked, no refunds will be possible. LOVETHEOCEANS.ORG INFO@LOVETHEOCEANS.ORG THEOCEANSORGANISATION THEOCEANS