Hi I am a 31 year old female who has traveled the world, but never Africa and never alone. I am trying to plan a trip to Africa sometime between Aug and October and plan to stay about a month. I am physically active and have a passion for wildlife. I would love to volunteer at an animal orphanage or sanctuary where I can get up close with some animals. I am also on a budget and do not need a luxury trip. I was able to stretch $3000 in spending money to last me for 3 months traveling around South America, India, Nepal, and parts of Asia. I understand this might be unrealistic for Africa, but if there is a way to keep costs low, while staying safe, I'm all for it! I would love any/all suggestions on low cost wildlife volunteering, what countries to visit, and if it is worth traveling with a group tour or not (I am normally an "off the beaten path" type of girl, but I dont know if it is possible/safe to do this in Africa). Thanks for your help!
Westerners volunteering in Africa often means denying a job to local Africans in a continent with very high unemployment. Don’t do it unless you have serious qualifications beyond the local workforce like a graduate zoology degree or something.
August and October may still be the rainy season in West Africa when transport between places can be slow.
If you have never been to Africa before, you might want to start with South Africa like many backpackers do. It has abundant low-cost accommodation like hostels. You can, with some judicious planning, travel there enjoyably on 1000€/month, somewhat more if you want to go to a wildlife park.
But no matter what, at least get a few travel guides for West, East and southern Africa and try to determine which of those attracts you most, because they are rather different worlds from each other, and anonymous strangers on the internet won’t know your particular tastes and interests.
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