Working with elephants in Namibia

Taking a career break is becoming ever more popular but what to do with your time off? We sent Richard Ayers to check out a conservation holiday in the African desert.

Imagine what it's like: there's a 2 tonne elephant who's using her trunk to sniff your back. She is silent and steady. You don't move. You've been told not to. You can smell her and feel her breath on your neck. You crane your neck round, and you point the camera in her direction, press the shutter and hope.

It's difficult to express just how immensely impressive these majestic creatures are. One of my American co-volunteers said that when they moved - graceful, silent and surprisingly speedy - it was "like watching god walk". However over-blown the rhetoric, the experience is truly amazing.

So how does one get that close? And what is a pasty Londoner doing working with elephants in the Namibian desert?

Gap Year for Grown Ups is a company whose name does what it says. They organise trips - anywhere from 2 weeks up to a year - across the globe. Without any knowledge of Spanish, working in the favellas of Guatemala for a month was out - and I wanted a rewarding holiday with a difference rather than 6 months out.

The range of options is remarkable, and it was a close call for me between working on a monkey sanctuary in South Africa and the conservation work with the endangered Namibian desert elephants - but nelly won out. The Elephant Human Relations Aid project was just too good a project to miss out on.

Gap Year for Grownups do not supply the flights - you need to find those yourself. I used the Airmiles service which was easy but also turned out to be surprisingly well priced. South African Airways via Johannesburg is a long trip, but with no more time difference than travelling to Rome, it makes the journey pretty simple.

Mad dogs and Englishmen?
Namibia itself is a fascinating country, but spent most of our time in the bush. Yes, the weather was hot, but it was the last trip of the season and just before the height of summer. It's between 32 and 42 degrees in the daytime and pleasantly mid-20s in the evenings, but with plenty of water, factor 30 (or 50 in this writer's red-headed case), and a sensible two hour siesta from the mid-day sun, the heat and sun didn't bother me at all. Other times of the year and the climate is decidedly more temperate - Brits, have no fear.

Away from base camp you and your clothes will become a nice shade of what they describe as "desert white" - ie sandy sweaty brown. But even the most fastidious of the female volunteers got over this very quickly - the hard work and the experience just doesn't allow a lot of time bothering with trying to get clean. Wet-wipes become moments to savour.

Back at camp however, all the luxuries of home are present. It's like the best equipped tree-house you could have imagined as a child. Communal cooking and eating area, a sleeping platform, or A-frame covering should you prefer, and excellent showers with the best view you'll ever see while lathering. Food is wholesome and hearty - both at camp and out in the bush - and every taste is catered for.

Flies and creepy-crawlies - yes, they're present and no, you can't get rid of them. But the rules of engagement are pretty clear and if observed, there won't be any bother. Don't, as I did, leave your shirt hanging up over night. That itch moving up my back at breakfast was, on inspection by one of my fellow volunteers, a teenage yellow scorpion. But there was no chance he was getting any of my porridge, so was rapidly dispatched.

Working hard, having fun
Week 1 of the trip was doing humanitarian work - in this case building a wall around a farmer's water tank to protect it from thirsty elephants, whilst also ensuring the elephant pools were fully operational. If you're not used to manual labour, worry not, everyone mucks in, but no-one is slave-driving you. The second half of the trip was far less demanding as we tracked the elephants across the desert, camping out under the stars after the most stunning of sunsets.

Volunteers come from all across the globe and for all manner of different reasons. Some come for two weeks, some for two months, and they have in common a desire to do something different, to make a difference, and, by the end, the share an amazing experience.

Namibia Desert Elephant Project
2 weeks £849 (other durations available) which includes the project fee, which goes directly back to the project you are involved in, orientation on arrival, accommodation and all meals on the project, support and assistance from your local co-ordinator during your time in their country and 24 hour support number in the UK for emergencies. For more details call Real Gap Experience on 01892 516164 or visit www.realgap.co.uk