General Impression
Overall Rating: / 10
FYI - My first week was the SCUBA Open Water certification and second week was the marine conservation program, so one week of volunteering.Both components of the program were really well run and are now lifelong memories for me. Learning to SCUBA and then volunteer on the spectacular Great Barrier Reef!!
This was my first ever travel volunteer experience and it was very worthwhile! I wish I was staying for the second week of volunteering! (So, for the Love Volunteers program, this would mean the three week program, which is one week of SCUBA and two weeks of volunteering.)
I don't study or work in the area of wildlife or environmental conservation (I'm a project manager on governmental infrastructure projects). Yet I found this program very educational and enjoyable. They were transparent about their fee structure and I knew I was contributing to marine and environmental conservation, despite only doing a week of the program. I thought there was a good balance between volunteering in the morning and having free time in the afternoon.
Having completed this program, I'm keen to be more sustainable, do more volunteering generally and do more SCUBA and snorkelling (I was new to both). Thank you Love Volunteers and the team in Australia!
Country
n/a as I'm an Aussie!
Project & Staff
All the Australian hosts were fantastic - Helen was an excellent coordinator and conservation guru, Tim beautifully weaved Indigenous culture elements into the program, and Amy was knowledgeable, fun and helpful.
Tips
- Some people who also did the SCUBA certification the week prior thought we needed that qualification to volunteer. LV - perhaps make clearer that it's for fun and not required for volunteering.
- It wasn't completely clear that you didn't have to buy a GoPro and fins for the volunteering portion. I did end up buying all my snorkel gear in Cairns anyway, but others may prefer to just hire fins on the islands.
- It would've been good to get a heads up on the cost of the Pro-Dive SCUBA gear. This is top-notch gear, and I did buy everything(!) but I prefer to have more time to make decisions and not everyone can afford $600-$700 AUD (discounted from $900-1000 AUD) worth of gear. However, you don't have to buy everything from them, i.e. you could just get a snorkel and mask (or even just a mask) and get fins and boots elsewhere. Or you can even just hire all your gear and not purchase anything.
- As a plan-ahead person, I would've liked the weekly program a bit earlier (Friday or Saturday) instead of Sunday. However, in the end, it didn't matter too much.
- LV - Maybe make clear that although the afternoons are free, you're on the Island until 4:30pm.
- If you're wondering whether to book weekend activities in advance or wait to see what other volunteers want to do, I suggest doing both! I recommend booking at least one activity in advance (especially if you're going during peak season) because it gets busy and tiring during the week with both SCUBA and volunteering. I did end up also hanging out with other volunteers for a day, so I'm glad I didn't book everything in advance.
- It wasn't completely clear that you didn't have to buy a GoPro and fins for the volunteering portion. I did end up buying all my snorkel gear in Cairns anyway, but others may prefer to just hire fins on the islands.
- It would've been good to get a heads up on the cost of the Pro-Dive SCUBA gear. This is top-notch gear, and I did buy everything(!) but I prefer to have more time to make decisions and not everyone can afford $600-$700 AUD (discounted from $900-1000 AUD) worth of gear. However, you don't have to buy everything from them, i.e. you could just get a snorkel and mask (or even just a mask) and get fins and boots elsewhere. Or you can even just hire all your gear and not purchase anything.
- As a plan-ahead person, I would've liked the weekly program a bit earlier (Friday or Saturday) instead of Sunday. However, in the end, it didn't matter too much.
- LV - Maybe make clear that although the afternoons are free, you're on the Island until 4:30pm.
- If you're wondering whether to book weekend activities in advance or wait to see what other volunteers want to do, I suggest doing both! I recommend booking at least one activity in advance (especially if you're going during peak season) because it gets busy and tiring during the week with both SCUBA and volunteering. I did end up also hanging out with other volunteers for a day, so I'm glad I didn't book everything in advance.