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TRAVELLERS' TALES: WILDLIFE SANCTUARY - SOUTH AFRICA
 
Julia Liebmann / Wildlife Sanctuary - South Africa / German
What experience do you feel you are gaining? Hands on working with nice people. See and touch animals you just know from zoo or TV.

What is the best thing about your placement so far? All of it :-)

Would you recommend this placement to anyone else? Yes, definitely.

What type of person do you think this placement would suit? You: shouldn't complain everything, don't mind to become dirty, not be afraid of animals or birds, and be prepared that you are expected to work and to help other people with their jobs when you have finished yours.

What, if any, improvements could be made to the placement? It would be great, if the volunteers had a pc at their disposal.

Was there anything that you weren’t told before your departure that you think future volunteers should know? That you have to cut up rough meat from cowlegs or the backbone of cows/ calfs

Can you describe a typical day? (e.g Start time, morning duties, lunch hours, afternoon duties, any other duties…. ) We start the food preparation at 7am. When everything is tidy we have breakfast at about 8.30am. Then the am-jobs are dispersed. At 1pm we have lunch (Sandwiches, soup, salad etc.). At 2am we start food preparation for the pm-feeding. After that we do the pm-jobs like feeding the chickens or top-up aviary water. Usually we are finished with everything at 5pm. Ten we go to have a shower and after that we have lunch at 6pm. We go to bed quite early at about 9pm.
Sophie Walker / Wildlife Sanctuary - South Africa / British
 

Spending 8 weeks at African Dawn was an amazing experience. Although often hard work, everyday was fun and different. The volunteers were given trust and responsibility right from the start, and having access to so many beautiful animals was incredible. This summer generated so many amazing memories of so many things you could never see or do at home - from cleaning up cheetah poop to walking with elephants to bottle feeding grysboks - thank you Travellers Worldwide!

 

Charlotte Williams / Wildlife Sanctuary - South Africa / British
What experience do you feel you are gaining? The ability to work well in a team using skills of all the individuals to their best ability.

What is the best thing about your placement so far? The variety of tasks, from feeding to projects, with building an avery roof or walking on the beach looking for cuttlefish

Would you recommend this placement to anyone else? Yes

What type of person do you think this placement would suit? An out-doors type person with an interest in animals, and helping others, also someone who is not afraid of a small amount of hard work. or early mornings

Can you describe a typical day? (e.g Start time, morning duties, lunch hours, afternoon duties, any other duties…. ) Working days start at 7.30ish you are either on feeding or projects. Feeding - there are a variety of different routes which involve feeding different species of animals, such as grisbok, lynx, wallabies, birds, or kudu. Once your morning route is finished and you complete breakfast, a jobs list is produced. This involves general things to be done around the park with the animals. afternoon feeding routes start again at 2pm

Projects start at 8am, they are what ever needs completing around the park. so a walk around the game reserve to find anthills, cutting up meat for the cheetahs, Or help mending areas of the park. Or if you are lucky a trip to the beach.
Kim Nielsen / Wildlife Sanctuary - South Africa / Danish

Dear Travellers

Thank you so much for all what you did for me, when I booked my first project.
(Wildlife Sanctuary in south Africa)

You removed all of my concern I had, when I started booking.

I remember the first time you called me, and introduced yourself, and talk to me as we had known each other for a lifetime or even family.

It felt like that there was nothing else in your heart to please me.

Never have I experience such an amazing service

Zoe Trevett / Wildlife Sanctuary - South Africa / British

I am so pleased I did the placement and wish I was still there!! Thank you so much for arranging everything, it all seemed to go very smoothly. I feel I have gained a better understanding of how animals function in the wild and how nature affects the balance. I have learnt how to care for animals but also when to and when not to fear them. I have learnt how to adapt to situations and to fit in with systems but also how to make suggestions of improvements where appropriate.
The best thing was definitely the people that I met, both in terms of the volunteers and the hosts. Sandy and Percy were so hospitable and make us feel so welcome and a part of the family. The care and attention to the animals is excellent and they work so hard to make sure the enclosures are the best they can be given with the funds available. I was pleased with the amount of contact there was with the animals, aside from the obvious ones which you couldn't interact with. There was a good balance between work and play and a good variety of activities.

I would definitely recommend this placement to others, I absolutely loved my time there and was extremely sad to leave again. I would definitely go back myself. I think it would suit someone who loves all types of animals and is interested in their welfare. Someone who is perhaps worried about being away from home, as the wildlife sanctuary is basically a home from home. I feel as if I have an extended family now! Volunteers do need to be flexible as jobs do change and they may need to contribute with ideas and have the enthusiasm to drive a project through. There are so many jobs that need doing that it is sometimes hard to know which is the priority. And lastly, someone who absolutely isn't afraid to get dirty (oh and who isn't afraid of spiders!)

Can you describe a typical day? Start work at 7am, where you can usually decide if you want breakfast then or if you want to wait for a break later on. You have full use of the kitchen. The morning feed is the priority of the day, so the next 3 hours are very busy (depending on how many volunteers are present). The birds are crucial, as food left over from the previous day can make them ill if not changed over early in the morning. Early morning cleaning and checking of the bird cages will often leave you with some casualties, which need to be cleared away asap. Cages are also checked for holes in the netting and you need to be aware of any birds that have become ill overnight.

Food preparation is kept separate from the cleaning of cages, so groups will be split. One team will clean cages in preparation for feeding, and the other group will prepare food. Feeding of the food will be done by whoever finishes first! After the feed, the kitchen must be cleaned as well as the restaurant area. By 9am, floors must be swept and toilets cleaned, ready for any visitors to the park. Once food and cleaning is done, the rest of the day is pretty much allocated for other duties, such as building work, either of cages or accommodation, fences need to be checked on the game park, or basically anything else that needs ticking off the "to do" list!

Percy will often drop off a team into the game park and they will either walk the fence back home, checking for holes or they may sit out on the game park and check the animals and do a count of stock. The game park is very safe to wander around but you must be in a team. Back at the restaurant, someone will usually be asked to stay behind and man the restaurant, letting in visitors or taking food orders, answering phones etc. This is usually a good time to check food supplies for both the animals and humans, as they will need to be given warning as to when stocks are low. Trips to town for supplies can be accompanied if possible.

Lunch breaks are usually between 1-2pm, depending on what you are doing that day. Tea breaks as and when you need them. There is an afternoon feed at 3pm, which may only require 2 volunteers and is only for the birds, as they need fresh food to see them through the night. A quick check in the cages is necessary to make sure everyone is looking healthy. This is also the time when meat is supplied for tomorrows feed and must be collected from other workers on the farm and packed away.

Your duties are finished at 4pm, and you can then do as you wish. Usually you will want a good hot shower and scrub up for dinner! Dinner is usually prepared by Sandy and served around 6pm. After dinner, we usually sit with the family in the restaurant area and either watch TV, or talk about the days activities, or even play games. Sandy and Percy are more than happy for the company as they are very young at heart! We tended to go to bed around 8 - 9pm, simply because we were feeling pretty tired after the day’s activities and also because of an early start!

Klara Holewa / Wildlife Sanctuary - South Africa / Canadian

I feel that I gained experience all around. Working in the restaurant, feeding the animals and doing odd jobs around the farm. I feel that I have extra experience where I never have had before. I will have more confidence in doing all different things from new to old. The best thing about the placement would be that it didn’t feel like work it felt like doing chores in a family business. Sandy and Percy welcomed all of us volunteers as family and I did not feel homesick as I had a family to take care and love me. I would definitely recommend this placement to anyone and everyone! This would suit an outgoing hard working person who loves to do any sort of work from cleaning to rough and rugged work and who does not mind getting dirty!

This was the best thing that I have ever done in my whole life. I have met and worked with the greatest people. I now have friends and family all over the globe! The animals were fantastic you couldn't help but bond with them all they had great personalities! Working there was like being welcomed into a family. I will miss them all very much - it was hard to come home and get back into the swing of things here in Canada and am still having a hard time without my new family. 

Can you describe a typical day? We started at 7:00 so we would wake up and have breakfast and then we would prepare the food for the animals. We roughly finished the morning feed by 9 - 9:30. Then we might have a quick tea break and after that we would do whatever needed doing from cleaning the kitchen and watching the restaurant to walking the game farm looking for holes or whatever building that might need doing. We always tried to do anything even if we had a hard time doing it. Sandy and Percy are very patient and always included us in everything. We would have lunch from 1:00-2:00 and then continue on whatever was needed. At 3:00 we would start the afternoon feed then after that was done we would normally clean up the kitchen make sure all things were done for the day and usually we would retire back to the cabin at 4 - 4;30. Supper time was great as we had a family meal almost everyday and we always socialized at the end of everyday. It was like one very large happy family it made the experience even better!

Meghan Alexander / Wildlife Sanctuary - South Africa / British

I had an unforgettable experience that I'm sure I will treasure forever! The placement enabled me to experience a different way of life with a number of people from all over the world. The best thing was the people; Sandy and Percy were fantastic and made excellent surrogate parents! We had a laugh every day and all became so close! It was a really family orientated environment, set in a beautiful landscape! It was really fantastic to step outside and see rolling hills and the occasional zebra, in the distance. I'd recommend the placement to anyone who likes the countryside and doesn't mind roughing it, just a little bit. It's not just a project for animal lovers and will suit anyone who likes being outdoors. It's also perfect for first time travellers and people who struggle being away from home, because Sandy and Percy will look after you!

Can you describe a typical day? We were up at 6.30ish to start the morning feed around 7am. The duties were split between us so that everyone got to do a different job each day; either preparing the food inside for the animals and birds or working outside e.g. raking the bird cages. We'd have breaky at 9.30-10ish, then would start our task for the day. Whilst I was there we finished painting the raccoon cage, planted trees in the bush buck enclosure, helped do the springbok enclosure - digging holes for poles and trees and putting up the shade cloth around the sides, we also started the emergency cages. At 3ish we did the afternoon feed, which didn't take long, so we'd finish the working day at 4ish.

We ate dinner at about 6.30 and hung out at the house, playing rummikub and uno; but of course this time is your own so you can do whatever you want. I had a fantastic time and fell in love with the place, the animals and especially the people! It's difficult to write a feedback form because everyone will gain something different from the whole thing; what you gain will depend on how much you put into it! Just appreciate it all the time because it was over all too quickly!



 
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