Work in a Wildlife Park that has over 60 varieties of Australian native birds and marsupials, located in a beautiful town just south of Perth. Popular activities in the Park are hand-feeding the free range kangaroos that roam freely around the Park and entering into the large free-flight aviary (for the brave) to hand-feed the parrots!

The park is an asset to the local community and the south west as it is a great tourist attraction as well as benefiting the community and schools. The Lonely Planet guide named Western Australia's South West region as one of the TOP TEN most desirable holiday destinations in the world for 2010 saying, "it offers variety in spades!” And it does ... the sheer size, amazing natural wealth, awesome scenery and huge variety of plant and animal life make Australia an essential destination for anyone with a passion for nature and wildlife.

FREE WEEKEND IN PERTH DURING YOUR PLACEMENT: Explore this delightful city! You'll stay in a Backpackers in the heart of Perth, on the doorstep of vibrant North Bridge, famous for its bars, clubs and restaurants. You'll be met at the coach station and taken to the Backpackers, then you're free to explore the city. You'll return to Bunbury by coach on Sunday afternoon, ready for work on Monday.

PLACEMENT OVERVIEW

Location: Bunbury, Western Australia Start dates: Available all year round, you choose your start and finishing dates. Duration: From 4 weeks to 12 weeks or longer, subject to visa requirements Requirements: No qualifications needed, just lots of enthusiasm and initiative. You should have reasonable English and enjoy talking to people. Minimum age 18. Compensation: Unpaid Price: £1,595 for 4 weeks, ranging to £2,495 for 12 weeks. Full Price List and other Currencies      What's included: ►Arranging your Programme, ►Full pre-departure support and assistance, ►Payment Protection insurance ►Meeting you at the nearest airport/station ►All accommodation ►Transfer to the placement site ►Free Weekend in Perth, including accommodation ►In-country team support and backup ►24-hr emergency support ►Free T-Shirt ►Certificate of Completion. What's not included: Flights, travel insurance, cost of visa, food, daily transport to and from project, return transfer to the airport.

You'll work with an organisation that is dedicated to conserving Australia’s threatened wildlife and ecosystems - it's an immensely worthwhile project which has a very high level of personal satisfaction! The mission of the Park is to provide a partnership with the community, promoting understanding of the animals and plant life of the South West and an integrated resource centre promoting environmental stewardship and sustainability. The Wildlife Park is a community-based volunteer-run organisation offering a variety of experiences. They consist of Native Animal based experience, grounds keeping experience, retail/tourism experience, or a combination to suit individual requirements. The Park attracts visitors from all over the world, so by hosting international volunteers they hope to provide an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and awareness of cultural differences, exchange ideas and, in turn, make the place more culturally sensitive and an enjoyable environment in which to work and visit. The Park also participates in a variety of structured workplace learning programmes including, disability services and other community work programmes. WORK CONTENT: You'll have lots of opportunity to work hands-on with some of Australians wonderfully unique and diverse native birds and mammal species. Other work activities that you can get involved with include Grounds-keeping, which involves the hands-on care and maintenance of hundreds of native trees and plants. You can also get involved in Retail & Tourism if you want to. This last activity is entirely optional, but is available if you'd like to get tourism experience. Your main responsibility will fall into one or more of the following three areas at the Park: Native animal-based experience, Grounds-keeping experience, Retail / Tourism experience (optional). Native Animal-based Experience: This revolves around the daily care and maintenance of the animals and their enclosures, including cleaning, feeding, feed preparation, enclosure maintenance, behaviour observation and environmental enhancement. Your role is to assist the Wildlife carers employed by the Park with their daily tasks. On a typical day you could do cleaning and maintenance of the animal enclosures and surrounding grounds of the park in the mornings, then stop for lunch at around midday, In the afternoon you'll prepare the food for the animals by cutting up fruit and vegetables, and then you'll feed the animals. Grounds-keeping Experience: This involves the maintenance of the Wildlife Park grounds and facilities, including planting, mulching, repairs and general grounds-keeping duties. Instructions are given to volunteers daily, depending on what is required for that day. This activity is ideal for you if you really like to get stuck into things. Retail / Tourism Experience (optional): If you'd like to gain some experience in Retail & Tourism while on your project, you'll get the chance to improve communication skills; meet people and gain skills in retail sales as well as basic food preparation and service. The Park is very happy when some volunteers choose to get involved in all areas of running the park, because this not only helps them to sustain their work, it also gives you a broad spectrum of experience and knowledge in what it takes to manage the facility. Thus you can also gain experience in dealing with retail sales, customer liaison, restocking of items, maintenance of the shop area, answering customer queries, answering the telephone and helping with a vast multitude of daily functions required to keep the Park functioning efficiently and well. You'll be a part of the Park team and they are particularly keen to listen to and discuss any ideas you may have, especially if you have specific skills or experience that might help them, such as in marketing or education, for example. Back to Top

PROJECT LOCATION  - SOUTH WEST COAST
This programme is located in the stunning south west coast in the third largest city in Western Australia. The city is small but a major commercial centre in Western Australia and acts as a hub to the local area about 2½ hrs drive south of Perth. Described as the real Australia. It is located on a spectacular peninsular surrounded by blue waters of the Indian Ocean, a bay and an inlet. A vibrant port city with a strong maritime history, the area is renowned for its quality lifestyle and unique blend of nature surrounds and top quality facilities.

The area other features include Western Australia's southern-most mangroves, rare basaltic rock and nearby Tuart Forest. A colourful "cappuccino strip" of sidewalk cafes and a variety of waterside dining options offer numerous opportunities to taste the wonders of the local produce. These cafes and the award-winning restaurants and historic pubs ensure the atmosphere hums! The city is surrounded by forests, national parks, beautiful waterways, historic towns and hundreds of vineyards, not to mention the incredible coast-line.

CLIMATE
The area has a Mediterranean climate with warm to hot summers and cool winters. Rainfall is received in the form of cold-fronts during winter but the weather is rather pleasant for the rest of the year. In summer (December to February), the average maximum temperature is 28°C with an average minimum temperature of 14°C. In winter (June to August), the average maximum temperature is 19°C with an average minimum temperature of 9°C.

WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PROJECT:

• An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten adventure into Australia.

• The enormous satisfaction of helping animals and the environment, and knowing that you made a contribution to their wellbeing and sustainability.

• New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional development.

• An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head and shoulders above most others in the job market

• And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!

 
Got any questions? Please email us:
info@travellersworldwide.com

The BBQ area


The Outdoor area

You will fly into Perth airport (Perth is the capital city of Western Australia) where you will be welcomed by our Australian Volunteer Liaison Officer or another one of our staff. They will then transport you to a city backpackers where you will stay for one night to give you time to catch your breath and relax after your flight.

You will be met by us again the following day and given an orientation.

You will be met by us again the following day and given an orientation.  After the orientation you will be taken to the Esplanade bus station, located in the Central Business District, where you will be transferred onto a South West coach. The drive down to your project location takes 2-3 hours, mostly along the coastal road and you'll be driving through some beautiful land- and seascapes. When you arrive, a staff member from the Backpackers will meet you at the bus station and take you back to the hostel.

You have the option to arrange your own flights or we can assist you with your flight arrangements. If you would like us to do this for you, we will liaise with you regarding available flights and dates to suit you. All arrangements for your flight bookings/payments will be fulfilled by Murray Rogers Travel Limited, ATOL No. 6856. Where possible, we arrange for two or more people to travel on the same flight and we will let you have the names and telephone numbers of other volunteers on your flight, so that you can chat to each other or even meet up before leaving for your placement.

Where possible, all flights we arrange for you have changeable return tickets because many of our volunteers choose to extend their stay once they are in their destination country. Changeable return tickets enable you to do so, within the limits of your visa and the level of your air ticket, of course. If you choose to book your own flights, you should endeavour to get a changeable ticket.

We can also arrange your flight dates to give you additional time at the end of your project for travelling around and sightseeing - this is a fascinating and wondrous country!

VISAS: We will liaise with you about specific requirements, if any, and make the Visa process very easy.   

To read about the excellent Support & Backup we provide before you leave and during your programme, please click here.

Aerial view from above ....... and at night