Lions 🦁

Volunteering with Lions - Wildlife Experience

WoW (Warriors of Wildlife - Simbonga) is an ethical rescue center for captive-bred animals.
It is located in a 154 hectare wildlife reserve.
It is also home to many free-roaming wild animals which means volunteers could have some animal visitors close to their accommodation.
The project aims to rescue and rehome captive animals that have been abused and neglected and to ensure that they have a safe life.

What the volunteer has to do?

25 hours per week of the following:

✔ Animal Care

✔ Management

✔ Cleaning  

Requirements:

✔ Intermediate English

✔ Over 18 years old

✔ Accepts Solo & Couples

About the Program:

WoW is an ethical rescue center for animals raised in captivity, primarily large cats, located in a wildlife reserve spanning 154 hectares. It is also home to various free-roaming wild animals, which means you may have some visitors from wildlife near your volunteer accommodation. Examples include giraffes, wild donkeys, vervet monkeys, kudus, impalas and more.
Our project goals include rescuing and providing shelter for captive animals that have suffered abuse and neglect, ensuring they receive a quality life in a suitable environment. In addition, we aim to educate and raise awareness about the issue of large cats in captivity, as well as rehabilitate and release any wildlife under our care.
In the shelter, animals coming to us are protected for the rest of their lives without breeding, trading, or selling of any kind and there is no direct contact with the animals. The shelter is their safe forever home due to their backgrounds and various reasons and they can never be released into the wild.
WoW is designed to be an educational opportunity for both visitors and volunteers. All animals in the shelter cannot be released, having been rescued from zoos, private ownership, the black market and trade, etc.
Simbonga is now their permanent home for the rest of their natural lives.

🐾 About Work:

The working hours vary between 4-8 hours per day, depending on the shelter's needs during your time there. Every day, there will be a lunch break for one to two hours to ensure enough time for refueling.
During the hotter months, the schedule may be adjusted to avoid any strenuous work during the hottest times of the day. All safety protocols will be taught during work, along with different techniques for animal behavior and enrichment. You may be asked to assist in preparing meals for large cats, which often include beef, horse, chicken, or deer. This may also involve removing meat from bones and preparing internal organs, as well as working with or around carcasses, so volunteers should be prepared to work with meat.

As a volunteer, you will assist in various aspects within the reserve:

✔ Assisting in preparing food and vitamins for the animals.
✔ Participating in feeding routines for the animals.
✔ Assisting in animal care examinations, typically conducted twice a day.
✔ Assisting in fundraising activities or markets.
✔ Monitoring the animals and maintaining records.
✔ Participating in the maintenance of enclosures, possibly helping in the construction of new enclosures.
✔ Conducting fence checks, usually done twice daily, at the beginning and end of the day.
✔ Constructing enrichment items for the animals (the most fun part).
✔ Helping in educational tours.
✔ Removing invasive plants in the reserve.
✔ Walking in the bush and observing freely roaming wildlife.
✔ Assisting in monitoring veterinary procedures (if they occur during your stay).
✔ Assisting in the day-to-day management of the reserve, aiding in the rehabilitation process if any animals are in that phase.
✔ Volunteers may also assist in feeding and cleaning.

Volunteers should be flexible and ready to assist, as working with wildlife can be highly unpredictable. Things may change based on the needs of the animals and the shelter as a whole. Every day is a different day!
You will work closely with the shelter management team, other staff members and fellow volunteers. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fully immerse yourself in a new environment.
Volunteering starts from Monday to Friday, allowing volunteers to have weekends for relaxation or to participate in local tourism activities in the area. In other words, it's 5 days of work and 2 days for you to rest.
You can plan activities and consult with the reserve staff about trips outside the reserve.

Certainly, no prior experience is needed. The tasks assigned to you will be supervised by a staff member from the reserve and a comprehensive explanation will be provided.

🏠 Accommodation:

The volunteer accommodation is located in Simbonga Reserve, less than a 2-minute walk from the reserve itself (lions' den). It is situated on a hill surrounded by freely roaming wildlife. Being very close to lions' den, you can hear their roars at night.

The accommodation consists of large enclosed tents, each providing sleeping space for 4 volunteers. Accommodation is usually shared with individuals of the same gender, unless they are couples, friends, or family members.
Each tent has its own private bathroom with a toilet and a shower, along with a small kitchen for food preparation. Outside, there is a terrace with a dining table and a fire pit that can be used for barbeque.
Bedding, electricity and running water are provided. WiFi is available in limited areas of the reserve, so it is recommended to purchase a South African SIM card or an internet package from your home country.
There is a washing machine in the reserve and the staff can wash the bedding once a week.
Keeping the volunteer accommodation clean and tidy is the responsibility of each volunteer.

• Shared rooms and bathrooms - males in a shared accommodation and females in another shared accommodation.

🍽️ Meals:

It's important to mention that the fees does not cover or include the meals. Meals are provided on a self-catering basis. On the way from the airport to the reserve, each volunteer, accompanied by the reserve staff, purchases all the necessary food items they need for the week. Volunteers are responsible for preparing their own meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) unless they take turns with other volunteers.
The small kitchen in the tents is equipped with a two-burner gas stove, kettle, hot plate, refrigerator / freezer and a microwave. Basic tableware and cookware are also provided.
Volunteers are responsible for cleaning up after meals. A minimum of one weekly trip will be made to allow volunteers to purchase any additional items they may need.
Please inform us of any dietary restrictions, allergies, etc. in advance. Vegetarian needs can be accommodated, but there may be additional charges for a vegetarian diet due to the higher cost of vegetarian food.

💭 Questions and Answers:

• What is the cost of a flight ticket from Palestine?
$800-$1200 depending on the booking period (the earlier the booking, the better and cheaper).

• How do I get to the reserve?
Travel by plane from your country to O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, likely with a layover in between. From there, take another flight to Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) – the flight duration is approximately one and a half hours. From Port Elizabeth Airport to Jeffreys Bay (the sanctuary team will pick you up from Port Elizabeth – 40 minutes by plane).
The arrival and departure day to and from the reserve is on Mondays each week.
Please wait upon arrival at the designated area and refrain from leaving. Free WiFi is available at all airports in South Africa, so please log in and inform Lauren via WhatsApp that you have arrived, especially if your flight landed earlier or is delayed.
📱 Lauren: +27 60 342 9131

• What can I do during the days off?

For travel to and from the reserve, there are various transportation options, including taxis. We recommend going on your days off to experience surfing lessons at Jeffrey's Bay (the surfing capital of South Africa) or simply relaxing on the beautiful golden beaches. Jeffrey's Bay is approximately 20 km by car from the reserve.
Reserve staff can assist with some exploratory trips for a very nominal fee. You can collaborate with other volunteers and share costs to visit places like Bloukrans Bungee (the world's highest bungee jump) or other animal reserves in the area. We recommend a full-day visit to Addo Elephant National Park (the third-largest national park in South Africa, home to hundreds of elephants, various antelope species, warthogs, foxes and possibly lions).

There are more activities that the reserve staff can recommend. The costs for registration do not cover activities outside the reserve on days off.

• Am I obligated to get vaccinations?
Vaccination is not legally mandatory, but highly recommended!
You don't need to know the type of vaccination before going to the clinic; just inform them that you are going to Jeffry's Bay in South Africa and they will provide you with the necessary vaccinations.

📌 Reminders:

• This volunteering opportunity is designed for nature enthusiasts who are willing to work hard and are not afraid of getting their hands dirty, but the rewards are worth the effort.
• Remember that this project is located in South Africa and will operate according to "African Time." So, please be patient and cooperative and you will quickly adapt to the pace of life and how things work.
• Keep in mind that you are present on the site in a wildlife reserve, not in the city center. If you are looking for nightlife entertainment, you won't find it here.
• Working with animals and outdoors inevitably comes with some scratches and minor cuts, but usually, nothing serious.
• This is a truly wonderful and rewarding project, but don't expect direct interaction with the reserve animals (remember the program's goal).

⛅ Weather in South Africa:

• Summer Months: December - March
• Autumn Months: April - May
• Winter Months: June - August
• Spring Months: September - November

The weather in South Africa is European, as in the evening hours, you may need a jacket even in the summer months.

📆 Registration Dates:

Program Availability: All year long

Volunteering in the reserve starts and ends on Mondays.

• Days off: 2 days per week.
• Minimum period for volunteering: 2 weeks (Preference is given to those who choose a longer period)

💳 Registration Fees: (Does not include HomeAwe Fees)

$550 for 1 week

Most of the registration fees are intended to assist the reserve in funding the care expenses for the lions and all the animals in there. Since the reserve is non-profit, it relies on continuous support, donations and assistance. Instead of directly asking for donations, they organize these youth programs within the reserve, providing a unique and impactful experience through which volunteers from around the world can contribute. So this opportunity is considered invaluable compared to a regular tourist trip that would undoubtedly cost more. Here, the experiences you will have with HomeAwe are unique. And the daily life is relatively affordable.

📋 Registration Process:

1. Sign Up through the program's link down below - your details and answers to the questions will be reviewed and based on that, your acceptance will be determined. (It is preferable not to hesitate in providing clear and explicit answers to the questions without any sense of shyness. The clearer, more spontaneous and heartfelt your answers are, the higher the likelihood of your acceptance).
If we do not contact you within 2 weeks, it means that you have not been accepted.
If you are accepted, we will communicate with you via email to arrange the payment of the registration fees to reserve your spot in the program.

2. After you Sign Up, you'll receive an email that has a link to pay the registration fees of $400 to HomeAwe to reserve your spot in the program and to arrange a personal interview.

3. Have a personal interview with HomeAwe for introduction and further explanation of details.
If you didn't make it in the interview, we will refund you with the registration fees ($400).

4. Lana will update the reserve about the date you have picked to volunteer.

5. The volunteer fills out an application form specific to the reserve, and Lana sends it to the reserve's team.
(In some reserves, they may require documents like insurance policies, so the volunteer handles it and Lana sends it to them as well).

6. You send an electronic signature in a PDF file and Lana sends it to the reserve.

7. We start look for a flight ticket for you that matches your volunteer start date.

8. Complete registration fees at least one month before the start date of your program to reserve your spot!