Volunteer at an animal sanctuary and make a real difference by providing hands-on care to a variety of exotic and indigenous animals and birds. These animals are in permanent captivity due to factors such as previous injuries, being kept as exotic pets, human habituation, or because they are not native to the local ecosystem and cannot be safely released. As a bonus, you’ll also have the opportunity to assist on the adjoining wildlife reserve, home to free-roaming giraffe, zebra, antelope, and other iconic species—offering a rewarding and well-rounded wildlife experience.
| Starting days | All year around, Monday to Friday |
| Minimum Requirements | 2 weeks and longer subject to visa requirements. A minimum age of 16 years old if unaccompanied and 14 years if accompanied by a parent or guardian. |
| Cost | £750 for 2 weeks and £300 for each additional week |
| What is included | 3 meals a day, accommodation, meeting you at Port Elizabeth airport, airport collection and drop-off, pre-departure support, in-country team, 24- emergency help and more. |
| What is not included | Flights, visas, travel insurance, spending money. |
| Best for | Gappers, career breakers, families, post-retirement gappers, animal lovers, nature lovers, volunteers who like to get hands-on. |
Project Description
As the Animal Sanctuary and Wildlife Reserve area is very large, there is always a very wide variety of areas that you could be involved in. When you volunteer at the Animal Sanctuary and Wildlife Reserve, volunteers are expected to help together as a team and the duties are very rewarding with a lot of time to spend special moments with the animals too. Volunteers team up in groups to accomplish the twice daily feeding routes. You will help five days on with two days off which allows you time to explore the beautiful beaches of nearby Jeffreys Bay, South Africa’s surfing capital, wildlife reserves and the many other activities in the area or hike the adjoining nature reserve to bird watch or do some wildlife viewing of the giraffe, zebra and other antelopes that roam freely.
At the animal sanctuary there are currently there are roughly 250 different species of birds of which there are hundreds including Ostrich, Emu, Hawks, Owls, Black Eagles, Pygmy Falcons, Blue and Crowned Cranes, Secretary bird, Macaws, African Greys, Cockatoos, Amazon parrots plus LOTS of other parrots and garden birds!
The other wildlife on the animal sanctuary side are Servals, Caracal, Ground squirrels, Marmoset, Porcupine, Meerkats, Chinchillas, Tenrecs, Grysbok, Steenbok, Blue and Common Duiker, Llamas, Bushbuck, Springbok, Goats, Suni, Blesbok, Impala, Crocodile, Tortoises, Bearded Dragons, Snakes and other reptiles.
On the wildlife reserve you will find Giraffe, Zebra, Impala, Nyala, Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Kudu, Bushbuck, Common Duiker and various other antelope and free roaming mammals like Vervet Monkeys and a wide variety of birds. During the spring into summer months (September to February), you will have the opportunity to see lots of baby animals as here the wildlife is allowed to live a natural life. Any of the indigenous wildlife rescued by the public, is normally released onto the wildlife reserve when mature and healthy enough.
Morning feeds start early at between 06h30 and 07h30 with afternoons feeds around 14h00 and the day normally ends at 16h00 with lots of little breaks in-between including lunch break.
Your volunteer duties on the Animal Sanctuary and Wildlife Reserve project may include:
- Food preparation- you will receive instruction on how to do this and what each animal’s diet is and how much to give them
- Feeding routines through designated areas around the sanctuary
- Cleaning food and water bowls and freshwater top ups
- Cleaning, sweeping and washing the food prep room after the last feed ready for the morning
- Checking the fences of the wildlife reserve
- Cleaning, tidying and repairing animal enclosures
- Building new enclosures and expanding existing enclosures
- Assist with the rehabilitation and release of rescued wildlife
- Animal enrichments
- Removing alien and invasive vegetation
- Data collection on the wildlife reserve
- Guiding tourists around the sanctuary and helping with tours
- Cutting firebreaks- this has helped save from wildfires in the past
- Unloading deliveries
- Administration work and any other general maintenance or project
- Seed duty- collecting food and seed bowls from the parrots, hornbills and other seed eater birds and sweep feeding stations
If you have any specific skills or qualifications that you feel could be of extra help, please let us know
Rough daily schedule
06h00: grab a quick coffee or tea at the restaurant before heading to the food preparation room. Or catch a few minutes extra sleep if you prefer a bit longer of a lie in. If volunteer numbers are low and depending on the season, then an earlier or later start will take place to complete all the feeding routes in time.
07h00: make your way to the food preparation room where volunteers group up and are given various feeding routines for the animal enclosures around the sanctuary to make sure the animals and birds get their necessary daily dietary needs
09h00: a quick break for breakfast at the restaurant helps you refuel for the day ahead
09h30 to 12h00: various duties are then taken part in around the sanctuary and reserve which can be anything from cutting firebreaks, checking and cleaning animal enclosures, maintaining the wildlife reserve fence, removing alien vegetation or food preparation for the afternoon’s feeding routine for a few examples
12h30: time to break for lunch and take a quick break from the South African sun at the restaurant
14h00: the feeding routines for the animals starts again. This is always the most enjoyable time of the day spending time with the animals
15h00 to 17h30: time to finish off the day’s duties and hopefully finish earlier than 17h30. Some of the allocated duties will only need a short amount of time and many hands make light work so you may be finished for the day a lot earlier by 16h00
17h45: its time for a dinner and no doubt after lots of helping with the animals and birds at the sanctuary, everyone is hungry! Volunteers take it in turns to do washing up duties after everyone has eaten. For those who are not off to bed early from the long day, it is time to chill in the social area and unwind with the other volunteers, catch up on a book or watch a bit of TV
Volunteers have 2 days off every week to get to sightsee and explore the area.
Accommodation
The onsite volunteer accommodation is less than a 5-minute walk to the sanctuary and reserve. Bedrooms are rustic and shared from twin rooms to same gender dormitory-style rooms. Rooms for couples and families can be organised if booking early in advance. Bathrooms are shared. There is a small kitchenette with a kettle and a fridge for volunteers to have tea and coffee and keep cooldrink and snacks, but breakfast, lunch and dinner are prepared in the main kitchen and served up at the restaurant at the Sanctuary.
It is up to the volunteers to keep their living spaces tidy as cleaners come in on Mondays and Fridays only. Linen is provided but please bring your own beach towels. Laundry is available for a surcharge. If you would need a prepaid South African sim card, this can be bought at the project and there is Wi-Fi up at the main restaurant. There is also a TV with Netflix at the main restaurant.
Please bring a sleeping bag for extra warmth on your bed for the cooler winter and spring nights (June through to October).
Food
Location
You will need to fly into Port Elizabeth International Airport for your airport collection before 15:30 or alternatively if visiting Cape Town, you can take a coach liner up to Jeffreys Bay for collection. This area of the Eastern Cape province is referred to as the “Sunshine Coast” with lovely long stretches of beautiful beaches and inland you will find many private wildlife reserves and of course the famous Addo Elephant National Park which is always worth a visit and home to hundreds of elephants and is a Big 5 reserve. The Eastern Cape is also the ancestral home of the first democratic president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela who is fondly referred to as Madiba and the home of the amaXhosa people who are known for their language, isiXhosa, which is a tongue twister with many clicks and very beautiful.
If wildlife, nature, beaches, and cultures interest you, it is a perfect part of South Africa to volunteer at and known for the friendly locals. Please be aware that volunteering with animals can get messy so please bring suitable clothes that you do not. mind getting dirty. This project is for those that love animals, birds and nature and do not mind getting stuck in and helping hands-on.
For more information or to book our Animal Sanctuary volunteer project, please use the contact form or email us at info@volunteerinternationaladventures.com
All our Animal and Wildlife volunteer projects in South Africa
A few reviews from past volunteers…
“First time in Africa, but not the last. My stay in the Sanctuary has “transformed” me. Taking care of birds (a whole new world for me and so fascinating) and animals has given a new meaning to my ” holidays”. This place is extraordinary, the work can be hard sometimes but the beauty of it all makes you forget it. One bird comes on your shoulder and its magic and all of them are making the sound of paradise! Our work is so rewarding and important to make this place a very good one for the animals, because that’s what it’s all about. The Sanctuary is located in the game reserve which is just an amazing place where you can see giraffes, impalas, zebras, nyalas and much more just in the morning, walking from the lodge to the sanctuary! The accommodation is nice, clean and with a great view, I sometimes let my door open in the afternoon and I could see zebras passing by… We had 2 ladies cooking for us all, delicious and various meals! Sometimes we would make a “braai” (BBQ) because, apart from our time feeding, watering, cleaning, giving care and love to the animals, it’s also a teamwork and building a real friendship with all the workers from different countries and people in charge who are so nice. I left but I’ll go back, this place is special. I truly believe our work has a positive impact on all these animals life and… on ourselves. I recommend !!!”
-Sophie Pichon, French (November 2024)
“My greatest achievement is having DONE this trip, this experience. I am proud of myself for daring and going alone. There, lots of things touched me. Once we had a fight over rotten fruit when we were supposed to sort it! Also, I really enjoyed carrying the lizards, they were so cute. I gained experience knowing what food to give to which animals, knowing how to clean the enclosures well, and also, I improved my English. I am also less shy around other people”
-Nayéli Rugemer, Belgian (July 2024)
“Volunteering at the Animal Sanctuary has been a rewarding and enriching experience. Working with the birds and animals allowed me to develop a deeper understanding of wildlife conservation and the challenges faced by endangered species. The sanctuary provides a safe and nurturing environment, and I was able to contribute to the care, rehabilitation, and enrichment of various species. The staff is knowledgeable and passionate, creating an inspiring atmosphere that made every task, from feeding to cleaning enclosures, meaningful. I left with a greater appreciation for wildlife preservation and the impact of hands-on conservation work”
– Alina Renner, Russian (December 2024)
“I had a great time at the Animal Sanctuary with very supportive people. The sanctuary mainly consists of a grand variety of birds as well as some other mammals, like a lovely serval called Heidi. The birds a joy to spend time with (a lot of them have their own characters). I couldn’t have asked for more support and the food was great as well. The workload was pretty good, although this might depend on how many volunteers there are (the time I was there we were 3 at the beginning and 5 before I left). Nevertheless, there is always somebody to help you if you feel that you got too much to do. Furthermore, there are a lot of amazing activities to do around Jeffrey’s Bay (30 min of sanctuary), such as surfing, skydiving and more as well as an amazing safari. If you love animals and want to have a great time with some additional activities, I can highly recommend this program”
– Maximilian Krahn, Swiss (November 2023)
“The sanctuary is very large and beautiful! There are 2500 birds, servals, caracals, turtles, deers, snakes, marmoset, crocodile,… And in the park, there are free animals: kudus, nyalas, duikers, zebras, giraffes,… The dormitory is nice and the food is good. The team, the interns, Percy and the cooks are very nice and helping people. I’ve spent 3 wonderful weeks with young volunteers who greeted me like a friend! Work is hard and well organized. For your free time, there are so many things to do: safaris, whale watching, Jeffrey’s Bay (town, shops and beach),… I highly recommend this beautiful place for an unforgettable experience..”
-Solange Lodomez, Belgian (October 2023)
“I had a absolute fantastic time, it was probably the greatest 2 weeks of my life,
Taking care of the animals, forming this close band to the other volunteers was amazing.
I was surprised on how well the volunteers are taken care off, I never had the idea that I worked too much or too hard, the off time was quite a lot,
The food was amazing and anything you wanted help with they where willing to help me.
I was touched by how well the animals where taken care off and how much genuine love the managers had for the animals, this is their mission.
It was an honour to help in that mission for 2 weeks.
Next time I will come 2 months and thats a promise.
I was there with my 15 year old sun and he also had a blast”
– Fenna van den Berg and her son Tobias, Dutch (2022)
I think the best thing is just the atmosphere there. You have the feeling that you are always doing something, but you also have the feeling that you always take a break. The bird’s are super so lovely you just have to fall in love with this place.
The funniest thing you see there is how the water mongoose open a egg.
What experience do you feel you are gaining?
Just good ones, there is so much love you become from the animal, it’s amazing, maybe I will come back again…
– Leslie Keller, Swiss (2022)
“The best thing in this placement was surely to meet super friendly people, who were there for the same purpose as me, meaning help, love animals and make friendship. Meanwhile, I learned about myself, I grew and I felt grateful for the experiences I have had. The sanctuary is mainly composed of aviaries with a lot of different birds inside. They all have their own personality, like humans. Some of them are friendlier than others, but in general they just love seeing you twice a day to feed them! Most of the tasks are repetitive but birds always make it surprising and different everyday! The sanctuary also has some enclosures with rescued animals, that we can take care of in some morning tasks. When I was there, it was Christmas and New Year’s time, far from home. With other volunteers and managers, we made our own Christmas “in family”, to make it festive and it was such a good time. We had a lot of good traditional food, we played games and we continued to better know each other. Afterall, I keep really good memories from this place, thanks to the people there. And I can be sure now that I will avoid working with birds in the future 😉 The agency Volunteer International Adventures, represented by Sharon for me, was also such a great support in all this adventure. They were always available for all my questions, being nice and pedagogue when I needed to. And thanks to her, I was able to carry out another project in the same area, with lions, which was one of my biggest dreams of life”
-Solenne Raulet, France (December 2022)
“I wanted to thank you so much for everything you did helping organizing this trip. The ladies had an amazing time. They have started their trek home! Hopefully Madison and I will be back next year”
-Lynne Cholette, mother of volunteer Madison Cholette, Canadian (2021)
“Go to the project it’s really interesting to see how the birds and all the other animals are living and to discover this amazing place !!!”
– Vadim Mabboux, French (2021)
If you like our Animal Sanctuary and Wildlife Reserve volunteer project, you may also like our Wildlife Rescue, Rehabilitation and Clinic. Read up more….