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Lion Park
Set in a beautiful 120 hectare game reserve with a panoramic view of
the Indian Ocean, we are privileged to offer this opportunity to
work with both cubs, sub-adults and adult lions including the very
beautiful white lions. The Game reserve also has a variety of game
wandering around including wildebeest, blesbock, giraffe, monkeys
and zebra whilst tigers, caracals, a weasel, meercats, a crocodile
and a bushpig are amongst other animals which will have been rescued
or are being rehabilitated.
The Park has sustained itself over the last 15 years with income
from tourism, both home and abroad and this includes schools which
come for educational day trips and visitors who also sometimes
handle the cubs and sub adult lions.
Lions
The lion park has approximately 65 lions of various ages and when
new cubs are born they are all hand-reared so volunteers will have
the opportunity to feed and look after them. They must help them to
defecate as the mother would usually do for the first 3 weeks of
their lives at least. Bottles need to be prepared and comfort given
to the cubs which involves spending time cuddling them. Volunteers
will also assist with handlings of cubs and the sub adults when
tourists come to visit the Park. The sub-adults also need to be
walked each day which the volunteers will also do.
The lions are inoculated against all feline diseases and rabies and
tested and found to be free of feline aids and TB. The cubs are all
micro-chipped.
Other tasks
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Assisting with the shop and the
restaurant at the Lion Park in busy times.
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Upkeep and improvement of lion
enclosures.
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Conservation projects including road
maintenance, removal of alien vegetation, ring-barking etc.
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Assisting with any community
projects in the area
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Checking the reserve and boundaries
for snares.
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Assisting with the rehabilitation,
handling or feeding of other animals which come into the
reserve.
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Assisting with the horses on the
Game Reserve
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Riding the horses (for interested
horse-riders)
Horses
The Park also has horses which volunteers will also help care for.
The reserve is a beautiful place for out-riding in the Bush and
those who enjoy horse-riding will find this a truly remarkable
experience. Volunteers
can also benefit from working alongside the horse-behavior
specialist and assist her with the on-going projects involving
disadvantaged children or those with specialised needs.
Those volunteers who wish to focus more on the horses
and horse-riding as part of their project can do so.
Adventure Days/Week
Volunteers can
add exciting days or even a week onto their Lion Park experience
after you
have been accepted onto the Project,
and these activities are not to
be missed! Organised and run by a local Adventure company, the
following activities are offered:
Sandboarding,
Surfing, Quad biking, Abseiling/Climbing, Snorkeling, Deep Sea
Fishing, Sub Aqua diving, bungy jumping, canopy tours, white water
rafting, sea or river kayaking, skydiving, tubing, coastal flights
in a small aircraft, coastal hikes, visiting Game Farms.
Accommodation
Volunteers are accommodated in wooden cabins each cabin having an
en-suite toilet/shower room. There is another communal cabin with a kitchen
with fridge/freezer and all cooking facilities plus a large
lounge/meeting area with a television/dvd and comfortable seating.
Outside is a braai (BBQ) area plus open fire. Rooms are cleaned and
laundry done. Internet is available for a nominal charge.
Working Day
The working day can start before 7am and finish after 7pm and in
this case volunteers will be expected to work shifts. Volunteers
are expected to work in all areas of the Lion Park, to be reasonably
fit, willing and basically have the attitude that the more you ‘muck
in’, the more rewarding the experience.
Volunteer places are LIMITED and are for a minimum of 2 weeks with
the lions. Adventure Project days/week can be added on to this,
after you have been accepted into the Project.
Volunteers are required to arrive at Port Elizabeth either on a Monday
or a Thursday for transfer to the Lion Park and return transfers
will also be on a Monday or Thursday back to Port Elizabeth.
What is included:
Accommodation
in wooden cabin, all meals (one meal daily is cooked by the
volunteers), transfer from Port Elizabeth airport to the Lion Park,
drop off in
town on days off, all project materials necessary.
What is NOT included:
Flights, Medical/travel insurance, luxury items eg. Chocolate,
alcohol, cigarettes, toiletries etc., extra activities/excursions on
days off.
Volunteer
Contributions
2 weeks: £ 850
3 weeks: £1275
4 weeks: £1700
Adventure add-on
If you wish to add adventure days at the end of your
project this will be done after your acceptance onto the Project.
We will discuss with you which activities you would like to do and
how much they will cost so you can decide what suits you best.
LION PARK PICS HERE...
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