What a place!

Well this was my first trip away on my own so was pretty nervous and didn't know what to expect but as soon as I got to African Dawn i felt completely at home and welcomed!
It's set in lush green mountain side as far as the eye can see so no roads or towns walking distance so you really feel out in the wild! The site itself consists of 7 or 8 aviaries with over 250 species of indigenous birds as well as lynx, servals, wallabies, ground squirrels, tortoises, monkeys, impala, kudo, ostrich...the list goes on. And the volunteer accommodation is situated on the game park which is a short 5 minute walk away in lovely wooden cabins (new entertainment room there too with games, tv etc) When i say Game park i mean you could wake up one morning with zebras and blesbok on your doorstep - beautiful!

The average day consists of an early start to do the morning feed for all animals followed by your own breakfast and a chance to lap up the morning sun. We then get a list of jobs to do which is shared out to everyone. example is to sweep the seeds in the parrot aviary or take a nice 15 min walk to go feed the adult emus. After they're all done you have a free few hours to spare doing what you want (i usually spent time in the many enclosures like the servals or just sit in the main aviary watching the birds. Afternoon feed is at 2 and you help prepare the meat, fruit and maize before doing the rounds. After this you have until 6 to make friends with some more wonderful creatures, get to know your fellow volunteers or just relax in the sun in pur bliss. Dinner at 6 is prepared by the staff or you could be lucky to have Percy's infamous Braii (BBQ) the evening is yours to do as you please. i really enjoyed getting to know the people i was going to spend the next 2 months with by playing games or hanging out our cabins.

I made some amazing friends here at African Dawn and not just humans! My favourite was a glossy starling called Giddy who was hand raised so is very friendly and will follow you around the aviary so i would always bring some fruit for him. I will never forget my experience here or the people and animals. It's a real eye opener to how much time, effort and money goes into saving and looking after these magnificent creatures and without the unpaid full-time staff or us volunteers it would exist!
So i would highly recommend helping out at African Dawn for any ages if you want to experience a real sanctuary, dont mind getting your hands dirty and love animals! it's a great escape that you can really make a difference!