A Beautiful Experience

Twala is an amazing, ethical place.

Sarah & Kayla are just lovely; they were attentive to all the volunteers needs/wishes and super welcoming. The accommodation is excellent; gorgeous big rooms & fully stocked kitchen. The best part about the house is sharing it with loads of cute kitties and, of course, Rambo, Georgina & Margarita - the three best doggos! The cats all love to sleep curled up on your bed, but you could close your door and windows if you didn't want to share. The back veranda is the perfect place to chill & read with the friendly cockatoos (Casper likes lots of love & attention). It leads out to the main garden/sanctuary/pool area, where tortoises, duikers (small antelopes) and the lovely Theodore (donkey) hangs out amongst the enclosures. Out the front of the house is where the first group of dogs spend their time; and it's impossible to pick a favourite, as they all have unique personalities and need your cuddles.

There is a good work/rest balance & plenty to do if you're keen. The day starts at 6:30am and involves collecting all the food trays from the sanctuary, collecting greens from the garden & prepping the herbivores food. This includes a wide variety of birds, tortoises, duikers, an adorable bush baby, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, and rabbits. The other morning routine you could choose to do is assist Kelly, the animal care manager; this involves checking/cleaning/water changing in the lion, serval, civet, owl enclosures and feeding our bestest buddies - Willow & Violet (Baboons). Then you have breakfast around 8:45ish and take a break.

9:30 is the volunteer dog walk around the dam - 15-20 off-lead dogs all super excited to go for a walk is an experience you won't forget any time soon. It's adorable watching them swim - especially Leo & Pablo!

The rest of the day involves whatever comes up/needs to be done. There's always something rewarding to do; helping out at the dog clinic, making enrichment activities for the Baboons, horse grooming, dog washing, mulberry picking (be prepared to turn purple), hydrating baby tortoises - it's so much fun. Lunch is 12ish - 13:30 (read, nap, chill by the pool etc.). Then see above til around 17:00 when you're done for the day. Lunch and dinner are cooked for you and left out for you to serve yourself whenever you want it. Delicious food! Late afternoon you can also help out with food prep/enclosure clean for the carnivores; owls, dogs, jackals, lions - taking care of lions is pretty amazing.

Lions: The lions who are taken care of have been rescued from some horrible situations and would be unsafe in the wild (unable to care for themselves or too used to humans, which would result in conflict), so they will live the rest of their happy lives at Twala. It's important to mention that the lionesses have a contraceptive implant and will never be bred; just well taken care of. Kadiki is particularly interesting, as her enclosure is very close to the main houses. If you fancy it, you can sit next to her enclosure and read to her amongst the cats and jackals - quite cute watching her drag her blanket around.

Overall, Twala makes such a difference and really does need your support. I couldn't recommend this experience enough. We didn't think to do it or have the space, but do remember to take anything that could help - dog leads/food etc. (ask Sarah what they need most at the time).

Go help this wonderful place!