Volunteer

As a non-profit company we rely on both donations and volunteers in order to operate.

We run a volunteer program, open to people from all around the world, in which you can work at Love Lions Alive Sanctuary on a daily basis, from one day to two months, depending on your availability.

General Information

Volunteers at Love Lions Alive Sanctuary become our family and friends. We are a small organisation and we like to keep it that way. We value each person who comes to help us as a vital member of the team.

If you love Nature, want to make a difference in animal conservation, enjoy being outdoors and are willing to do physical work, you may be suitable to volunteer with us. We will send you an information pack including an application form on request.

We charge a fee for our volunteers to stay with us. The fee includes food and accommodation at Love Lions Alive Sanctuary but excludes transport, visas, personal insurance, medical and other related travel costs.

Welcome Anytime

You are welcome to volunteer at any time of the year for any duration from one day to two months. Our sanctuary operates all year, big cats don’t take holidays!

Price

We charge ZAR 1 350 per person per night.
This covers all your expenses at the project other than any extra food/drinks/personal items/excursions which you choose to purchase.
R470 (daily) of this fee goes towards the running, building and upkeep of the sanctuary and the lions..
We are not a tourist park. We prefer to have a handful of dedicated lion lovers as volunteers than to open our gates to a multitude of paying visitors. This does however mean that we rely on volunteers as a means to generating funds to run the sanctuary.

Travel

The closest international airport to us is, O.R. Tambo International in Johannesburg. We will help you to arrange transport from the airport to the sanctuary in the Free State. The airport transfer trip takes approximately 3.5 hours. We will discuss this with you during the booking process.

Food

Food is provided. Volunteers share cooking tasks with the rest of the group. Drinks are for your own account. There are a number of take-away/fast food outlets at the petrol port 2 km away, which would be for your own account.

Weather and Clothing

We are situated at the foot of a mountain and at the top of an escarpment, and have quick weather changes. You will need to be prepared for cold weather to move in at any time. You can go from shorts and t-shirt in the sun from one moment and be surrounded by mist and light rain the next. It is cold at night, even in summer, and you will need a good quality jacket and boots.

You need work clothes that will get dirty, closed shoes for when you work near lions, a hat, sunscreen and importantly a torch (light).
The ground is muddy and gumboots/wellies or other dirty boots are needed.
There is a recommended list in the information package we will send you when you book.

WiFi and Phone

There is cell (mobile) phone reception at the farm. There is WIFI, but it is not uncapped so it is highly recommended that you pre-load any movies etc that you will want to watch whilst here.

Malaria

The sanctuary is in a high lying area so there is no Malaria.

Read Andi’s blog in which she talks about the business model of having volunteers at LLA
https://andirivelions.blogspot.co.za/2017/10/heartbroken.html

Work

Work includes tasks such as:

• Fencing
• Feeding lions
• Collecting and preparing carcasses from neighbouring farms
• Repairing roads
• Clearing, scrub and alien saplings
• Collecting rocks for closing gaps under lion fences due to undulating landscape
• Keeping track of individual behaviour of the lions
• Photographing/filming and noting activities of individual lions
• Enhancing enrichment and anti-stress activities for the lions
• Helping with fundraising events at the farm
• Building water drinking rock pools for the lions
• Assisting with lifting and monitoring of lions when sedated for veterinary purposes
• General maintenance of facilities
• IT and technological installations or upkeep
• Housekeeping for yourselves i.e. fire wood stacked each day for that nights fire, cleaning of your own room and laundry in the washing machine provided
• Assisting with firebreaks or fire fighting when necessary
• Building fire retardant “moats” around buildings, tents, lion camps
• General building and maintenance of lion habitats
• General building and maintenance of the tented camp

We understand that not everyone is used to working physically. Please speak up if you are struggling, your team leader/s will understand.

Please speak to us If you have any physical restrictions and we will gladly make accommodations for you where we can. Our oldest volunteer to date was 82 years old!

Free Time and Fun

Our volunteers work hard and play hard!

Fun things to do near our sanctuary:

• Rock climbing
• Mountaineering
• Hiking or walking
• Swimming in a dam or on the river when it runs
• Listening to lions roar
• Relaxing under the trees
• There is a large bus and petrol-port 2 km away where you can buy fast food and other bits and pieces for yourself

Nearby Activities

We are situated at the top of the escarpment within 30-60 minutes drive of:

• The Maloti-Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site mountain range
• Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve
• Golden Gate National Park
• All Out Adventures (zip-lining, high ropes, quad bikes, paintball, king swing)
• White water rafting
• Clarens (arts, shopping and restaurant town)
• Basotho cultural villages
• Nambiti Big 5 Private Game Reserve
  And more