The animal sanctuary is located at a beautiful location just 10 minute drive on the highway from Picton city. The highlight of your stay will certainly be the many lovely animals that they have.
Initially I signed up to work and stay here for the 3 weeks (as per their minimum requirements) however, I cut my stay short to 1 week due to a few
… read more things.
1. How the work hours and how the tasks are laid out.
The tasks described in the post are accurate and there is plenty of work that the sanctuary needs help with. The only drawback is that you end up working for more than 5 hours, with the tasks extending through out the day and night! Your day will start at 8am with feeding the Sanctuary animals. By 9am you will do some cleaning and from 10-12 you will be put on other tasks such as weeding, and/or raking up the paddocks. This is four hours done but then you will need to make lunch for Alex, Harrison and any other volunteers on-site. Lunch is at 1pm and the time put into cooking the meals time is not included in your work hours. At 4pm there is afternoon feed for the animals, and 5pm feed for the foster dogs on the property. They foster greyhounds which have their own schedule where you will need to ensure they are outside their kennels from 7-9 to socialise and then they need to be back in their kennels by 9pm. The time taken to take the greyhounds to and from kennels and that too from 5-9pm is not accounted for as part or your work hours. I was the only volunteer for 4 working days and did all of this on my own which meant I certainly worked more than 5 hours per day. This also limits your ability to leave the site to have your own time to explore the area. As a result of this work layout, I was often sitting around waiting to complete the next task, and did not have much free time after accounting for shower, lunch, and dinner preparations, as well as the dog-sitting.
2. The availability of the van as per the post and time off.
A second volunteer joined on the fourth day of my stay. They were also a solo traveller so we were keen to explore the area together. Unfortunately, this was not possible as we were told volunteers do not get the same days off and were offered the option to do the feeding and cleaning and then leaving. We thought this was not a fair request as that is still work and it did not seem that the hours worked would be offset on the next working day. We were also told that they were unsure if the van is in a working condition. This made us a realise that you are essentially stuck on site, unable to mingle with other volunteers as you would usually expect at other workaways. Perhaps it would not be an issue if there were more volunteers however, there is no way of knowing this until you are already there as in our case a third volunteer cancelled at the last minute.
3. The accomodation
You will be staying in a little cabin towards the back of the property. The view is stunning however, the cabin is cramped and would be very cold at night especially in winter. There are 4 beds which means that they can fit upto 4 people however, it would be too cramped for that many people. There is no space for luggage either. The bathroom is a bit of a walk from the cabin and unfortunately their sensor lights did not work which meant walking in the cold, sometimes rain, and in the dark to the toilet. We were also told that we could only use the washing machine available in the area near the dogs kennel. Upon a closer inspection of the washing machine it was apparent that it is the designated machine for washing the bedding of the animals as it was full of dog hair in the filter, as well as in and around the washing machine. When we asked if we could use the washing machine and dryer available in the bathroom, we were told no, and that the washing machine available outside can be cleaned then used. The weather was not great when I was there so if I were to use that washing machine, I would have had to wait a few days for my clothes to dry (and I only had a limited number).
4. The provision of food.
The food provided is basic vegan food with plenty signs throughout the kitchen advising you to not snack on the food provided, and to be wary of food portions. It was interesting to me that whilst the food was limited, we were required to cook and share lunch Tuesday-Thursday to the paid employee on site as well as the long term volunteer. The post also indicates that the place is suitable for vegeterians however, ‘no animal products are allowed on site’ rule is in place which means we were unable to buy cheese, butter and eggs to keep us satiated for longer. The post needs to be edited to indicate that they only tolerate vegan diet on site.
5. The work terms and agreement.
I worked for 5 days in a row, completed roughly more than 5 hours per day and on my first day-off, made the decision that this workaway would not be suitable for me for another 2 weeks. As per the agreement requirement, I gave Alex 2 days notice advising that I would like to not continue with the workaway. The next day, which was my second day off, I was asked to do weed whacking. When enquired, I was advised that since I am only staying a week my work days are now 6 days. This is despite the initial agreement being 25 hours of work per week in exchange of food and accomodation. I was advised that “per workaway guidelines we are not required to provide food for days not worked”. This did not make any sense to me. I refused to work extra hours that day and was glad that I had asked to leave.
Alex was kind enough to drop me and the second volunteer (who also wanted to leave after 2 days) to Picton at our hostel.
All in all, thank you for the the time, food, accomodation, and experience.
Trabalho beneficente
Projetos ambientais
Jardinagem
Cuidar de animais
Ajuda a cuidar da casa
Manutenção geral
Hotelaria/turismo
