We’ve done quite a few volunteering positions around the world and when we decided to revisit Australia we made sure to sign up to some. In the end we picked an animal sanctuary set on 650 acres of land and we had no idea what would be in store for us but living off expired food from supermarkets and being attacked by roosters weren’t what we had in mind. It was in a very rural area and the driveway leading to the house was made of red mud and gravel which seemed to go on for miles. It took about 10 minutes to drive the entire length of it. The house was a cute little bungalow with 4 bedrooms and one bathroom but there were also two caravans outside for volunteers to stay in which meant at times there could be up to 8 people…and one toilet. The good news is there was rarely a queue for the toilet because showers were only allowed twice a week and for just two minutes a time. The reason for the lack of showers is due to limited funds and donations. They’ve attempted to create a bore hole but the only good location would provide just 400 litres of good water per day when they need at least 5000 litres so instead they have a few dams on the land but as soon as they dry up (as they do every year for many months during the hot summers) they have to buy water in tanks. The water is around $250 each time and if I heard correctly they get through 3 a week in summer!!

The food for the volunteers was all from donations, it was kind of like dumpster diving without the need to dive, they have an agreement with certain supermarkets that they’ll collect crates of food they would normally throw away and that’s where 98% of our food came from and it’s also used to feed some animals – mostly the chickens. It’s a great way of not wasting food as most of it was still edible.

One surprise for us was the toilet which had no water connection so to flush it we used buckets filled with dirty water from the washing machine. The water was dark brown and smelt a bit of sewage. I don’t know why it smelt so bad, maybe because soiled and peed-on blankets from the animals go straight into the machine but it was a very distinct smell every time we entered the bathroom. Another shock was the amount of cats roaming around the living area. They were absolutely everywhere and happily walking across all the kitchen surfaces and dining table. I’ve never been a huge fan of cats, I’m a dog person and this was proving why. There were two ginger cats that looked very similar and we didn’t dare go near either of them because one was an aggressive swiper and the other one pissed everywhere. I didn’t know this at the time but the pisser came up to me on the dining table and then turned around, raised it’s tail and projected wee over me.

Anyway, for our first day we got a little introduction into life at the sanctuary. It’s home to 9 horses, 13 ponies, 30 or so wild ponies, 3 cows, 1 calf, 10 alpacas, 4 sheep, 2 goats, 2 pigs, 5 dogs, lots of cats and around 100 chickens and roosters. But sadly as it turned out we wouldn’t be working with the animals much as our host suddenly informed us that Craig and I would be focusing on ‘projects’, specifically a glamping project she had in mind to help create an income and sustain the sanctuary. Because we were selected for this (but not asked if we were happy or ok about doing it) it meant we weren’t working with the animals. We didn’t make a fuss about it though and just cracked on but it was on our third week when a newbie came along that we realised A) how quickly our month on the sanctuary was going B) we’d been selected to work on this project yet the host was often away which meant we never actually helped with the glamping task, instead we were given the not so fun side jobs like cutting veg and meat up for the chickens and cleaning troughs out.

We also had a rather traumatic experience at the sanctuary when Henry, a very boisterous but delightful staffy mix jumped at the window when an animal walked by. The window totally smashed and a thick shard of glass went through his leg and arteries. It all happened so fast and we went from “oh Henry what have you done now!!” to “oh shit he’s bleeding out!!” and screaming for help. I quickly grabbed his wounded leg and held on as tight as I could while we shouted for help. Luckily one of the volunteers was a vet nurse who helped make a tourniquet and wrapped the leg in bandages and lots of tape. It was a Sunday of course so they had to figure out where the closest emergency vet was that could help – it was an hour away. They managed to stabilise him but it was too complicated to operate so they had to drive a further 2 hours to Perth for an operation. It was 50/50 if he’d make it as he lost so much blood but thankfully Henry pulled through.

We did have one very special outing though to volunteer at a different kind of animal sanctuary and this one rescued marsupials. It was our job to cuddle the tiny joeys so they felt like they were in their mums pouch still. It was a really fascinating experience that I’m very grateful for. We got to witness tiny ‘pinky’s’ which were totally fur-less and only a few months old. When they’re born they’re just a tiny pink bean that emerges from the mums cloaca, she then licks her belly, leading to her pouch and the tiny bean follows the trail and scent into the pouch where it can feed on her milk. The mum can actually have two babies of different ages at the same time and one teat will offer a certain type of milk for the newborn while the other side will have different style milk for the older joey. Kind of like having full fat and low fat milk available on tap.

We got to meet a range of different aged joeys and then it was time to cuddle them. The tiniest pinky needed to be kept really warm so our host put her inside her top to get that ultimate pouch feeling like she’s with her mum. The other ones were kept in fleece pouches which we carefully held them in. They were so funny looking with such long legs for their size and bizarre dinosaur looking feet. The rescuer was a lovely lady and full of facts about ‘roos. She gave the tiny joeys and pinkies some milk, but very slowly and carefully otherwise they can die if they drink too quickly. After they had their milk they needed to go to the toilet but usually their mum helps them do it by licking their cloaca. Without the mum around the rescuer needed to take this responsibility on by using some tissue to rub them until the pee and poop was released.

She told us how the joeys mostly end up in her care due to car crashes when the mum is killed and the joey survives in the pouch but also from hunting or on occasions when the mum feels under attack and just abandons one of her babies. The plan with the rescue centre is to release them back into the wild and that takes around two years to get to that stage. When they’re at their smallest they live inside her house but as they grow older they move into an outside pen which we got shown next. We had to be very precautious walking through her garden because a large male kangaroo called Kevin is particularly aggressive, oh and Kevin is blind which means he tilts his head sideways in a rather creepy manner to gage where the sound is coming from. The lady and her husband have had some seriously close and dangerous encounters with him. Once inside the enclosure and away from Kevin we were allowed to give these kangaroos milk which was a lot of fun.

The next outdoor enclosure was where they have their final stage before being released into the wild. It was interesting to see how some still had the attachment to humans and hopped over to us while others were starting to get their wild instincts and stay away from us. Once they’re considered wild enough they’re tranquillised and taken to a designated release sight where they’re left in an enclosure for a while to adapt to the new area. Then the gate is opened and they’re free to come and go as they wish and eventually they’ll never return.

After those first few weeks on the sanctuary of not actually working with the animals and doing all the crappy side jobs we decided enough was enough, we came here to work with animals so we asked to do the feed run for our final week which I absolutely loved and found very therapeutic so I’ll share more about it in my next post.