For bb members who live in Australia…question! :) everybun welcome though! :P

[SophieBun]

Okay..so I’ve been thinking about this since I’m a little girl I am absolutely in love with Australia and South Africa and always wanted to go visit. I love wild animals so much that I have always wanted to experience taking care of them and learning new things in these two beautiful places. I even get so excited when I go to a petting farm and feed sheep my hubby thinks it’s embarassing…..lol! It’s like I’m meeting a celebrity or something! So I’ve been checking out many internships online, but Idk how good they are. They’re very expensive, but if they’re worth it I’m willing to save money and go for it. I wanted to ask you guys if you knew about internships or places I could work in over there that would require animal husbandry, or something related to wild animals where I could learn more about them. My favorite animals are the great white shark (not willing to go underwater just yet!) the ring-tailed lemur, wombat (OMG they’re adorable), dolphins, manatees, tigers, well mostly all of them. I’d love to learn from every animal in the world if it’s possible! Like Steve Irwin! Gosh he was so good..it would be great to do something like him in the longrun, make programs about animals, teach people about them and travel and learn a lot.

Okay so my question is if you guys know about internships, places to work there, maybe study over there? How much does it cost to live over there for one person for a period of time?

And if any bb member has done any internships abroad please tell me how the experience was

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hahah That’s Dave and I’s dream to live there!! They are so much like Canadians from what I hear, and obviously they speak the same language…. And it’s just such a similar culture it would be easy to adjust-better weather I’d LOVE to live there eventually!

I have some second cousins who live there….AND one of my good friends went there on a six month work visa and stayed (became a citizen) I think it must be wonderful-it sure is beautiful!!

[sammyp]

 Hi, here’s a few links on the South African side of things to get you started:

http://www.sanccob.co.za/?keyword=%20internships%20in%20wildlife%20conservation&m=sitesearch

http://www.sanparks.org/groups/internship.php

As far as living costs go, it’s not that expensive if you are coming over with dollars or pounds.

Some basic ideas: A burger from somewhere horrible (like Mickey D’s) costs about R25 (about $3.50)

                                    Transport – A flight cross country (ie Joburg to Cape Town) R700 (about $95) but you could get it cheaper depending when                                          you go (you can also take a bus through the Major Centres)

If there are any specifics you want to know about, ask me  I live in SA.

                                     

[Adalaide]

This is the sort of thing that most people would only make into a quick stop, but it’s my dream to spend a few weeks there someday.

http://www.giraffemanor.com/

I’ve been fascinated with giraffes since my first trip to the zoo when I was 3. My husband says obsessed, but whatever. I don’t even have 2 dozen stuffed giraffes. They are by far my favorite animal in the whole world. When I went to the zoo with my husband last fall we spent at least half of our time there with the giraffes. Anyway, at $360 a day per person it’s probably not the kind of place most people would spend a lot of time and it’s in east Africa. On the other hand, it’s the kind of vacation I’d give anything for, even if it’s the only trip I ever take my whole life.

I never thought of trying to find some sort of internship thing. That would be an amazing way for me to spend some time in Africa so maybe I could see some giraffes. As long as my knee is better by this spring we’re going to volunteer at our local zoo, I’m so excited.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I will take being beaten with sticks by you guys….maybe its silly movies like congo-I am SO scared to visit Africa!!! I want to go so bad-the last of the pleistocene megafauna!! BUT I’m so scared of being eaten by the animals there I know it’s the same in Australia-I head a guy once… “This can kill you, this one is fuzzy and can kill you, this one can kill you” heheh but for some reason I’m more scared of Africa!! ANd its probably the same here-I mean we have bears, moose, deer etc who can harm you…

I’m probably being silly…but Africa is one place I want to go—-when I’m brave enough!!

[feeona]

australia is the bomb – i live in the suburbs/rural and i can walk down the street and see sheep horses cows goats camels etc

[sammyp]

Posted By Kokaneeandkahlua on 11/14/2009 12:25 AM
I will take being beaten with sticks by you guys….maybe its silly movies like congo-I am SO scared to visit Africa!!! I want to go so bad-the last of the pleistocene megafauna!! BUT I’m so scared of being eaten by the animals there I know it’s the same in Australia-I head a guy once… “This can kill you, this one is fuzzy and can kill you, this one can kill you” heheh but for some reason I’m more scared of Africa!! ANd its probably the same here-I mean we have bears, moose, deer etc who can harm you…

I’m probably being silly…but Africa is one place I want to go—-when I’m brave enough!!

The animals are all in wildlife parks (at least here in SA) and in general unless you’re planning on being out in the most rural areas of africa, you’re not going to just encounter any wildlife. I’d be a lot more worried about the locals than the animals. The crime rate sucks

[jerseygirl]

Why don’t you look into local programs first. Like with wildlife societies that are international but have a local branch. Check out zoos and animal parks that have programs where you can get involved.  Even courses in animal husbandry/handling/care.  That way you get to be with the animals, build your skills and be in the loop for when international opportunities come up.

I really don’t know where you start looking for internship type things. Would travel agents be able to point you in right direction?  I had a look at wildlife warriors site but they don’t seem to have opportunities you’re looking for.  You can become a wildlife warrior member though. http://www.wildlifewarriors.org  Did you know tomorrow (Nov 15) is Steve Irwin day?  Also, today I read in the paper that a scientist has named a rare snail after Steve Irwin!  It’s called the “crikey steveirwini” – No Joke!   http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-c…ini-szh-01

The other thing that came to mind was WWOOF where you can do farm stays on organic farms.  You basically work for your meals and accomodation.  http://www.wwoof.com.au/

Sorry – I don’t know much.  I’ll keep my eyes open though for the sort of thing you’re looking for.

Edit: Giuly, I had thought the WWOOF program was limited to produce farming but it isn’t. After taking a look at the feedback page, I’ve learnt a little more.  One host is a Wildlife shelter. (Glenda WWOOF Host VN132)  There’s a little more about this 1/4 way down the feedback page.

[Deleted User]

Posted By Kokaneeandkahlua on 11/14/2009 12:25 AM
I will take being beaten with sticks by you guys….maybe its silly movies like congo-I am SO scared to visit Africa!!! I want to go so bad-the last of the pleistocene megafauna!! BUT I’m so scared of being eaten by the animals there I know it’s the same in Australia-I head a guy once… “This can kill you, this one is fuzzy and can kill you, this one can kill you” heheh but for some reason I’m more scared of Africa!! ANd its probably the same here-I mean we have bears, moose, deer etc who can harm you…

I’m probably being silly…but Africa is one place I want to go—-when I’m brave enough!!

 

you should just go. My friend just came back from Africa and she didn’t see a single lion. She went as a nurse into hospitals there, didn’t go to find wildlife.

I think, camping in BC is more dangerous.

[RabbitPam]

http://www.miamiseaquarium.com/dolp…n_swim.asp

Guily, you’re in Broward county, right? Because the Miami Seaquarium isn’t very far from you and they have swimming with Dolphins. They also would be a great resource of information on where to find internships with sealife, like Manatees (which they also have there.)

I would start locally, maybe look into Gumbo Limbo in Boca Raton gumbolimbo.org  for volunteer work with turtles and their rescued creatures. Also the Ft. Lauderdale Wildlife Care Center has volunteer opportunities. http://www.wildlifecarecenter.org

You could get some local experience and then look into what you know you like best and where it’s located.

In the meantime, take a vacation trip with Hubby to see the continents you want to see. You might even be able to get a p/t job at one of these places so you could save to pay for a trip.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

you should just go. My friend just came back from Africa and she didn’t see a single lion. She went as a nurse into hospitals there, didn’t go to find wildlife.

I think, camping in BC is more dangerous.

Hahah totally I know-like TV portrays a place totally different then it really is (For instance Moscow Russia is ALWAYS pictured snowy but is actually warmer then Edmonton -from the mouths of a couple I met)-so I know I’m being silly.

I camp in BC All the time and even sometimes forget to put food safely in a vehicle or hanging from a tree…In fact I had a bear sniff me through a tent once (talk about a adreneline!!!!) sooo…I’m sure I could handle Africa-just have this silly TV induced phobia lol

[Monkeybun]

My Mom has bears wander by all teh time at her place in nelson BC. They gotta keep garbage in the shed until garbage day, or else bears will spread it all over

[Kafrn]

OMG bears are scary!
Guily, you are more than welcome to come stay with us in Adelaide
A great place to work here though is the Sydney Aquarium. I did some work there while I was in Uni. You learn so much and you get to go in the shallow tanks with the stingrays etc. Awesome!
If you come to Adelaide, you can help me set up my dream here I want to open a pet supplies shop that also takes in unwanted animals and finds them good homes. instead of getting animals from a breeder. That way I would be able to foster rabbits and guinea pigs and cats etc.

what are you going to do with Sophie while you are travelling?

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Ah, Africa, I loved going to visit Africa. It was so fun going to all the game parks and just experiencing everything. We have gone a few times because all our relatives live in Africa. It is kind of funny when I tell people that my parents were born in south africa. One dopy person even asked, “Wait, are you adopted!?” They said this because I am white, but my whole family is white so… no, but I thought it was hilarious.

Africa is very fun, It can be very cold in the winter though, even though they get no snow there. It actually doesn’t usually get as cold as NY where I live, but many SA homes have no heating so we were all frozen! I loved going to the game parks, they were such fun, we would see giraffes hippos elephants, warthogs and many other animals. We did not get to see any lions though .

[angelicvampyre]

Flying in so have not read everything but I have a room in my house (with my dogs, Bunnies, Birds, Chickens and fish) that I rent fully furnished on short or longist term base. If you are planning on coming to Australia for a while and going to be living in Melbourne give me a yell and I will give you a binky bunny discount!

[Author]

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