About i-to-i What i-to-i trips and TEFL are, how and why we do what we do!
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About i-to-i What i-to-i trips and TEFL are, how and why we do what we do!
Travel With over 25 countries in 4 continents to choose from we are confident you can find your perfect trip!
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From koala habitats to developing wetlands, Australia is the home of ancient rainforests, awesome wildlife and countless national parks which all need your help! This volunteering opportunity gives you the chance to check out the many terrains of Australia while lending a helping hand – from stunning coastal areas to the harsh but character- building outback! The opportunities are endless in a country this large! So embrace this opportunity to really immerse yourself in Australia’s exotic surroundings while exploring at the same time!
“G’day mate, welcome to Australia!”
We recommend you book your flights to arrive into your chosen city on the day before your programme starts. This will give you time to recover from your flight and make your way to your orientation the following morning. We don’t provide an airport pickup for our Australia trips but we’ll be happy to help with suggestions of hostels to stay and the best way to travel around.
Today you will need to make your way to the office of our partners in Australia.
Important information: Shortly after booking you’ll get a voucher by email which confirms your trip and also details the address of the office you need to go to, complete with map and directions.
You’ll need to meet the team at the relevant office for 11 am when your orientation starts. This session will cover all the things you need to know regarding your project, the location, safety and more. From this point on you’ll be taken under the wing of a team leader who will take you to your accommodation and make sure you know what you’re doing.
Most of the weekend will be free for you to explore your new surroundings. It will depend on where your project for the week is located. Some projects can be a long way from the arrival city and others can be based close by. On the projects some distance away you will need to travel to that location during the weekend as work will start bright and early on the Monday!
Today you will receive a final briefing before you start working. You will have been assigned a team leader at your orientation and there will be a group of volunteers working on a project together. You might be working in some amazing scenery and hopefully you’ll spot some great Australian wildlife. You’ll have a local expert with you to point out the important things!
You will be working with your team getting involved in whatever needs doing. Much of this will be manual work in the great Aussie outdoors and ranges from tree planting, habitat restoration, wildlife surveys and much more! You’ll work full days with your group but don’t worry there are lots of breaks too.
A free weekend to relax after your hard weeks work, you’ll also find out what your project for the next week is and the group you will be with. The teams and activities are mixed up every week to give everyone the chance to get involved in as many different activities as possible.
You’ll spend Monday to Fridays working at your project with your group. Weekends will be free, normally in accommodation at your regional centre.
If this is your last week this will be your last day. Once you have returned from your project you will be free to travel further around Australia or book a return flight home. We recommend you book your flight for Saturday onwards as you may return from your project late on the Friday.
You will need to arrange accommodation for the Friday night. It may be possible to stay if you return late from your project, this is space permitting and should be agreed with your team leader beforehand.
Australia is one of the most amazing countries visited by many tourists each year for its amazing wildlife and scenery. Some of the plants and animals found here exist nowhere else in the world and need special attention to keep them there.
When the Europeans settled in Australia around 200 years ago they brought with them animals and plants that have endangered the delicate balance that makes the Australian environment unique. Since this time Australia has seen the loss of 70% of her native vegetation, including 75% of her rainforests. Loss of species goes hand in hand with loss of habitat and 23% of mammals, 9% of birds and 16% of amphibians are either already extinct or extremely vulnerable. Australia has 13 areas listed as world heritage sites and more than 500 national parks. Thought of by many as one of the world’s last wildernesses, Australia is home to a unique and fragile ecosystem that needs our help and protection.
We work with an Australian conservation charity. Founded in 1982 they are the leading conservation charity in Australia. With regional offices all over Australia means we can offer you a huge variety in the type of work available and locations you can volunteer. You will genuinely be making a difference to the Australia’s future through the continued efforts of volunteers and the focus of a great team of conservationists.
You can pick any of the major cities in Australia as a starting point or gateway. Gateway cities available are:
Within these locations your projects could be based anywhere including rural and urban areas. Within the Sydney gateway in particular you are likely to find yourself working at a project around 2-3 hours outside of Sydney and spending weekends in that location as well.
Important information: When you book onto this trip you’ll be asked to give your preference for the gateway city/cities that you like to visit. We can not guarantee your spot as this is dependent on the availability with our partners. It will normally take a few days before we receive confirmation and we will get in touch with you to either confirm your trip or liaise for alternative cities.
Once you have received the confirmation from us you can start booking your flights.
You must spend a minimum of 2 weeks working from any gateway but it's your choice how many different cities you visit. Your gateway city is just a starting point, during your project you may travel around the state in which your gateway city is in order to allow you to work on different projects running around the state.
You can choose to travel from one location to another without time in between by using your weekends to get from one location to another. Alternatively you can take time off in between your gateways to travel and make your way to the next stop more slowly. We’re happy to offer help and advice on all the options!
The variety of conservation projects is as immense as the island continent. The nature of work will vary depending on the time of year you visit and the choice of your destination. Typical projects include: tree planting and promoting reforestation in Australia, dune regeneration, flora and fauna surveys, path and track maintenance, habitat regeneration, heritage restoration work and native vegetation protection.
Projects will be allocated to groups on a weekly basis and you won’t know what you’re doing until you get there. This is because the work you’ll be doing is ongoing and based on numbers of volunteers and the needs of projects at that time. The team is great at making sure you get involved in a bit of everything and the longer you stay the more you’ll get involved in.
It’s great fun, hard work and you’ll definitely get your hands dirty!
You’re schedule will depend entirely on your project and where you are. As a general rule you will work Monday to Friday from around 8am until 4pm. However, if you’re working in the scorching Aussie summer then you may start and finish early.
You’ll get plenty of breaks, especially on the more manual projects and food will normally be provided at your project site. It’s self-catering food so your group will help prepare the lunch together.
You should wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty and possibly ruined, so save your glad rags for nights out! You’ll find some kit list suggestions in the Accommodation section of this trip.
It may seem like a strange concept to pay for your volunteer experience. You'd be right if you think you shouldn't and the truth is you actually don't! Your placement is free; it's the benefits around it that you pay for. It's important to note that i-to-i is a travel company and not a charity. We provide a professional travel service. We are responsible for finding and assessing worthwhile projects across the world, preparing you fora the volunteering experience and supporting you whilst you're there.
Here’s some more information about what your placement fee covers….
We work with hundreds of locally run partner projects around the world and are constantly sourcing new opportunities. We visit all projects to check that they are worthwhile and legitimate and we also conduct a thorough safety assessment before we'll send volunteers there. More
Almost everyone who works for i-to-i has traveled extensively or worked overseas. This means we're a goldmine of information; we're always available to offer support and guidance before, during and after your trip.
Once you book on to a project you'll receive a Welcome Pack that contains loads of general information about volunteering, about your chosen country and how to have fun and stay safe. We'll also give you advice on visas and inoculations.
If you are volunteering on a Teaching project then a 60-hour Online TEFL course is included in your placement fee. This is an internationally recognised and accredited certificate that will help you to make the most of your time overseas. More
It can be pretty daunting arriving in a different country for the first time - especially after a long flight! If you arrive on your project start date, there'll be a welcoming face at the airport to pick you up and take you to your accommodation.
Soon after you arrive you will attend a thorough orientation with our in-country team. This is to cover important safety and security information. You'll also get some tips about sight-seeing options for your time off and maybe even learn some of the local lingo!
Accommodation is included with all projects and meals are even included with some. We only use locally-owned and operated accommodation so that part of your placement fee is filtering back into the local economy. Most projects offer homestay, guesthouse or shared volunteer houses as standard accommodation, but some offer the chance to upgrade to a more comfortable living standard. More
Your in-country team will arrange a pick-up for you at the airport and will conduct your orientation upon arrival. All coordination teams are English speaking and are locals of your destination country. They won't be at your project every day, but will be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you need them. More
Aside from the local support from your in-country team you'll be given access to a 24/7 emergency phone line manned by our response team in case any problem should arise while you're overseas. We also hire crisis management professionals to be on hand in case of a situation that requires additional expert support. More
The safety and security of our volunteers is paramount. For this reason we provide ongoing crisis management and emergency response training to our local teams around the world. We also fly in our in-country coordinators to the UK regularly for thorough training to help them offer the best safety to the thousands of volunteers they support each year. More
We don't fund our projects directly from the project fee that you pay us. Instead we choose to support a number of projects every year through a grant scheme for tangible long-term initiatives. In the last 3 years we have distributed over US$250,000 to our most needy projects to help them in the great work they do.
We make no secrets of the fact that part of your placement fee is reinvested in to recruiting volunteers just like you! The volunteers recruited in one week will typically deliver over 2000 man-days of service. The difference this makes to projects overseas is immeasurable. Many of our overseas projects rely on assistance from international volunteers, so it's necessary for us to put together brochures and websites to find the people who can support them. This recruitment process is vital to ensure programs have a constant stream of reliable volunteers.
Volunteering through a company like i-to-i has a lot of intangible benefits to developing overseas communities and the individual projects that we work with. To find out more about our placements. click here
It's important that you get adequate travel insurance for your i-to-i experience and as many of you will be working this often means standard policies won’t work. The good news is that no matter where your coming from we have already found a policy to suit you.
The best time to get your insurance is when you book your project as this means you can get a fully tailored policy exclusive to i-to-i, just ask your consultant for further details at the time of booking.
EU Customers – find out more here >>
Australian customers - find out more here >>
All other customers - find out more here >>
As with insurance we advise you get these booked as early as possible to avoid high prices and to make sure you arrive on the right day. The i-to-i team is right up to date with the best deals no matter where you’re flying from; their insider knowledge could save you some time and money.
The type of accommodation on this trip very much depends on the project you are working at. Most of the accommodation will be basic and shared. In some cases you will be staying at a central volunteer house but you could also be camping, homestays or bunk houses. This is a fantastic way to meet true Aussies and see parts of this amazing country that other tourists don’t get to see too.
The facilities will again depend on the accommodation you are at. You should expect to be staying in basic conditions although in most cases you will have running water and reasonable washing facilities. In some cases you may have more than this but it will be a pleasant surprise!
Food is provided on a self catering basis so it will be up to the group to prepare all meals and clean up afterwards.
In most cases you accommodation will be as close as possible to your project. You will have access to transport and the team leader will drive you to and from the project each day if it is more than walking distance.
This extraordinary land gave birth to one of the worlds most diverse peoples – the Aborigines. It’s estimated that when the British settled in Australia in the 18th century there were over 300,000 Aboriginal people speaking as many as 250 different languages. Aboriginal society largely consisted of tribal groups living in harmony with nature. These remarkable people were self-confessed wanderers taking only what they needed and sleeping beneath the stars as they continually moved across this vast land.
But all this changed in 1778 when Captain Arthur Phillip established the first settlement in Australia. The fleet of 11 ships that arrived at Sydney Cove carried with it a host of petty criminals as well as four companies of marines to watch over them. The convicts sent to Australia usually had relatively short sentences but as the chance of returning to England was near impossible, transportation was viewed as a life sentence. Despite the presence of vast number of indigenous people, the new settlers considered Australia to be unoccupied.
The concept of ownership was completely foreign to the aborigines and as a result the new settlers took their land from them without signing any treaties or providing any compensation. The Aboriginal people, with their small tribal groups, were in no position to coordinate an effective resistance and were unceremoniously driven from their land by force. Over the next one hundred and fifty years the Aboriginal population declined steeply, partly because of this forceful invasion and partly because the British carried diseases that the Aborigines were completely unprepared for.
The Aboriginal people had successfully adapted their way of life to suit their changing environment for 40,000 years but the European colonisation of Australia hit them hard. Despite this, the Aboriginal culture survives still, and one would hope, will forever. In 1972 Australia’s indigenous people were given back limited rights to their own land and the situation has been steadily improving ever since.
In the 1851 gold was discovered just west of the Blue Mountains and when the discovery was made public that same year it provoked a mass influx of settlers. By 1952 over 1,800 Europeans were arriving every week. This mass influx of migrants coupled with a couple of large discoveries successfully boosted the Australian economy and led the way to a new social order.
On January 1 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia was born as a dominion of the British Empire and thirty years later the Statute of Westminster saw its rise to independence (though it wouldn’t completely sever its ties with England until the Australia Act was passed in 1986).
After World War II, Australia encouraged mass immigration from Europe, and after the White Australian policy was abolished in the 1970’s, the rest of the world as well. Thus Australia today is a multicultural society with huge Greek, Italian and Asian populations.
Australia is a great place to visit all year round and many travellers decide to spend a year or more travelling across the country. If you don’t want to go away for that long then you need to decide exactly what you want to do before you go.
If you’re looking for an all-round trip and plan to experience a little bit of everything then you’re going to want to travel in the autumn (March-May) or the spring (September-November) when the weather is mild and the land particularly beautiful. You can do anything and go anywhere at this time of year without any discomfort or inconveniences.
If your trip to Australia will see you relaxing on the beach, riding waves and generally taking advantage of the countries divine climate then you’ll need to head out in the summer (between December and February). Southern Australia is your desired location but whatever you do, don’t forget the sun tan lotion! In the northern regions of Australia these are the wettest months of the year and it’s extremely humid but also incredibly beautiful. Plant-life flourishes in the north and travellers will be astounded by picturesque countryside and overflowing rivers.
If, however, you’re planning a trip to the outback or a ski holiday then you’ll want to travel between June and August. It’s simply too hot in the summer months to visit the outback but this is one of Australia’s main attractions and you won’t want to miss out! This is also a great time to visit Queensland’s rainforests and coral reefs! For skiing you’ll need to head to the south, Victoria is particularly popular at this time of year.
In a country as vast and diverse as Australia transport becomes a major issue. Flying is the most popular form of travel because the distance between A and B can be as much as 4000km! There are international airports across the country and flights to Australia’s more remote destinations are not hard to come by (though they may prove to be expensive). Qantas is Australia’s main domestic airline and backpackers are likely to become particularly fond of its budget sister-company, Jetstar.
Buses and trains are a desirable alternative to flying and can provide some incredible sights along the way. If you’re swaying toward buses there is one company you are going to need to remember – Greyhound Australia. They have the widest coach/bus network in Australia and will be able to get you from one place to the next with relative ease. Buses are generally faster than trains but if you’re travelling overnight you’ll find that trains are a whole lot more comfortable. Trains can be expensive in Australia and the budget traveller will probably opt for a bus journey to save the pennies.
Renting or hiring a car is a great way to get around Australia especially if you’re travelling in a group. Buying a car may seem a tad extreme but considering the size of the country and the cost of travelling for a group of people it actually works out as one of the less expensive travel options.
We work in partnership with hundreds of established projects that are run by local communities. The information on our website comes directly from the projects and we work with them to ensure this information is as accurate as possible. However, due to the very nature of the projects themselves the exact details of what happens on a daily basis can change with little or no notice. If you have travelled with us and have any updates to this information, please let us know.
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