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!
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We've teamed up with a lion education centre in South Africa to offer an exclusive volunteer opportunity. This centre is famed as a pioneer in the rearing of white lions, cats that are now almost completely extinct in the wild, and you could soon get to see them every day! The lion project team specialize in the care of Africa's large predators; the Lion (including the rare white lion), Leopard, Spotted Hyena, Brown Hyena and African Wild dog. It is also home to many of the other animals that make South Africa one of the wildlife jewels of the world. Volunteering in South Africa on this project means you can run wild with lions and giraffes so get involved with the team and help these amazing animals.
Today you will be met at the airport and taken directly to the lion park in Fourways, greater Johannesburg. You’ll need to arrive in before 4pm so that you have time to go food shopping for all your supplies needed for your stay. The journey from the airport to the lion park should take around 45 minutes.
The orientation next morning at around 8.30am will take you through what it’s going to be like at your project, do’s and don’ts, how to stay safe and it’s your prime opportunity to ask any burning questions that you haven’t yet had answered. We've got an i-to-i team leader stationed at the park so you'll never be far away from someone to help. After the orientation you’ll get stuck into your project!
If you aren’t able to arrange a flight to get you into Johannesburg before 4pm then we’d recommend you fly in a day early. We can arrange an early airport pick-up for you including one night’s accommodation, give us a call for more information.
As you start to get the hang of your duties you can spend time learning about South Africa from the park staff; expect to learn lots about the animals you are working with as well as how the park is run. You’ll get to wear a staff t-shirt (provided on arrival) and interact with the lions and the visitors to the park – the best of both worlds!
The more you put in, the more you’ll get out of this experience!
Today you will visit the Chameleon Craft Market, the biggest craft center in Africa; a great place to pick up some African handicrafts and to test your haggling skills! After the market, you will drive through rural South Africa to Pilanesburg National Centre where you will enjoy a picnic and afternoon safari looking for the Big 5 in the wild. If you’re lucky you might even glimpse the hippos taking their late afternoon bath!
If you are with a large group of volunteers you may be split into two smaller groups; half will go on safari on day 12, half on day 13.
The lion education centre was created to encourage the survival of conservation in South Africa by focusing on the education of everyone, including both foreign and local tourists about the conservation of predators in the wild, with a focus on lions. They do this through creating an environment as close to a natural habitat as possible, where the indigenous animals may live, be respected and appreciated. They also work to breed endangered white lions in captivity and to train certain animals for use in movies and adverts. The centre also keeps various other predators such as hyenas, wild dogs, and jackals.
The Lion Park is approximately 208 hectares, so it’s pretty big! It’s situated in a rural location but has a constant stream of visitors as it is featured in many guide books. The project is open to the public and visitors can play with baby lion cubs as well as drive through the adult lion enclosures.
With so many animals and land, the centre requires a lot of maintenance and management. Lion cubs alone are demanding and need to be fed every few hours in their first few months! As a volunteer you will assist the regular staff with daily tasks to help make sure everything runs smoothly. You’ll also bring fresh enthusiasm to the team, which is always appreciated.
Outgoing volunteers with a passion for animals as well as people will get the most out of their time at the park, since a lot of the work involves interacting with the public. The more proactive you are, the more you will get out of this experience!
You work for 9 days uninterrupted at the lion park, from roughly 8am to 5pm (6pm on weekends). You will of course get breaks during the day. A normal day might see you cleaning cub enclosures and helping in the nursery in the morning, a 2 hour shift at the giraffe station, then the front gate and finally helping with the evening feed at the end of the day.
Please be prepared for the fact that you will sometimes be asked to help cut up meat for the feedings and also to help with basic maintenance duties such as weeding. Everything that happens is with the animals welfare in mind!
You will find all resources that you need at this project so there’s no need to bring anything along from home. If you do have a specific interest in a field that you’d like to get involved in at the project please let us know. You will be asked to sign a form clearing the lion park of any responsibility for injuries that may be incurred at the park. This does NOT affect your insurance cover.
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
The following information details what will happen during the first few days of your arrival.
We aim to provide you with a safe and soft landing into your destination by picking you up from the airport, giving you an orientation that helps to settle you into the country as quickly as possible. It’s also the best time to ask any questions you have about your time in South Africa.
You will arrive on the Arrival Date (days will vary) and will be met at the airport on (we recommend you arrive between 8.00 and 16.00 but no later than 16.00) so that you can be taken food shopping where you will have chance to buy your supplies for your time at the project. You will be taken straight to the Lion Park, the transfer will take about 1 to 1.5 hours from the airport to the project. The following morning you will have an orientation meeting which will introduce you to life in South Africa and at the project.
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.
Early airport pick up is possible to arrange on the day before the listed start date if required. You will be met at Johannesburg International airport and transferred to Pretoria Backpackers for your overnight accommodation. The following day you will be
The cost of this Early Pick-up service is US$ 140.00
Your accommodation is within a secure camp area, a short walk away from the main lion park building. You will be staying in spacious semi luxury tents which have 4 single beds inside, with good mattresses and electricity. Linen is washed and changed by the cleaning staff. The tents have windows and a small porch in front where you can sit and watch the wild game enjoy their dinner.
Whilst in Pretoria you will stay in a shared dorm room in a comfy backpackers hostel.
In your tent you’ll have bedside tables, a lamp and a small heater for the cold nights. The bathrooms are located a few metres away and have powerful, hot water showers. The kitchen is fully equipped and even has a washing machine! There is also a fire pit and BBQ area where you can relax in the evenings. There is also a safe in the main office for you to keep your passport and cash in.
Your stay at the lion park will be on a self-catering basis. You’ll be taken shopping for provisions on your arrival into South Africa and you’ll have full access to the large kitchen at the lion park. Food is also available at the centre restaurant (until 5pm) if you aren’t in the mood to cook - you'll even get a staff discount! It's also possible to go out for dinner in the evenings - restaurants are just a short taxi ride away. Budget roughly US$60 to cover your food for the 9 days at the camp.
The Lion Park does have mosquitoes but malaria is not prevalent in the area so a net is not a necessity. However, it is a good idea to bring one if you plan on going travelling.
The backpackers in Pretoria has everything you would expect, including a swimming pool where you can go to cool down and relax after your long, hot day on safari! You’ll even have access to an internet terminal to so you can catch up on your blogging and emailing.
There is no access to a phone at the Lion Park but you can easily access both in town. You might also like to bring your mobile phone with you, but we'd advise checking with your provider that you will have coverage and possibly buying an international SIM card. Electricity is available at both accommodations but shouldn’t be relied on in case of powercuts!
Whilst at the lion park your accommodation will be on site. Both your accommodation and project are located in Fourways, a short drive from shopping malls, super markets, and restaurants.
In your free time there is also plenty to do. You can visit the Lesedi Cultural Village for a guided tour of South African tribal villages. The Montecasino, built like a real Italian village, is close by and filled with a casino, bars, shops and restaurants, which make it a great place to spend an evening.
For the last part of your trip the backpackers is in the Hatfield / Arcadia area of Pretoria, outside Johannesburg. It’s walking distance to the local shops, as well as museums, botanical gardens and other interesting sights such as the apartheid museum. You can even arrange a Soweto Township tour!
At the lion park you’ll be a stones throw away from your project so you’ll never be late for work.
A journey into South Africa’s history is to haul through periods of racial tension, oppression and hope. Its multicultural mix originates from the earliest settlers, the San (also known as Bushmen) and Khoi-Khoi tribes, followed by Bantu-speaking groups, and through to the swarm of European traders. The Dutch were among the first European settlers and arrived in the 17th century, establishing their presence through their own dialect, Afrikaan, and religion in the form of the Dutch Reformed Church. By the end of the 18th century, the British began to push their presence forward into the country’s towns. It was a period of flared tensions with Zulu chief Shaka renouncing war on neighbouring tribes. Meanwhile, the Boers (Dutch Afrikaner farmers) and the British became locked in conflict; the Anglo-Boer War lasted from 1899 to 1902, ending with the British taking control of the Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State (OFS) and consequently ruling the country.
By 1910, the Union of South Africa was created and gave political power to whites, while blacks set up political parties in protest, the African National Congress (ANC) the best known. It ushered in the beginnings of apartheid, which became widely ingrained after the Afrikaner National Party came to power in 1948. Violence against protests from blacks was enforced and the black population were evicted to so-called Homelands. In the 1960s, leaders of the ANC were imprisoned, notably Nelson Mandela, and the country became isolated having left the Commonwealth and declaring its republic status. After a long period of racial divide and conflict, in 1989 FW de Klerk came to power with the aim to rid the country of apartheid and instil democracy. The following year, Mandela was released from prison and in 1994 became president after the ANC won the country’s first non-racial general elections; the country also returned to the Commonwealth. The country’s democratic stance has steered it toward a more harmonious future, though economic inequalities between whites and blacks exist, but as the most developed economy on the continent it is in a good position to reconcile with its past.
Naturally, South Africa’s seasons are the reverse of the northern hemisphere with summer heat burning from November to March and cooler winter temperatures from June to August. Temperature wise, spring (September to October) and autumn (April to May) provide a happy medium. Certain must-do activities are restricted to specific times of year: safari is best from June to September and the whale watching season is June to December. The busiest time, hence the most expensive, is during the summer months, while the major school holidays are during December and Easter.
Given the distances involved, flying is the most convenient way to travel between the main destinations, while land transportation can efficiently pick up the rest of the mileage for exploration in and around. There are an assortment of domestic carriers to choose from that fly the main routes, with most running from Johannesburg or Cape Town; these include South African Airways, Nationwide Airlines, Kulula and 1Time. Booking early is advisable to secure discounted rates.
There country also boasts a comprehensive bus network that covers the main cities; the road trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town is around 20 hours (compared to a 2 hour in a plane). The main bus companies are Translux, Greyhound and Intercape. Baz Bus is aimed at the backpacker crowd and provides a hop-on, hop-off service and also travels to remote areas. It’s a good way to discover the picturesque patch of coastline that is the Garden Route, which it services en route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.
Train travel can work out longer than by bus, with the trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town edging toward almost 30 hours. If you’re after a little luxury, try the Blue Train or the Rovos Rail for a taste of stylish travel.
Car rental is an attractive option thanks to the good road conditions, great scenery and the flexibility driving allows. The big car rental companies like Avis and Budget have outlets and it’s essential to be fully insured and have a valid driver’s licence. It’s also a convenient way to get around cities as public transport can be unsafe.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s website provides up-to-date political news, travel advice and information on visas
The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA)
Bus company Baz Bus
Domestic airline 1Time
Bus company Greyhound
Bus company Intercape
Domestic airline Kulula
Nationwide Airlines
South African Airways
Bus company Translux
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.
* We can be held responsible for any starry-eyed and amazing journeys of enlightenment, discovery and thorough enjoyment...