Amy's Experience at the Orangutan and Wildlife Rescue Center

My time in Java was unlike any other experience I have ever had. When arriving home with friends and family asking "How was your trip?" I don't even know where to begin or the words to use to describe it. The four weeks I spent at the Wildlife Rescue Center was life-changing and tremendously eye opening.


 
Being my first solo overseas trip I had no expectations, and a fresh mind ready to absorb every experience and opportunity that came my way. Each day was unique and each night I'd climb into bed with a mind full of new memories and moments to cherish.

Deciding to book this volunteer trip has been my best decision yet. Being a volunteer, you see and experience more than any tourist could dream of - I well and truly felt like a local. I loved being immersed into a different culture and way of living that was so different to mine back home.



The weekdays spent working at the sanctuary were incredibly rewarding. Its not very often you get to say that you spent the day with Orangutans, let alone 4 weeks!  Getting to see all the different animal species and learning the individual personalities of each of them, I didn't realise how much I had already learnt until it came time to help the new volunteers and teach them all the tricks of the trade!



It’s the simple things I learnt to love on this trip, such as waking up to the sound of Gibbon monkeys calling, feeding the Orangutans and learning who loved tomatoes and who spat out the seeds from the oranges, and which Macaque monkey loved to try and steal our gloves. It was watching the sunsets over magnificent lakes, taking walks around the villages and waiting on the front porches for the rain to pass, playing endless matches of UNO and sometimes winning, dancing under waterfalls, playing ball games with the local kids and engaging yourself in conversation with the Javanese people regardless of the language barrier.

Leaving was like leaving home. I had made new friendships that felt more like family, memories that make me laugh every time I reminisce and insight to how incredible the individuals that dedicate their lives to helping animals truly are! Inspirational doesn’t cut it – and its volunteers like myself and potentially you that help them keep doing the great work that they are.

 
I came home to Tasmania with a new perspective on life, I feel wiser within my experiences and a strong passion to make a difference towards helping and saving the animals that need it most! If you’re reading this and thinking about volunteering, don’t think too much and just book it!  I promise you it’ll be one of the greatest decisions you make