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Volunteer Experiences

Author: David Blatcher
Placement: 2 weeks at placement 0005
Period: August 2006

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I arranged to stay at this lodge through Ecoteer (www.ecoteer.com), some months before my trip to Australia. Ecoteer enabled me to select a project that appealed to me and were efficient and economical in arranging my volunteer work. Membership of Ecoteer or WWOOF is essential in order to work at the lodge, and Ecoteer membership is cheaper.

I flew into Brisbane on Saturday 12 August and travelled to the local rail station. This involved a couple of changes, but the trains were good and took about an hour in total. For a South-East Queensland journey planner see: www.translink.qld.gov.au/ . I had previously arranged for the manager, Paul, to pick me up from the station, which he did. I was made to feel welcome as soon as I arrived.

The lodge is set in a peaceful, rural but not isolated area. Mt Tibrogargan dominates the view. The area around the lodge consists of native bush, restored rainforest in nearby creeks, farms growing such things as macademia nuts and pineapples and country houses set in large plots of land.

The lodge itself is essentially a small hotel run with ecological principles. The entire site is clean and smart. Paul's home is an old church on the site in which he feeds volunteers. Behind this is a sociable decking area and the rooms. There are four double rooms, one family room and three bunk rooms. Volunteers sleep in one of the comfortable bunk rooms; as I was the only volunteer there at the time I had a room to myself.

Behind these is a railway carrage which serves as the guest kitchen. The lodge itself is sunnounded on two sides by an orchard and small coffee plantation. Below the lodge there is a fire pit and a forested creek which is being restored with native plants.

Much of the work was cleaning and preparing rooms for guests, especially as I was the only volunteer there at the time. I did , however, get an opportunity to do other work such as mowing grass, mulching and planting in the forest and working with Paul to finish building a woodshed.

The food was excellent throughout my trip, much of it grown at the lodge itself and home-cooked. Evenings were spent chatting with guests or holding interesting conversations with Paul. The lodge does not provide an opportunity for partying every night and mostly has only one or two volunteers at a time.

Apart from the work at the lodge I was able to walk in the nearby national park, climb Mt Tibrogargan (something of a scramble), meet some interesting people and visit a couple of markets and rainforest walks with Paul. I found the the trees and plants to be fascinating: hollow, burnt out trees that were still growing, huge rainforest trees with butress roots and strangler vines that grew down from the canopy, enveloped and killed the trees and continued to live as enormous free-standing trees themeslves.

I enjoyed my two weeks at the lodge, was very comfortable and was able to do some useful conservation work. By the end of this time, however, I was ready to move on to somewhere with other young travellers that would be a little more lively. I would not suggest volunteering there for more than a few weeks. If you are looking for somewhere peaceful to stay, in spectacular surroundings with friendly company then I would heartily recommend spending some time at this lodge.

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