Donkey Retreat Tongala
Donkey Shelter now has a sister property in Tongala, about two and a half hours drive north of Melbourne!The photos below show the donkeys enjoying their new home.
On Sunday the 6th April 2008 we are celebrating this new step in our donkey welfare journey with the Grand Opening of Donkey Retreat.
Apples, Spot and Just Jack, February 2008
Dave, Isabella and Mindy, February 2008
Dave, February 2008
Home, Sweet Home
The Donkey Retreat Story
The Donkey Shelter property at Diamond creek is only twenty-eight acres of very steep and hilly land. This limitation, along with the long drought that much of southern Australia has been enduring over many years, and the ever-increasing number of donkeys that we are taking in, has meant that there has not been a blade of grass in the paddocks for as long as any of us can remember.Consequently, the donkeys have to be fed hay all year round, but the drought has caused the price of hay to more than quadruple since October 2006. With over a hundred donkeys in residence our hay bill was more than $120,000 for only ten months. This was money that could be used to improve the facilities or even build new ones that are desperately needed, such as Intensive Care stables.
But even more worrying than the cost was the prospect of not being able to find any hay to buy.
It seemed to me that the only way for Shelter to survive the mounting hay costs was for me to purchase another property that would provide grazing for the core herd, and also, when (if?) the drought breaks, enable us to grow our own hay. So I decided to take out a second mortgage, putting up my home and practice as collateral.
After much searching we found an irrigation property of one hundred and forty-six acres in Tongala, north of Shepparton. With farmers having their water allocations cut, land is becoming marginal for dairy farming, but donkeys do not need rich pasture, and in fact it can be harmful to them. We hope that approximately eighty donkeys will graze there, leaving half of the acreage to supply Shelter with enough hay for its needs. Sponsored donkeys, and those that are old or not in the best of health, will stay at Diamond Creek.
Settlement was in March 2008, but the previous owner, Jim, called us in December 2007 to say that there was plenty of grass and if we wanted to take up donkeys before settlement then we were very welcome to do so. Naturally we were delighted to take him up on his generous offer, and so we booked a cattle truck and took forty-two donkeys up in one hit.
After seeing them in the bare paddocks at Diamond Creek for so long it was wonderful to watch them as they ate fresh grass for the first time in years!
On the 18th March 2006, Jessie and Luke moved from Melbourne to live in the house and run the property for us, all on a voluntary basis. They are two of our most experienced and dedicated volunteers and the donkeys will be in their safe and caring hands.
We have big plans for Donkey Retreat in the future, including a cafe or tea-rooms, and ultimately bed-and-breakfast accommodation. Our goal is to make Donkey Retreat a fixture in the north of the state as Donkey Shelter is in the south.
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