Phenomenal in Every Way

There is so much to be said for travelling to a new country and experiencing another culture. To immerse oneself in another way of life expands your views on life as well as provides the opportunity to make life-long friends.

When people think of travelling to new and exciting destinations I don't think they often count volunteer missions among their travel options. In New Zealand in winter it was often difficult, cold, and wet work but the reward of being able to make a difference and experience life exactly as the Kiwi people live it was a phenomenal gift. There is no better way to familiarize yourself with a culture.

For my project I was located in the small village of Punakaiki on the west coast of the south island home to the world famous Pancake Rocks. The scenery here is so stunningly beautiful that it is impossible to put into words. For the first two weeks of our trip our small group of volunteers worked at an abandoned open mine site to restore the natural vegetation and remove and invasive species. Every day was an incredible adventure seeing local species of plants and animals, learning about the history of the area, getting to know the locals (especially at the pub!), traversing through the dense bush having sunset fires on the beach, exploring local forests, walking paths, and caverns. But more than that, knowing that I was actively making a difference to preserve such a wonderful and beautiful place.

The following two weeks of adventure travel were entirely mind-blowing. Skydiving, black water rafting, zorbing, Lord of the Rings tours, pub crawls, local museums, basking in geothermal springs... So many wonderful experiences with amazing people that it can't really even be described.

I would recommend this trip to anyone who loves adventure, amazing people, beautiful scenery, incredible history, and making a difference in the natural world.
I truly can't wait until the day I get to return to New Zealand.