ISV (International Student Volunteers) Reviews

Our work was in an Australian Wildlife Park. We started with a tour of the park, getting to meet the animals before starting our work. We cleared out frog ponds to repaint it's waterproof base, we worked on the erosion around the park's protective perimeter fance, cleared a waterfall, put up bat boxes and built a brand new pond for the dingoes. All of this was done with the animals all around us, and it was an amazing experience to get upclose and personal with the animals. The accomodation was basic, but the experience as a whole was well worth it.

This was the best opportunity that I ever could have taken in my entire life. The first two weeks being able to help out a local community in another country while spending some serious bonding time with people from all over the world was an amazing experience. I felt like the work that I was apart of really helped out the community. I had so much fun and made friends that I never would have known without this trip, that I will have for the rest of my life. After the volunteer experience being able to travel around the country and participate in activities that I am unable to do in my home state gave me the most amazing stories, pictures, and memories. The trip really taught me how to be responsible on a global level, not just in regards to my carbon footprint, but also how to be a responsible tourist. Adding on the extra week and pushing myself to a higher physical level really made some of my wildest dreams come true.

I personally had a great experience with ISV and would recommend them to everyone. The first two weeks are spent volunteering in smaller groups of about ten doing some kind of conservation work. In those first two weeks my group bonded so much and we had a blast every day. A lot of our work was habitat restoration and removal of invasive species (aka weeding) but it also included trail maintenance as well. We stayed in two very different houses that were both beautiful in different ways. What I loved most was that we got to see a part of Australia that tourists don't normally see, I mean we went to Sydney and Cairns but we got to see Pretty Beach, Murrurundi and other beautiful places that you won't normally find foreigners. The second two weeks are the adventure tour which is a lot of fun but it's also a lot of traveling too. Overall I think if you wanna see Australia and make a difference too, ISV is the way to go!

What an amazing experience!! ISV took me to 5 different countries in Africa which gave me a real perspective on Africa and it was amazing, beautiful, wonderful and exotic! Our two week volunteer trip was at a reserve called Lapalala where we took surveys on vegetation, mammals and birds. It was so interesting to get to know the environment of Africa because it is so different from North America. The animals there are out of this world! They fulfill every child's dream of being in the Lion King. ISV had great leaders who taught us so much about the different places in Africa and its cultures. Every Safari we took we learned something new and became familiar with all the animals. We also got to also go to Victoria falls which is a wow moment it its self. I would defiantly do this trip over again and again!

My journey through Africa started with a night in Johannesburg, early the next morning seven of us headed off to the beautiful country of Swaziland. I didn't know much about Swaziland but after two weeks I was in love. This country is amazing! the people are fantastic and all so happy, and the country is beautiful. We roughed it for our two weeks of volunteering. Sleeping on the ground in tents, showering once every two days (if you were lucky enough to have the shower working), and waking up at 4:30 every morning. The view from the look out was to die for, it looked across the entire private game park and you could spot giraffes as you ate your breakfast! or even as you had a shower! We worked hard; tracking tortoises, macheteing, and setting live animal traps and experienced the local culture on some village tours. Already the African experience was incredible and we still had the adventure tour to go! I was very sad to leave Swaziland but we still had so much to look forward to.

The first few nights of our adventure tour were in Blyde River canyon, an awesome place. For the first time in two weeks we saw beds! That itself was a great thing. But so much to do! We did some kloofing and tubing down the river, and also played some paintball, with some not so good results....

After Blyde River we were off to Kruger for some much anticipated game drives... unfortunately the weather did not abide by our rules. On our full game drive we experienced a slight issue with flooding and hung out in the safari trucks for a few hours...Once we managed to get back to our accomodation we had a 3-course meal and warmed ourselves up. The next day, we had a flight to catch!

Jefferys bay was everything we had been told it would be. A great backpackers and some surfing lessons and we were having a ball. We also managed to see some Lions at the lion park!

Next stop Tsitsikamma, a georgous little town. Here we travelled through the canopies doing some ziplining- lots of fun! Then took a beautiful hike around the coastline. Reminded me a lot of home.After an 8 hour drive we arrived in Cape Town. We were to spend the next 5 days here and what a fantastic 5 days they were. A few hikes, some town tours, shopping, and my favourite: abseiling down table mountain! We spent an entire day up the mountain and had a chance to do the heighest commercial abseil in the world- 115m!! Such an incredible place.

Cape town was our last stop sadly before heading back to Jo'burg and home. I had such an amazing time, with incredible guides and made new friends for life. Africa is a beautiful country and definitely somewhere that i will be returning to.

ISV is an amazing program that incorporates volunteer and adventure, with friendly outgoing and helpful staff, i doubt there is a better company to travel with!

Nothing will be ever agin top this experience. From talking to community members, to playing with kids, to having them sing and dance for us, to hugging them and genuinely helping these communities in indescribable. There is nothing more beautiful and rewarding than seeing the smiles of these kids faces. It is something I think about every day and will never forget! The adventure tour after the volunteer work...wow! accomplished thinks I never eaven dreamt of doing - playing with lion cubs, abseiling down table mountain, smimming beneath waterfalls, doing the highest bridge bungee in the world, ziplining through rainforest canopys, amazing hiking, safari rides, cliff jumping...the list goes on and on and on...words cannot describe it!!!

I have always wanted to volunteer abroad and when I heard about International Student Volunteers I signed up to volunteer in Costa Rica straight away. I have always been fortunate enough to live a very comfortable lifestyle and this seemed the perfect opportunity to give back. However, I could never have predicted how incredible Costa Rica and ISV would be!
A group of 9 volunteers arrived in a small fishing village called San Juanillo and it was our job to build a deck and bathrooms as well as paint the walls and prepare all the finishing touches such as roof boards and doors for the new building where the local fishermen would soon be preparing and selling their fish. The old building where they prepared the fish was on the beach and was severely damaged from waves and weather and was being robbed as no one lives on the beach to supervise. Past ISV volunteers had left their impact on this beautiful town such as implementing a recycling system and starting the building that we were to finish. Work was hot and we had never sweated so much in our lives! We started at 7am and completed tasks such as digging eight 1x1m deep holes, mixing cement manually, painting, sanding, digging through concrete to level the driveway and all the odd jobs typical of any building site. By 3pm we were tired and dirty and ready for bed. Instead we spent our afternoons playing with the local kids doing activities such as soccer, traditional games and taking them to the beach with us.
We stayed with the most generous host families. Whilst these people didn't have much, they welcomed us into their homes and their families and the generosity and care that they showed us is something that I will never forget!
The group of volunteers came from three different countries (Australia, New Zealand and the USA) but we came together for a common cause: wanting to impact our world. Not only did we work together and support each other to achieve more than we could have ever expected but the friendships that have been created will be lifelong. Together we shared laughs, tears and an experience that could never be forgotten.
Of course there were times that were hard. The language barrier was at times stressful and the different lifestyle, food and culture pushed our comfort zones. But the support we received from our ISV leader made all these times that much more manageable. Our project leader changed the way we saw the world as well as our attitudes and beliefs about living in a sustainable manner, but most of all he was a friend and support to everyone and the changed the experience in such a positive way for everyone involved.
When the village chief thanked us on the last night for our efforts, he told us that due to the money we had into the project and our labour we achieve more in two weeks than they could have in 20 years. I think this highlighted how much we contributed and how appreciative the small fishing village was.
I knew that Costa Rica was going to be an amazing experience, but I could never have predicted that it was going to change my life the way it did. I am now going to South Africa with ISV at the end of 2012 because I cannot imagine a better way to spend the summer holidays than by giving back and having the time of my life! PURA VIDA!

When we first got to NZ we were taught 2 local songs that we would need to sing when we were "adopted" into the Maori tribe we were working with. The words were easy and a nice catchy tune. Our first few days we were planting local trees for a nature habitat, then off to do track work to a huge Kauri tree so the handicap people could reach the tree. It was mostly a lot of digging but we had fun doing it. We then spent 2 days of "weeding" at another nature habitat pulling up invasive and non-native plants. For the weekend during the first 2 weeks we went to Mount Maunganui spent a night on the town and got to do a bone carving necklace. Our last work week was spent on the Maori burial ground digging up more non-native plants. Let me tell you gorse really hurts, spines about an inch long can go through jeans like they were butter. Also went to a place for the mentally challenged and helped them transfer seedlings into bigger pots. Even though they couldn't live like normal they had huge hearts and a lot more compassion. We even spent 2 days with the towns' school becoming buddies and learning a new game could "bull run", I didn't play but watched. Those kids could tackle better than our football players. Learned more about the culture and people during our last 2 weeks when we toured both islands.
Our living quarters were in houses that could hold 8-12 people, no heat, so best to bring very warm clothes. There were chances to go into town or ask one of our guides to get things for us. During my time for the work weeks it kinda rained- alot. Gumboots are a lifesaver, save your shoes for when you go to town or for the adventure tour. We cooked our own food as a group and cleaned as a group. Laundry was provided by our guest but dried in the main hall with the fireplace. Best not to have your unmentionables washed, but do them yourself and dried where the water heater was stored in your house.
Once the work weeks were done, we met up with another ISV group for the adventure tour and the start of very long bus rides with beautiful scenery. Best to bring along an ipod or other mp3 player so you don't get to bored. Cameras are a must so bring batteries and a couple of memory cards cause you will want to remember every detail of your trip. One day while everybody was four-wheeling, I found myself wanting to explore the town of Nelson. Went to a couple of museums there and found the jeweler that made the One Ring for LOTR. Even found a trail that lead me overlooking Nelson. It was breathtaking, could see all the way to the sea. There was also a local farmers market going on the same day that we were there. Bought some local fish for dinner since we were staying in a hostel and had to prepare our own meals. Good thing one of our guys was a budding cook. The other group we picked up had come from the islands that were working with the penguins. By the stories they told us; we had the better part of the working weeks. In Rotorua, we were staying at the same hostel as the All Blacks 21. The guys were so nice to us, even though we later found out that if anything happened their chances of playing on the All Black team would be nil.
The month that I spent there really changed my life and made me want to bring some of the lessons I learned back to the states. Even though it has been 4 yrs since I came back it only seems like yesterday that we were in Queenstown hitting up the local bars and shops or soaking in the hot springs at Rotorua.
If you ever get a chance to go- DO IT. Don't hold back. IT was the trip of a lifetime (maxed out my cards) but I really didn't care. If I had the chance to go again I would do it without hesitation. One of the saying they told us was to stay positive, people there were the happiest I have ever seen.

Every moment of everyday I think about last summer's volunteer experience in the Dominican Republic. It truly changed my life, and I plan to go back someday and see our the improvements we did at Blue Moon still there with the people.

I absolutely loved this program. Not only do you get to volunteer but you get to go on an adventure tour in Chaing Mai, the Phi Phi Islands, and Railey Beach. Such a great way to see Thailand from a local perspective.