Program Reviews

Austin and Mechi did an amazing job creating and carrying out this program. I truly have never felt so seen, comfortable, and cared for as I did on this program. I could not recommend it more to any students struggling to find direction, needing a chance to clear their head, and feeling a need for community!! The all women aspect of this trip was something I have never experienced before and found to be amazing, the way all the girls connected and truly loved each other so authentically was beautiful to experience and could not be recommended more.

This was a great gap year program. I would recommend it for students aged 18-22. There was a great mix of fun activities, work, and growth. There was also volunteer work at local farms and a food pantry. The fun activities included many hikes and bungee jumping. There was plenty of support from the people working the program. Lots of opportunities to interact, grow, and build responsibilities. There is also an opportunity to take one of two online classes for college credit. The program lasted 70 days and was well worth it.

Our son wasn’t quite ready to return to school after a setback and needed time to rebuild his confidence, reconnect socially, and have a positive, growth‑oriented experience. Rooted Life Adventures provided exactly that.

The supported model was a perfect fit for him. It allowed him to stay connected with his home therapist while also receiving thoughtful, consistent guidance from the program’s team. That continuity made all the difference. He felt understood, encouraged, and genuinely cared for throughout his time there.

By the end of the program, he returned home happier, more grounded, and ready to take on his next challenge. We’re incredibly grateful for the positive impact Rooted Life Adventures had on his wellbeing and would highly recommend it to any family seeking a compassionate, structured, and empowering experience for their child.

This was an amazing experience for our 21 year-old son. He was looking for a gap semester that had a combination of both adventure as well as some structure and wellness support. This seem to have an amazing blend. It wasn’t so much that he was completely outside the real world balance of adventure And school such that he came home with tools to figure out how to implement or incorporate more adventure into a daily life and scheduling classes, etc.

We are very thankful to have found this program. They truly do have a live-in therapist who is awesome. He seemed to reallygrow in confidence and made some long lasting friendships. While he was hesitant to actually go to an Away program so far from home. Grow in confidence and made some long lasting friendships. While he was hesitant to actually go to an Away program so far from home he came back feeling very grateful that he went.

It really does blend adventure with wellness. What we like most is that it’s not an either/or type experience where you are either completely outside camping or or in a remote location, you are traveling for daily adventures and truly what I would consider more normal way to incorporate adventure into a busy life.

The wellness aspect as well seemed amazing. He did really like the therapist and the group activity leaders as well as cooking in a group daily life experiences, etc. seemed amazing. Would absolutely highly recommend this program.

I went on the New Zealand Rooted Life Adventures Gap-year program this past fall and had a blast! After graduating high school I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do with my life (yet), but I knew I wanted some time for myself to do things I may not be able to do in the future. Rooted Life Adventure’s program checked all the boxes for me! I loved that they offered a variety of things from internships to bungy-ing off a bridge, and all the in betweens. They also incorporate “side quest” time where we as students get to pick what we wanna do and then get the opportunity to do it which I really appreciated! Something that also stood out to me was how structured their program is. A lot of the time people think of gap year programs to be just sending your kid off into the wilderness on their own and waiting for them to return someday. But this program we had staff and friends there every step of the journey always offering a safety net to bounce back on if we needed it. Our group grew super close over the 10 weeks and it really added to overall experience because we became a sort of found-family; all on this program for different, sometimes similar reasons, but working towards a common goal and bonding through our journeys toward it. This program was one I’ll never forget, and one I’ll take the skills I’ve learned and apply them to various aspects of my life going forward. Forever grateful and would recommend to everyone!!! :)

I think this program helped me explore my personal interests while also being surrounded by people who were not only incredible, but were also trying to grow the same way as me. I think this program is an amazing next step to finding a sense of individuality while retaining a great support structure! This program has a great sense of personal responsibility too. While on this trip I improved my money management skills and learned a lot about cultural differences overseas. I think that spending this time here also expanded my worldview to something beyond the small scope that I had in the states.

I LOVE NEW ZEALAND!!! (And this program) The people are great, I love the weather and the mountains and trees many amazing trees, & I learned that this might be a nice place to live or at least come visit again. I tried to make friends and I did make a few, we had some fun times. I made some of my favorite memories ever. Spa nights with my roommate and the moon parties were my favorite. Also the horror movie nights in October. Even making dinner sometimes was fun listening to music and laughing with people. I am really grateful for this program existing and for all the angels I’ve met. thank you for creating a safe space for me to exist.

Rooted Life Adventures came highly recommended to us and met or exceeded our expectations. We were looking for a unique supportive gap-year program for our son and Rooted Life Adventures is certainly unique in every way. From the surrealistic landscape and culture of New Zealand to the caring and nurturing program’s qualified leaders, our son was supported in his needs and in working to reach his goals. The regular video communications and updates kept us informed of our son’s experience and progress. We highly recommend Rooted Life Adventures for individuals seeking this type of growth opportunity.

Our son was struggling to figure out what was next for him after graduating high school. He didn’t have the confidence he needed to explore all the options available to him, and wasn’t showing much motivation. We tried so many things here and Rooted Life adventures felt like our last trick since he returned. He has clearly matured greatly, is more confident, is comfortable in his own skin and most importantly seems truly happy for the first time in a long time. This experience exceeded even our highest expectations. We are so grateful for the lasting impact this experience will have for our son and for us as a family. Thank you Rooted Life!