Eye-opening and Community Building

The best part of my trip was the people with whom I was grouped. None of us were particularly involved in environmental efforts before the trip and we all said at one point or another that this was not the type of trip we would normally sign up for. Yet, we had all signed up, we were all there, and we were making the absolute most of our time there. I was so impressed with the way that we all came together to complete tasks, the way that everyone gave their best effort every day, and the way that we were able to support each other during the trip and after. We became a sort of family, which is something I never expected.

I was shocked at how invested I became in New Zealand's flora. I learned more about the native plants of New Zealand than I know about plants in my own state back home and I started to care for them almost the way you would for a pet. I became concerned about their safety and got excited when I saw one out in nature. I also became really interested and invested in the culture of the Maori people, the native people of New Zealand. I hope that this attitude will continue to grow in me and that it will be a lasting, positive change.

Lastly, you could not ask for better adventure activities than the ones that ISV has planned for their groups. I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so the opportunity to do OGO, Black Water Rafting, and Bungee (yes "bungee", not "bungy") Jumping was a definite highlight of my trip. If you aren't quite as keen to do those things, though, they have plenty of other activities that you're sure to enjoy, like Hobbiton and Whale Watching.

Overall, I really enjoyed and highly recommend this trip.

(If I were to do it again, though, I would make more of an effort to fundraise. If people are unsure why they should donate money to this trip, tell them that a majority of New Zealand's unique habitat has been destroyed and that restoring it is crucial to ensuring that we continue to have clean water and diversity in nature. Any trip that you are a part of in New Zealand will be working toward these goals by planting trees, building fences, cutting down invasive species, educating the public, or building habitats for native bird species.)