New Zealand- The Real Experience

Howdy!
This past summer 2016, i went to New Zealand with ISV. 2 weeks of volunteering and 2 weeks of touring the country! In the first 2 weeks my group and I went to a maori farm and lived there- no power, no internet, no problem! These 2 weeks were the best part of the trip, we all learned how to live sustainably while also being immersed into maori culture. The actual volunteer part was planting manuka trees on the hills, the point of this was to provide a better filtered water for future generations. Although the work was hard, it was the best part of the trip. Now the second 2 weeks was jammed pack with fun. From Aukland, we flew down to queenstown where i went bungee jumping, horseback riding, and exploring the town itself! Next stop was franz josef, a small town with extreme adrenaline- here you can do the highest tandem skydive at 19000 feet or take a tour of the franz josef glacier. You can also go to a kiwi experience where you can see two actual kiwis! From here, kaikoura was the next stop! Kaikoura is the marine wildlife capital of NZ. You can go whale watching, swim with dolphins, and fishing. If you can come here in the winter you can visit a natural seal colony and see seal pups play upstream in a waterfall. After, wellington is the next stop! here we went to te papa musuem. There are loads to do in wellington, I suggest cuban street- so many great restaurants and bars! The next stop was Rotorua, here we went to a polynesian spa, white water rafting on level 5 rapids (7 m waterfall!), and did OGO (THIS WAS SO FUN!!!). Our last stop before heading back to the US was the small town of waitomo. This town is known for their glo worm caves.
Volunteering with ISV led me to some experiences I would've probably never done myself. Although the adventure tour was crazy fun, the first two weeks of being on the farm, planting trees, and living off the grid was the best part of the trip!