ISV

This was a trip of a lifetime. The volunteer aspect of my trip was unforgettable. The location was great and our volunteer coordinator was a great leader and teacher about conservation. With my group and the help of the community we planted over 10,000 trees in our stay. Each night we cooked our own meals and huddled around the fireplace playing card games and learning about some of the NZ culture. At the end of our volunteer experience we truly could see the impact we made on the regional park we worked at and had made some amazing friends. The second part of the trip was the adventure tour. There are so many places to see and wild things to do in New Zealand but ISV allowed us to experience it all. We stayed in youth hostels along the way. Breakfasts were generally included and there were always close grocery stores to buy supplies to make dinners. We experienced everything NZ has to offers. I went bungee jumping in Queenstown, Skydiving in Abel Tasman National Park, spurlunking in Waitomo, and hiked the Franz Josef Glacier. Those are just the highlights of the trip but there were many more unforgettable experiences. At the end of the trip we experienced difficulties getting back to North America due to an ash cloud from an erupted volcano. Flights were not flying out of New Zealand but ISV was there to make sure all our families back home knew the troubles and that we would be taken care of. I cannot wait to go on my next ISV trip. They offer so many great programs that I cannot decide which one to go on next!