Awesome Journey with ISV

I had an amazing experience with ISV and looking back, I would say has it definitely sparked my interest in travel, as I have travelled alone or with others every year since. Our 3 ISV group leaders were AMAZING as well as the program coordinator/bus driver/everything man! We spent two weeks doing environmental conversation (planting trees, weeding, monitoring local pests, track building) and I really liked getting my hands dirty! It was so interesting to learn about the Maori culture as well, that feels like a total privilege. We were welcomed to the local Maori community and learned about their history.

What initially drew my into this trip was the adventure tour especially since I am an adrenaline junkie. NZ is THE place for extreme sports from skydiving to bungy jumping to jet-boating. The black water rafting is such a unique and amazing experience. Thinking back though, I totally loved everything about this program. ISV is a great company because they really care about giving you the best learning opportunity possible as well as all the cool extras on the adventure tour. They will always make sure you have options if something is cancelled due to bad weather. They give you plenty of tips about where to go, but you don't always have to stick together as a group and are free to choose where you spend your free time, although they will always have suggestions for you and point you to the local tourist point for info. They encourage you to keep a journal, which you should definitely do throughout the whole stay. I did in detail and that was great because you don't remember all the interesting stuff you learn about the culture otherwise.

This experience has opened my eyes to different ways in which I can be involved in volunteering and also what concrete things I can do to play my part in helping the environment. Making us aware and helping us plan and apply sustainable development and responsible tourism was included in my ISV program. I made friends and I realized the importance of finding work that is meaningful to me. I will go back to New Zealand for sure, I would love to spend some time working there as well. This was a very new experience for me, as I tend to be somewhat reserved, but this trip is all about teamwork so I loved meeting people and I also loved the idea of doing something new and exciting everyday!