Wish I could do it all over again!

I decided to do this trip as a chance to try things that I had never done before and be in a part of the world that I had never been to. This trip did exactly that. I had never been back packing, or canyoning, or canoeing, or anything of that sort before this trip. My leader (Dan) was as helpful and fun as anyone could have been. He was very supportive and helped everyone learn things they struggled with. By the end of the trip we were all comfortable living outdoors, cooking our own meals, and really traveling by ourselves.

Not only that, but I got to experience one of the biggest rugby tournaments in the world in New Zealand, I went to the famous Steve Irwin Zoo in Australia, oh and I jumped out of a plane 13,500 feet in the air! While all of these things were cool, I really felt I could enjoy these things because I was still giving back to the country. We did many volunteer projects during the trip and it made me feel like I was doing something productive for someone other than me. It's easy to be enjoying all that the countries had to offer, but it wouldn't feel right unless we did something in return.

I knew nobody going into the trip, and now I can proudly say that I keep in contact with everyone from my trip still a year and a half later. This was an amazing trip with amazing people and is truly an incredibly unique experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.