Blog

Following our adventures tracking the possum on Arapawa island, our group loaded up the van and drove to Nelson. After spending a couple of days relaxing, including an amazing dinner hosted by Pacific Discovery's founders Scott and Rachel Sanson, it came time to prepare for our backpacking trip. On the surface, packing for the trip seemed simple enough: buy some light food at the supermarket, throw your clothes into a backpack, grab a trangia (cooking stove) and a tent … Read more

This week was just another an average week with Pacific Discovery (meaning nothing short of extraordinary). We spent it rock climbing alongside a gorgeous mountain lake with spectacular views during the day and retreating to a beautiful lakeside campground for the nights. Our fantastic climbing instructors, Loz and Frankie, had the incredible ability to challenge everyone from the beginners to the climbing elite while still keeping us all together. We very quickly disco… Read more

For the last several days, we travelled through the Kahurangi National Park with Group C. The National Park runs along the west side of the South Island and is the second largest in all of New Zealand. For me, the most scenic part of our time tramping (hiking for those not as familiar with the term), was the first day. We spent most of the day lugging our large, heavily packed bags up and down mountains. We tramped along beautiful ridge lines and down into quiet and ser… Read more

For the last four days, PD Group C was on a canoe trip on the beautiful Whanganui River. The river travels through the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand and took us through the most tranquil, scenic expedition that I have thus far experienced. Our time off the river was spent primarily mobilizing our belongings to the three campsites where we slept. We would lug our enormous waterproof barrels and our dry bags containing tents up onto the land surrounded by … Read more

Traveling down the Whanganui River was an adventure set apart from any other experiences in my lifetime. I had never paddled a canoe for seven hours a day, packed all of my belongings for the week in a barrel, or woken up to as beautiful a sunrise as the one over our rain-soaked riverside campsite. This adventure was breathtakingly beautiful, challenging, and utterly unique. We arrived at the Whanganui without knowing what was ahead. As we drove further into the North I… Read more

The drive into Auckland alone was enough to ensure my fondness for New Zealand. The rolling green hills reminded me of my time spent growing up in the English West Country, except these pastures were directly situated beside pine trees which reminded me of my current home in Evergreen, Colorado. Sprinkled throughout were palm trees plucked straight from Hawaii! This ecological juxtaposition is so fascinating and absolutely beautiful. Driving around New Zealand has a calm… Read more

Kia Ora! The first week in New Zealand has come and gone. We spent the past seven days at Mimiwhangata, a beautiful farm and conservation area on North Island, surrounded by rolling hills on one side and a beach on the other. In the mornings, we cleared paths, chopped wood, or did gardening work, and we went swimming and lounged on the beach in the afternoon. Our hosts, Chris and Nadine and their sons, Jonah and Ben, demonstrated how to chop wood and complete other task… Read more

New Zealand Australia Gap Year Semester (B) instructor, Shane Bracegirdle, says... Hi guys! My name is Shane and I will be one of your program instructors through New Zealand and Australia. I thought you might like to know a little bit about me before we really get to know each other. I am looking forward to mentoring you on this journey as it has so many elements to it and you will all take away a very unique story. I am here to make this story as life changing as pos… Read more

The day began with our most elaborate breakfast of the trip: two massive pieces of French toast topped with icebergs of fruit in an ocean of maple syrup and big clouds of whipped cream coupled with two glowing cinnamon rolls that almost seemed too perfect to eat... almost. From the sight of the spread on the table, I knew that we were in for a long day. After our appetites were quenched we all piled into the van and drove to Planet Bike to meet our guides. Dave, Dan, Me… Read more

"What is your proudest moment?" Before this trip, there were few moments in my life that could answer that question. Seven weeks later, lying in my hostel bed after a four day backpacking trip through New Zealand's Kahurangi National Park, I am still struggling to pick a defining moment as my proudest one. Except this time, it is not because I lack moments to choose from, but rather I have too many form which to choose. Over the past seven weeks, I stood up on a surfbo… Read more