High School Outdoor Education Programs in Australia & Oceania

I love MEI. I could go on for hours about how truly amazing my time with them has been. I will always be a fan of theirs and will always recommend who I can to go on one of their adventures. I was lucky enough to go on two separate summer trips. I did adventure down under in 2016 And international Business in 2017 or 2018. I have always struggled with some aspects of school and was nervous about attempting university-level courses while being abroad as I did not usually take university-level classes but I found it easy not because it was easy but because of how it was taught. I’ve never liked English as I’m a creative person and I’ve never seen English as anything but essay writing. On my first trip on Mei, I loved English. for the first time in my life, I understood so much of a subject I never felt I knew before. The teaching approach was amazing and engaging. I wish all schools taught how they did. Besides great teaching, the programs are set up amazingly where you truly get to experience being on your own (in groups of three) and build your independence abroad. I feel if I went back to the places I’ve travelled that I would be confident in knowing my way around because of the independence I gained with Mei. The teachers down to the people in the office are amazing. A helpful group of friendly people. I had a few teachers between both trips who were so great but one teacher who stuck with me through it all was Simon. Simon is awesome and is someone I grew a connection too. He can be your teacher and friend all at once. He is someone I will always remember. Also if you do require any extra help or accommodations they are very helpful! I have ADHD and a learning disability and I always felt I had help when I needed it. If you are thinking of sending your child away on Mei do it!! It will impact them in the best way possible & give them so many memories and Friendships. I still talk to a good handful of people from my trips to this day who I make sure I see at least once a year. If I could of paused time and stayed in high school just so I could go on more adventures with MEI I would

This experience was incredible for our son. It really was life changing for him and I highly recommend this experience for anyone with a high school aged child. MEI is an incredible school and we appreciate everything they have done for our family immensely.

Our family would highly recommend MEI International Academy. Several of our family members have joined with MEI over the years since 1999, and the MEI family of educators are second to none. Most recently, we aimed to send our Gr.12 daughter but travel was hindered by COVID-19. Without missing a beat, MEI staff arranged for engaged online learning, which allowed for the children to receive their credits without compromising the integrity of the education they received. While learning from home was not the plan, MEI sought to engage the children and took care to support them through a difficult time. Student safety and wellbeing never wavered from the primary objective of the staff. Knowing this, gives me the confidence as a parent to trust them with my child. When it's safe to travel, we look forward to our daughter heading out to complete the second leg of her MEI journey to see the world. Thank you to Joe & Rita Mei for all your hard work and dedication, and to your staff for working so hard to support the kids through their learning experience.

This program has truly transformed my understanding of what vet med could look like. I have also made some of the most valuable memories and connections. I couldn't have had a better time. I hope to be able to go on another Loop program again. It was the best!

It was a life-changing experience that I'm so grateful I was able to be a part of. If anyone is on the fence about applying, do it. You'll meet so many incredible people and you'll learn so much more than school will teach you. Not to mention the food is so good!

This program is amazing, including tons of activities and experiences that can't be found at school. It helps me to prepare for what come next in my career and I gain a lot of new knowledge. It is also a great opportunity to meet lots of new friends and different culture.

I loved the service activities we did and learning about the fijian people, community and language. Connecting with the locals and helping the villages and womens shelter was one of my favorite parts

Rustic Pathways responded to this reviewJanuary 15, 2025

Hi Julie! Thanks so much for traveling with us. The community in Fiji is wonderful! Thank you for everything you contributed to the villages there and the women's shelter. We hope you travel with us soon.

Very nice program!! I loved it so much. All of the staff made my experience special. My favorite was being around all the animals, especially waking up to see an alpaca outside my window. The enrichment project also taught me a lot.

This was a great experience! Not only did I learn a ton about animals, but I also made new friends and had a lot of fun visiting the tide pools at Terrigal, throwing a boomerang, and doing the scavenger hunt. I highly recommend this program for all students interested in vet medicine

One of the best experiences ever. I literally feel like I'll never be able to replicate the high of being here for the first time ever again. Our Support staff made this trip special becasue they cared about this program and the people here and are just high-key awesome!

Best vet program I have ever joined. The entiee social space and support was overwhelmingly wonderful. My favorite activity was actually the necropsy because it gave me a better sense of working hands-on. All of the staff made my experience so special!

I traveled with the Australia Zoo program. My favorite part was working with Trish and the animals. Getting to form personal connections with animals was absolutely amazing. thank you Rustic Pathways!

I enjoyed everything I did on the program with Rustic Pathways in Fiji. All the memories we made! and the kindness of the program leaders as well as just the people in Fiji general. I'll rememeber forever!

Once, when my team members and I were riding in a van, the music in the car played "baby". My team members and I liked this song very much, so we sang it together. Since then, the driver will play this song as soon as he sees us getting in the car. Also, I really like the atmosphere in momi bay where everyone is chatting together.

Does the pasing count as the most memorable thing during my stay? I thought the first day was the best day, and then the following day happened lol. Each day just kept getting better and better, so idk if I have an exact moment.

I loved learning about the different species, the importance of conservation, learning and making new friends. I loved being in a household with so many people and being surrounded by animals. I also loved going to the beach!

This was my first summer not going to camp so to google I went for summer things to do with animals where I can get as far away from my parents as possible and this program sure did that. Whole flying half way around the world alone is scary as a 16 year old this was some of the best two weeks I’ve ever had. I mean you are surrounded by animals all the time and I mean all the time (it’s Australia you can’t escape the spiders). I learned so much about animals and also just traveling away from my parents and was friend with everyone in my program. Overall I couldn’t recommend this program more

I’ve learned about things I didn’t even know before, and got to know amazing people that I still talk to today. Although the COVID breakout happened, we recovered and all ended well. During the COVID times, the people in the negative house was treated almost the same as the positive group even though we tested negative and was restricted from helping rangers yet still had lectures every morning. It definitely set us back back but everything else was well. I see myself going on another LoopAbroad trip in the future!

Starting off, I would recommend any TFT trip. They are a very experienced company with staff that are very organized and familiar with the countries that you are visiting. This Australia and New Zealand trip had the perfect amount of volunteering time as well as excursions to have fun with. We had about 20 hours of volunteer service where we helped at a non-profit animal center. Aside from these hours, we would take trips to waterfalls and beaches to relax, but also immerse ourselves into the culture. We were able to visit small markets and farms as well as iconic sights such as the Sydney Oprah House. Travel for Teens has given me new experiences worldwide that I definitely would not have been able to plan or do by myself.

In the Summer of 2018, I had the amazing opportunity of traveling to Australia and New Zealand. It was absolutely amazing. I got to do once-in-a-lifetime activities such as scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef and the Sydney Bridge Climb. These are memories that I will never forgot. I had the most amazing counselors and met friends that I still keep in touch with. There was not a day that I did not love. If you have the opportunity to do this, you should, I can guarantee that you will not regret it.