High School Community Service & Volunteering Programs in Australia & Oceania

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.

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.

ActionQuest is an extremely unique place that offers amazing experiences for kids of all ages and from all over the world. It has taught me so much, not only about sailing and scuba diving, but also about myself, and going to ActionQuest has made me a much happier person. I truly enjoy lifeworks forums. I think that they bring up important topics, and often bring boats closer. They also help connect the lessons that I have learned at ActionQuest to my life outside, so that I may bring these new lessons home with me. The instructors were always happy to answer any sailing question and hand over the helm to any student who wanted to learn more about sailing. They made it very fun and interesting to sail the boat. Scuba diving instructions were also excellent, the instructors would help us plan our dives in the beginning, but then allow us to figure out how to do it on our own later in the trip. Diving is my favorite part of AQ, and it never fails to amaze me. The instructors are amazing, they clearly love what they do, which impacts each shipmate and allows them to have a great time. The friends that I made at ActionQuest are some of my closest friends now, and would have never met them without going to AQ. The people that you meet are just so interesting and amazing. The diving is beautiful, and the sailing is so much fun

I was astonished by how amazing and unknown Fiji is. I have never met such warm, loving, and genuinely kind people as Fijians are. The experiences in this country are like no other. Every day is an adventure whether it is snorkeling, kayaking, Island hopping, jumping off a waterfall, or skydiving. Felt safe every minute, guards even sleep outside your room. Food is great even for picky eaters.

Rustic Pathways responded to this reviewSeptember 12, 2017

Hey Molly! Thanks so much. We love hearing about our students’ experiences. Hope to see you again in the future on the Rustic program. If you have any questions and additional comments, reach out to me at [email protected]. Best, Rachel Levin | RP Alumni Association Director

I wanted to do something different the summer before my junior year. I was looking at teen service trips all around the world, but I was sold the moment I found ARCC's Australia/Fiji trip. It was specifically for teens, so it allowed me to make an impact while staying safe and protected. The ARCC office staff was communicative and had an answer to my many questions. They knew just what to bring, told us up front exactly how much it would cost, and had recommendations on health and medical concerns to ensure my safety. The trip leaders I had the honor of working with were AMAZING. They connected with us instantly and handled every challenge with ease and grace. They were organized, loving, adventurous, open, and qualified. I honestly cannot imagine more perfect people to lead a trip like this. My group had the opportunity to do our service work in Nawaisomo on the island of Beqa in Fiji before our adventure time in Australia and on the Great Barrier Reef (which is gorgeous, by the way), and so we grew close to each other as we learned more about ourselves. The service work, building a footpath and working with the kids, was so much fun, and it was nice to see our hard work visibly progress. We really felt like we were making a difference. When we stayed in the village, we got to stay (in pairs) with host families, and I got really close to my host siblings. I learned so much about Fijian culture by getting to fry fish, shave coconuts, and help unload fishing boats with them in my free time. Overall, The Australia/Fiji trip was a life changing experience that taught me so much about myself, the world, and the importance of loving and take care of your community and everyone in it. There is no better way that I could've spent my summer.

For the past few years I have slowly become more and more obsessed with sharks and their conservation. When my friend told me about the trip she took to Fiji, I just knew I had to check it out. As soon as I went to the Fiji Shark Studies page, I knew it was the program for me. As a student, the academic component was enticing for me because I know that Marine Biology is something that I want to pursue in college. Not only were the academics stimulating, but the environment, the diving, and the people were as well. Continuing to hone my diving skills was simple with the Broadreach instructors, and I know for a fact that I improved during my three week stay in Fiji. The most exciting part about receiving my Advanced certification was the fact that we could finally go on the Shark Dive!!! Diving at Shark Reef Marine Reserve was one of the best experiences of my life, and I will never forget the thrill I felt the first time I witnessed those bull sharks being hand fed tuna heads by the BAD guides. Diving multiple times a week helped us bond with the people that work for Beqa Adventure Divers and it really opened my eyes to the Fijian culture. Listening to their stories on the boat during surface intervals while munching on tea and cookies was never boring and I can easily say I made 20 something new family members. Fiji Shark Studies was the adventure of a lifetime and it gave me a whole new appreciation for the marine ecosystem, sharks, and those who care for the ocean so fondly. Thank you Broadbreach for the most amazing three weeks that I will surely never forget!

As usual, Global Works orchestrated an excellent experience! I learned about the native people of New Zealand, how to travel with others who are not like me, and life in a third world county. The people of both places were kind, but the love I was shown in Fiji was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The leaders were fantastic and diverse! The only unpleasant part of my trip were my peers. Although I was friends with some of them, most of them were suffering from acute cases of affluenza. Global Works is a fantastic company, but if you want to travel with a really dedicated group of people, take an immersion trip to somewhere that will only be appealing to real travelers, like the month long language immersion trips or any of true trips to developing countries.