High School Outdoor Education Programs in Australia

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.

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 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.

I purposely set my expectations low for the trip as it would allow what would occur to blow me away. Yet, I have never been so blown away as the trip exceeded my most perfect dreams. My greatest sense of accomplishment was seeing the villagers cry during the groups final goodbye. It felt so warming to know that the work we did and the friendships that we made would stick with them and they appreciated it. Personally, I was able to check off my dream and along the way I made friends, family, and left an everlasting mark on a community for one in return. The highlights of my experience was every single day in the village. There was not a moment where I second guessed my choice to attend the trip or felt down in the slightest manner. I felt like as if there was a perfect balance between time spent on projects, cultural activities, and adventure.

My expectations for my program was to have a lot of high school students in my group. I thought we would primarily focus more on service work while we were there. When I arrived at the airport there were only 9 students including me. We became a very tight nit group towards the end of the program. I really loved how small the group was because I got to make connections with every single person there. My program was for community service in Fiji and I really loved the work we did there. We would spend four to five hours a day working on the footpath. I thought that was the only thing we were doing, but instead we also focused two hours each day to experience the village life in Navakawau. I really appreciated that time to explore the culture of the villagers because I got to learn a lot about their lifestyle and On the second to last day before leaving the village, I helped build a wooden bench on top of the hill. The next day when I was walking around to say my goodbyes to the kids I saw a little kid crying because I told her I was leaving soon. I sat down with the kids on the bench that outlooks the whole island in silence. It was not awkward silence, but comfortable silence. It then hit me - where I was and what I was doing. I helped build a footpath up the hill for children to go to school. I built a bench for children to have a place to sit. It has been a privilege to have the opportunity through the Putney scholarship to experience what it feels like to have a role, a place, a duty in their village. I would have never had an opportunity like this if I did not have found this program. During my trip there were many highlights, but the moment that stood out to me the most was the first few days I was in the village. We were driving up the hill and children were running out of their houses to greet us. The children and adults did not know who we were but they were so happy to see us. Everyone welcomed us into their village with open arms during the welcoming ceremony. I was so happy to be able to interact with so many young children and adults who always put our safety and health before anything else. Villagers would always check up on us every hour to see if we were doing okay. Imagine tens of children coming up to you every hour to check up on you. I have never felt so important in my life. Living in the United States you never see such hospitality and happiness for each and every person. Hearing the word "Bula' every morning was the highlight of my experience. I wish we had more time adventuring the village. I felt that we should have walked around the village more to learn more about the structure of the village. We stayed in one specific spot when working on our service project and we went to certain houses to engage ourselves in cultural activities but did not have much time to learn about the basic function of the village. Besides that I thought everything we did was the perfect amount. I loved how we did service in the morning and cultural activities after lunch.

I was hoping for some sightseeing, water sports, interactions with the locals and we were able to do all of that very thoroughly, which I was very happy about. My greatest sense of accomplishment was being able to fit into, if only temporarily, not just one foreign culture, but two. Everyone in my group except me was from North America, and for the first week and a half, there was a huge cultural disconnect between us. I felt like I wasn't a part of the group for a long time. So, I'm incredibly proud of the fact that despite it getting very tough at times, I held on and grew from it. Similarly, I was also fitting into the Fijian culture, making friends with the locals, and just living in a completely new atmosphere. I think I gained a lot of self confidence in this trip, and I've learned about two new cultures in one go. Interacting with the locals was a huge part of my experience. Also the beauty of the Fijian islands. Coming from Delhi, where nature is practically nonexistent, it was really breathtaking to see the oceans and islands and beaches and waterfalls. Additionally, I think I got an amazing group and the best leaders one could ask for, which just enhanced my experience. I feel like due to some technical issues, we weren't able to spend as much time on community service as was specified, and so I wish we did more of that. AS for everything else., it was perfectly balanced. I do wish we got some more time for snorkeling.

From paragliding in New Zealand to snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef of the coast of Australia, I had the best 21 days of my life with Travel for Teens. I will never forget looking out the window on Air New Zealand as we flew through the snow-capped mountains to land in Queenstown. The beauty of this foreshadowed the once-in-a-life time experiences I had the privilege of doing on this amazing adventure. The counselors made me feel so at home in places I’ve never been, and the friends I made gave me memories I will cherish forever. I recommend this trip to anyone who loves adventure and lives for the moment.