Volunteering in New Zealand: Preserving Unique Natural Areas

During my time in New Zealand I stayed for 9 weeks in the volunteer project in New Zealand, of which I spent 7 weeks in Wellington. After my time in the project I travelled on my own for two weeks and the joined the conservation project in Auckland again for two more weeks. Three exciting months full of new experiences. After an exhausting 24 hour-flight I spent a couple of days in Wellington to rest and get adapted to my new environment. On my first day of the project I arrived at 11 AM at the volunteer house which is called „Truby King House”. At first, they showed me the accommodation and explained me more about the project. Then me and the other new volunteers went out for lunch together and at around 2 PM the other volunteers returned from work. I became a full member of the team right from the beginning. On my first weekend, we went for a bike ride together and they gave me a city tour. On my first day of work I expected to work for 7 hours, no matter what the weather would be like. But it turned out a usual work day starts at 8:30 and ends – depending on the weather – between 13:30 and 16:00 (working hours per day vary between 1 and 5 hours). During this time, different types of work can be done. Cutting trees, weeding, collecting invasive plants, constructing drainages, taking care of hiking trails to name a few. Not to forget: A tea break in the morning and for lunch. On the way home, Dave, our team leader, showed us different sightseeing attractions and other beautiful spots around Wellington. He also told us stories about the places or gave us a tour at the national museum “Te Papa” in Wellington. Most of the work for the volunteers took place at parks in the city. Once a week we drove to Zealandia, a park where local animals and plants are breed and once a week we were located at Mt. Victoria. The rest of the days we were helping the locals with different types of work in the parks in the area. After work, we had free time and could choose what to do during the rest of the day. I often went to the city or to Mt. Alberg, watched a movie with the others or played table tennis at the house. After I travelled for two weeks on my own around New Zealand’s North Island (my highlight: Tongariro Alpine Crossing) I joined the conservation team in Auckland. We met at 11 AM at the office and after a short introduction we were split up into teams of 5 to 10 volunteers. My team stayed for a week in a suburb of Auckland, so I had the possibility to explore the city on the weekend. The house in Titirangi is a lot smaller than the volunteer house in Wellington, but as we were only a team of 5 volunteers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland that did not matter. At Titirangi we started working on Monday at 8 AM. On Wednesday, we helped a local ranger at a nearby park and made repairs along the trails in the park. On Thursday and Friday, we worked with Simon, another park ranger, to reconstruct a hiking trail which was damaged and not walkable anymore. In the afternoon, it was weeding time and we were collecting invasive plants. Our working day ended at 3 PM and on the way back we had time to do some sightseeing. On Friday, we drove back to the office in Auckland and our groups were mixed again. With my new group I was going to Atiu Creek. After showing us our accommodation, we had the rest of the weekend off. The house is in the middle of the park and basically in the middle of nowhere. We used our free time on Saturday and went for a long hike to discover the area. On Monday, we started working and collected tree seeds, helped to construct bridges over fences and did some repair work on hiking trails. We spent the evenings cooking together, watched a movie, or played card games. Our time in the park flew by and suddenly the week was over, and I had to say goodbye! In the end I must say, even though the project was not exactly what I had expected, it was a great opportunity to get to know something new. I was able to improve my English, became more independent and learned to get along in a new environment and made new friends from all over the world. In the end I had an amazing time with many amazing experiences (wonderful nature, local animals, an earthquake with 7.9….) in New Zealand. A bit sad, but also excited about the new adventure to come we went out for a last dinner in Auckland. I also would like to mention that NATUCATE was a good support during my preparation and my time in New Zealand and that the team took their time to help me and answer all my questions. At any time I could call them or send them a WhatsApp message. The local staff was super friendly as well and helped me out whenever needed. It was always great to get some insider information about what to do and where to go, when in New Zealand. (Simon, 20 years, 9 weeks)