Jake Cardinal, from Ohio State University, shares Program Highlights from his New Zealand Study Abroad experience in 2017. He writes:
Throughout our time studying abroad in New Zealand, we did many fun activities and learned all about sustainability along the way. The activities ranged from wildlife tours, nature tours by boat, and amazing hikes. Going off this, the most asked question I get is, “what was your favorite part of the trip?” Here, I will answer this question by pointing out and explaining some of the highlights of the program and how they relate to sustainability.
- The Elm Wildlife Tour: One of my favorite nature walks of the entire trip was the Elm Wildlife Tour. This tour was located on the Otago Peninsula and featured wildlife such as seals, sea lions, penguins, and sheep. The land that the tour was held on is all private land owned by local farmers, and taking a tour here was very exclusive. The guides taught us that this tour was very sustainable and a win-win situation for all people and animals involved. We learned that the farmers, tour guides, animals, and visitors all get a benefit from this tour in some way. While we learned a lot throughout the tour, we had an awesome time and had the opportunity to be up close to the animals!
Milford Sound
- Milford Sound: The most beautiful place I have ever been in my life is Milford Sound, located in Fiordland National Park. Here, we got to ride in a boat and explore the area and look at its spectacular mountain peaks and waterfalls. Prior to and after this experience, our guide, Dave, told us how sustainability initiatives have been put into place to preserve the beauty and experience of visitors that come to the area. With more people visiting the country each year, it is important to learn and understand how tourism can be done in a sustainable way that allows people to enjoy themselves and preserve the nature of the area.
- The Routeburn Track: One more of my highlights of the trip was hiking the Routeburn Track. The Routeburn Track hike was my favorite hike of the entire trip. This hike was an all-day affair and featured some of the best views of the program. We got to see rivers, mountains, forests, and much more. While hiking, we learned more about sustainable tourism from our guides who hiked the trail nearly every day. They taught us about invasive species management and how they incorporate sustainability in their business.
Routeburn Track
These are just three highlights of many that I could have chosen. While on the trip, we learned new information almost non-stop. Whether it was from the adventure experiences mentioned above, or simply talking to the locals, everyone taught us something. Overall, it seemed that the country of New Zealand had a good grasp on what sustainability is and how they incorporate it into their lives and for their visitors.
