Volun­teering New Zealand – Melanie

Volunteering New Zealand

I spent four weeks as a volunteer in New Zealand with NATUCATE. Two weeks in Wellington and two weeks in Auckland. We were an international group of 5- 10 people and worked in different locations in and around Wellington: five days in Atiu Creek (north of Auckland) and five days on Waiheke Island (an island off the coast of the North Island, a few kilometres from Auckland).

The main tasks were to plant trees and plants in parks and natural reserves, but also to prepare new hiking trails and keep the old ones in shape, building animal shelters and to protect New Zealand’s native flora and fauna. Due to the different locations and changing work tasks the days were never boring. All of our team guides were very passionate about New Zealand’s nature and happy to answer any questions we had.

The accommodation was always comfortable and equipped with everything we needed. One room was shared with others. I volunteered during the wintertime and can recommend to bring warm clothing since the houses are not very well heated. Also for the night some warm clothes are helpful and a hot-water bag is pure luxury. The catering with food was excellent. In Atiu Creek and on Waiheke Island there was no Wi-Fi connection, which I did not know in advance.

I really enjoyed my time in New Zealand. It is a beautiful and fascinating place! The work was fun and not to exhausting. I met a lot of wonderful people and got to know the team guides as very open minded, helpful, interested and thankful. The volunteers felt well looked after.

Now I live in Sydney – I enjoyed my work with NATUCATE so much that I now continue as a local volunteer.