Program Overview
Cross the International Date Line and prepare to be stunned by the beauty of Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji on this ultimate service youth program in Oceania.
First discover Fiji, the Land of Smiles and the unbelievable island destination you never knew you needed to explore. Witness the positive impact of your hard work and earn up to 20 hours in service credit as you help improve the facilities of a local island school and spend time with the local children.
During our time exploring Fiji’s spectacular island chain, dive into crystal clear blue waters to swim with manta rays, reef sharks, exotic fish, and vibrant corals. Feel like a local as you explore limestone caves, cook a lovo, savor kava and visit indigenous villages.
In New Zealand, experience the country’s famed natural beauty with a boat cruise on picture-perfect Milford Sound nestled in the mountains. Make sure you keep an eye out for penguins, seals, and dolphins! Take an exhilarating ride on the world’s fastest jet boat zooming through rock canyons. Enjoy a local Maori ceremony to learn more about the unique culture and traditions of New Zealand.
After New Zealand, we’ll head to the Land Down Under: Australia. Here we will enjoy the best of the country’s marine wildlife while completing service work with a local conservation organization. Participants will become Great Barrier Reef advocates as part of this multifaceted program that facilitates Great Barrier Reef research, education, and conservation. Service will include a classroom component — training with marine biologists and developing the skills necessary for our work out on the water. Our hands-on work will involve trips with marine biologists to Green Island and the Great Barrier Reef to survey reefs, collect data, and visit a turtle rehabilitation center. Over the years, our service work has had a huge impact on the community and our former students were even featured on the local news!
The adventure doesn’t stop there — get up close with koalas and kangaroos, spend time adventuring in the outback, explore Sydney, discover the Great Barrier Reef, and of course, immerse yourself in the relaxed lifestyle of Australian culture!
Come with us to this for a mix of fun, relaxation, adventure and cultural immersion that we’re sure you’ll never forget!
During this program, you will…
- Improve the facilities at a local elementary school (up to 20 hours of community service credit) and make lifetime bonds with local Fijian students
- Prepare a lovo with Fijians, learn how to weave palm frond baskets and cook like a local with this traditional earth oven
- Hike for incredible sunrise and sunset views of the Yasawa Islands
- Go zip-lining through jungles, mountain tops, and cave systems
- Earn up to 20 hours of community service working with Australia’s unique wildlife and flora
- Volunteer with marine biologists in the Great Barrier Reef surveying reefs, collecting data, and visiting a turtle rehabilitation center.
- Cruise through Milford Sound, one of the most gorgeous places on Earth
- Experience aboriginal and Maori life and history through a traditional Maori ceremony
- Spot platypus and wallabies and get up close with koalas and kangaroos!
- Scuba dive* or snorkel the Great Barrier Reef
- Visit the iconic Sydney Opera House and explore the neighborhoods of Surry Hills, Manly and Bondi
- Suit up and climb to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge for incredible harbor views*
*This is an optional add-on
Trip Itinerary
DAY 1: DEPART FROM LOS ANGELES (LAX)
DAY 2: CROSS THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE
DAYS 3-7: CAIRNS > GREAT BARRIER REEF > GREEN ISLAND > KURANDA RAINFOREST
We spend our first day in Cairns which will be our home base during our service in the surrounding communities with the organization Reef Teach!
We begin our service efforts in the land down under by becoming Great Barrier Reef advocates as part of a multifaceted program facilitating Great Barrier Reef research, education, and conservation. Service will include a classroom component where we are training with marine biologists and developing the skills necessary for our work out on the water. Our hands-on work will involve trips with marine biologists to Green Island and the Great Barrier Reef to survey reefs, collect data, and visit a turtle rehabilitation center!
We cruise the turquoise waters on the incredible Great Barrier Reef where we’ll have the opportunity to snorkel or scuba dive* with sea turtles and exquisite sea life.
On our final day in Cairns, we spend the full day in Kuranda, learning how to throw a boomerang, practice playing the didgeridoo, and we’ll enjoy a traditional Aussie BBQ lunch. You’ll also have the chance to get up close with koalas and kangaroos, and immerse yourself in a greenhouse full of butterflies!
DAYS 8-10: ATHERTON TABLELANDS > YUNGABURRA
Next up is our service adventure where we’ll head inland to the Yungaburra. During the next few days we work on a variety of local projects all related to the care and rehabilitation of native wildlife and flora. Get to know this part of rural Australia with incredible natural landscapes and stunning wildlife. See agile Wallabies living happily in suburbia before climbing the Great Escarpment onto the Atherton Tablelands where you visit a huge strangler fig and look for the smallest and most primitive of the kangaroo species.
Some service hours will be spent working at the TREAT nursery, a cooperative approach to revegetation involving government and community resources. At the display center, you will see all of the work of the last 35 years made by this remarkable community group and how you will help contribute to this work! Take a break from your service work for relaxing walks to beautiful waterfalls in a secluded part of the park.
DAYS 11-12: BRISBANE > MORETON ISLAND > TANGALOOMA
Hop on a quick flight and land in Brisbane. After exploring downtown, we’ll catch a high-speed ferry to the third-largest sand island in the world, Moreton Island. Choose how to spend your days — maybe feed wild dolphins, sand-board down giant dunes, or spend some time relaxing on the gorgeous beaches of the island. Explore the outback on your morning desert safari and embark on a whale watching cruise!
DAYS 13-16: SYDNEY
We spend our last day in Australia in Sydney, where you will explore the urban and cosmopolitan excitement of the capital city, with its splendid harbor and world-class metropolis. Visit the Botanical Gardens, discover the history of the famed Sydney Opera House, check out a movie on the world’s largest IMAX screen, stroll down Bondi and Manly Beach, enjoy the city’s fantastic shopping in Surry Hills, and explore Sydney’s world-famous fusion food scene. To celebrate the life-changing adventure we’ll enjoy our final dinner with 360° views of this stunning city.
DAYS 17-19: QUEENSTOWN
Then you’re off to your next country to discover: New Zealand. Land in Queenstown and head out for some classic TFT adventure. Zoom through rock canyons in the world’s fastest jet boat and check out some favorite local eateries and hot spots of this bustling ski town. Then we’re off to cruise through the spellbinding Milford Sound and take in dramatic vistas composed of high mountains and rugged fjords, spot penguins and seals on the rocky shores, and watch dolphins playing in the waters around the boat. While in Queenstown, you’ll have the option to journey into Middle Earth with a Lord of the Rings scenic tour, or the option to paraglide high above the ground!
DAYS 20-27: YASAWA ISLANDS
Get ready for an amazing adventure in Fiji! After landing in Nadi, we will grab dinner and prepare for an incredible week in the Yasawa Islands.
The next morning, we hop on ferry bound for Nacula Island, one of the furthest north in the Yasawa island chain. Spend your time here immersing yourself into the laid back rhythm of Fiji time!
Here you will join the working commute to a nearby island to help complete important renovation works over the course of several days. Form genuine bonds with the Fijian students as you coordinate playground games, swap stories, and teach each other about your own cultures. Outside of service, embrace the Fijian lifestyle through different activities: prepare an authentic lovo (Fijian feast cooked in the earth) to gain new appreciation for the local fare; participate in a traditional kava ceremony; learn Fijian songs and dances; and discover the meaning of “Fiji time” while soaking up everything this island has to offer!
After our service projects are completed, we will travel to Drawaqa Island, to enjoy snorkeling in its world-class house reef. Relax on the perfect white sand taking in sunset from the aptly named sunset beach. While enjoying the islands you’ll also have the option to try scuba diving in the crystal clear waters.
Our final Yasawa Island destination, Waya Lai Lai, has the tallest peak of any of the islands we will visit. Our morning there we will take an early morning hike up the second tallest peak. Sunrise with a thirty-mile view makes the early wake up absolutely worthwhile. After breakfast venture offshore to a coral reef where we will have the ultimate in adrenaline experiences: swimming with reef sharks (with our expert guide, of course!).
DAYS 28-30 : NADI
We will return to Nadi to come full circle and complete our adventure in Fiji. Our last two days will be packed with excitement. Take off on a thrilling zip-line tour through jungles, caves, and mountaintops. We will also get down and dirty and enjoy a day spa the natural way by covering yourself head to toe in mud before relaxing in the warm, re-invigorating water of natural hot springs.
After an incredible trip together it will be time to say goodbye to our new friends, but the memories we made together in will last a lifetime!
DAY 30: RETURN FLIGHT TO THE USA
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FAQs
Where do we stay?
Students stay in centrally located, safe, and well-supervised accommodations in each city.
They are well suited to facilitating group supervision and usually within walking distance of the main attractions. We do not use large, impersonal chain hotels on the outskirts of cities; we prefer to select smaller, family-run hotels where we establish personal relationships with the owners.
In Cairns we stay in the center of town a few blocks away from the Esplanade. On Moreton Island near Brisbane we stay in resort-style accommodation. In Sydney we stay in the heart of bustling Surry Hills, centrally located within walking distance of all the major attractions.
In Queenstown we stay a short walk from Shotover Street along the waterfront.
On the mainland we stay in Nadi Bay at a beachfront local hotel. In the Yasawa Islands we stay at three local rustic resorts, each situated on the water and selected for the amazing activities and famous Fijian hospitality on offer. Please note, these are not Western resorts. They are rustic accommodations with very simple facilities. The properties are naturally beautiful but participants should be prepared for the experience of traveling to an under developed country, especially when traveling there for community service work with underprivileged communities.
For safety reasons, we do not publish the names of the accommodations we use. We do not feel it is safe to publish the name of a hotel where a group of teenagers is staying abroad. After registering, participants and parents are given access to our secure parent website where you will be able to see the names of all of the accommodations for the program.
Students stay in centrally located, safe, and well-supervised accommodations in each city.
They are well suited to facilitating group supervision and usually within walking distance of the main attractions. We do not use large, impersonal chain hotels on the outskirts of cities; we prefer to select smaller, family-run hotels where we establish personal relationships with the owners.
In Cairns we stay in the center of town a few blocks away from the Esplanade. On Moreton Island near Brisbane we stay in resort-style accommodation. In Sydney we stay in the heart of bustling Surry Hills, centrally located within walking distance of all the major attractions.
In Queenstown we stay a short walk from Shotover Street along the waterfront.
On the mainland we stay in Nadi Bay at a beachfront local hotel. In the Yasawa Islands we stay at three local rustic resorts, each situated on the water and selected for the amazing activities and famous Fijian hospitality on offer. Please note, these are not Western resorts. They are rustic accommodations with very simple facilities. The properties are naturally beautiful but participants should be prepared for the experience of traveling to an under developed country, especially when traveling there for community service work with underprivileged communities.
For safety reasons, we do not publish the names of the accommodations we use. We do not feel it is safe to publish the name of a hotel where a group of teenagers is staying abroad. After registering, participants and parents are given access to our secure parent website where you will be able to see the names of all of the accommodations for the program.
What is unique about the Australia, New Zealand & Fiji Service trip?
On Australia, New Zealand & Fiji Service you will experience picturesque white sandy beaches, crystal clear turquoise waters, legendary Fijian hospitality, swimming with sea turtles on the Great Barrier Reef, performing community service helping Australia’s indigenous wildlife, and cruising through Milford Sound are just a few things that stand out on this ultimate Oceania adventure.
On Australia, New Zealand & Fiji Service you will experience picturesque white sandy beaches, crystal clear turquoise waters, legendary Fijian hospitality, swimming with sea turtles on the Great Barrier Reef, performing community service helping Australia’s indigenous wildlife, and cruising through Milford Sound are just a few things that stand out on this ultimate Oceania adventure.
What is included on Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji Service?
Tuition cost include: ground transportation; accommodation; chaperones and guides; program-related activities and admissions; taxes and tips; all breakfasts, lunches during the Fiji portion and service portion in Australia, and dinners.
Not included in the cost (not intended to be an exhaustive list): Airfare, visas and visa application fees, beverages other than filtered water at meals, lunches, activities and admissions not referenced in the itinerary or deemed not program related, such as movies, expenses incurred by the participant that are outside the program description, such as excess baggage fees and damage to hotels, expenses related to unforeseen circumstances, such as transportation strikes and natural disasters, as well as personal and medical expenses.
Tuition cost include: ground transportation; accommodation; chaperones and guides; program-related activities and admissions; taxes and tips; all breakfasts, lunches during the Fiji portion and service portion in Australia, and dinners.
Not included in the cost (not intended to be an exhaustive list): Airfare, visas and visa application fees, beverages other than filtered water at meals, lunches, activities and admissions not referenced in the itinerary or deemed not program related, such as movies, expenses incurred by the participant that are outside the program description, such as excess baggage fees and damage to hotels, expenses related to unforeseen circumstances, such as transportation strikes and natural disasters, as well as personal and medical expenses.
What is the food like on this program?
The food on this program is authentic, delicious, and a central part of the cultural travel experience.
We prioritize eating at local, authentic establishments rather than Americanized chains, encouraging students to sample the local specialties wherever we go. We fully accommodate all dietary needs, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten allergies, and other restrictions.
Fijians are amazing chefs, so during the program there is delicious array of dishes, and lots of it! Try a TFT favorite, the local fish and coconut delicacy kokoda, as well as taro and cassava, straight from the steaming lovo, which is a traditional earth oven used for centuries.Please keep in mind while we are in Fiji we will be visiting very remote islands and food options may be more limited than the rest of the trip.
Australia and New Zealand are very multicultural countries with an incredible array of cuisines from around the world. Each with large migrant populations the food is as authentic and delicious as you would find in the original country. Greek, Italian, Thai, Indian, Chinese, the choice is yours! For the adventurous eaters there is also kangaroo, crocodile and emu to try.
The food on this program is authentic, delicious, and a central part of the cultural travel experience.
We prioritize eating at local, authentic establishments rather than Americanized chains, encouraging students to sample the local specialties wherever we go. We fully accommodate all dietary needs, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten allergies, and other restrictions.
Fijians are amazing chefs, so during the program there is delicious array of dishes, and lots of it! Try a TFT favorite, the local fish and coconut delicacy kokoda, as well as taro and cassava, straight from the steaming lovo, which is a traditional earth oven used for centuries.Please keep in mind while we are in Fiji we will be visiting very remote islands and food options may be more limited than the rest of the trip.
Australia and New Zealand are very multicultural countries with an incredible array of cuisines from around the world. Each with large migrant populations the food is as authentic and delicious as you would find in the original country. Greek, Italian, Thai, Indian, Chinese, the choice is yours! For the adventurous eaters there is also kangaroo, crocodile and emu to try.