Welcome to our home: a beautiful, wild cluster of islands in the southern reaches of the South Pacific;
‘a country made for angels, not for men’.*
Our New Zealand study programs take international student groups from the mountains and fjords of the deepest south to the golden beaches of the sub-tropical north.
We are New Zealanders**, we know this country inside-out. With our years of experience and local knowledge we can lower the cost of your program while raising the quality of your connection with our land and people.
A special aspect of many of our programs is time within te ao Maori, the Maori world, the indigenous culture of New Zealand. We can arrange for your group to stay in marae, cultural centers, and hear from community leaders, educators, elders and artists. This is no standard tourism experience; this is a genuine encounter with a unique culture and an essential part of the New Zealand story.
Sea-kayaking, slow-biking and back-country hiking are regular features of our trips. Depending on your study focus, budget and the amount of time you have available your tailored program might also include:
- adventure-tourism activities, like white-water rafting, whale-watching, bungy-jumping and horse-treks;
- guest-speakers, university lectures and expert-guided field-trips;
- participation in community projects, alongside local students;
- genuine experiences of everyday life and culture, including visits to remote sheep-farms, markets, festivals and sporting events.
- New Zealand art, music, cinema and literature.
Our accommodation options for student groups include remote high-country farms, backpacker hostels, back-country huts and wilderness campsites.
All our New Zealand programs are led by experienced local guides specializing in risk-management and environmental education. We can manage either your entire New Zealand program or just a part of it, for example an authentic Maori cultural experience or a multi-day sea-kayaking expedition.
Time in New Zealand can be combined with time in the neighboring countries of Australia and/or Fiji. Our group sizes normally range from 12 to 24 students, with programs between one and three weeks.
*From a poem by New Zealand’s James K. Baxter.
**Tamarillo Active Travel is owned and directed by Anthony Norris and Marina Mantovani, both dual-citizens of New Zealand and Italy.
