New Zealand Volunteer Quest
Volunteer in New Zealand: 6 or 12 months

“It was an experience unlike anything I could have imagined and was nothing like what I expected; that's what made it fun and unforgettable! I would go back in a heartbeat.”

- Jordan, United Planet volunteer

The purpose of this Quest is to promote a deeper level of cultural exchange and understanding through meaningful volunteer work at local organizations and immersion in the host community.

Volunteer opportunities begin August and January of each year:

1) Farm projects – Volunteers may work on cow, horse, sheep or beef farms. Volunteers live with the family on the farm, giving the opportunity to experience a very different lifestyle. Daily activities may include feeding and moving animals, milking cows, driving a tractor or a motorbike and other outdoor activities.  Prepare to get dirty!

2) Health camps - Throughout New Zealand, health camps are provided for children who need special medical attention away from their own family. They may be from underprivileged homes, abusive situations or suffer dietary or behavioral problems.  Volunteers will share duties with other staff, and live on-site.  Children who attend this type of camp do have very unsettled lives and need a great deal of tolerance and understanding. 

3) Social work projects – Volunteers can work with intellectually handicapped people, elderly, disabled children or disabled adults. Duties at these projects range from laundry to kitchen work, housework, care giving, and companionship for the residents and helping out wherever needed.

4) Environmental projects – Volunteers are part of teams that work at restoring, replanting and maintaining the local environment.  Volunteers will also help with educating the community that they live in as well as the wider community about the environmental situation in which they are working.  Some environmental projects will involve working with the native animals of New Zealand.

Volunteer Accommodations

Volunteer accommodations vary according to project and location.  Possible accommodations include home stays, shared housing with other volunteers or a room at the work placement.

Are you interested in volunteering in New Zealand? Read more about ICYE New Zealand!

Read about the application process, deadlines and program fees for the New Zealand Quest.

• Volunteers must be 18 years of age to participate in a New Zealand Quest.
  
• United Planet can send volunteers who are citizens of the United States and Canada or those who are currently living in the U.S. and Canada.  Citizens and residents of other countries must contact the ICYE partner in their home country. United Planet can send people from any country to our short-term Quest locations for 1-12 week programs.  Some of our short-term volunteer placements can be extended for longer stays.  Please contact us for more information about volunteering with United Planet.