Swimming with hundreds of dolphins, bungee jumping from the spot where the sport was invented, whitewater rafting, skydiving and surfing are only a few of the activities Emily Garten experienced on her trip to New Zealand and Australia last winter.
Not only did Garten get to spend 60 days “down under,” but she earned 18 upper-division credits doing it. Garten went on the trip through a nonprofit organization called Pacific Challenge.
The organization offers two trips a year. The New Zealand and Australia trip leaves in the winter and a trip to Southeast Asia, which the group offered for the first time this year, leaves in the fall.
Pacific Challenge specializes in adventure tourism, focusing on what its founder, David Wright, calls “experiential education.”
Jason Bussanich, a senior journalism major at the University, found out just what experiential education is when he went on the New Zealand and Australia adventure. Bussanich, who heard about Pacific Challenge from a friend, said his trip was “like (MTV’s) ‘Road Rules’ on steroids.”
Participants in the New Zealand trip set out at the beginning of January and return in March. The itinerary consists of 37 activities spread out over 60 days. According to the Pacific Challenge brochure, the first three days offer blackwater rafting. Unlike whitewater rafting, this sport involves inner tubing on an underground river.
Bussanich said rafters wear helmets with lights, but they turn off the lights once underground. The natural light from trails of glowworms light up the caves for the rest of the trip. The adventurers end the day with a stay in a traditional Maori village.
On day six, the group takes an eight-hour hike through New Zealand’s volcanic Tongariro Plateau. Day 11 includes a 3,000-foot mountain-bike descent, and the following day, participants take a 30-second free-fall tandem skydive. Days 15 and 16 include a sunrise swim with hundreds of dolphins.
The activities continue for 60 days and include other events, such as a three-day trek across New Zealand’s Southern Alps, sea kayaking, jet boating and scuba diving.
In the midst of the adventure, team members take time to hear speakers discuss cultural issues and practices. The lectures are later used in papers and homework assignments for participants who choose to earn school credit for the program. Getting credit is not a requirement, and many people choose to participate strictly for personal enrichment.
Senior psychology major Emily Garten opted to earn credit for the program. Garten is graduating in June, but she will be attending Pacific Challenge’s Southeast Asia program in the fall for pleasure and experience.
“(The program) surpassed anything I’ve ever dreamed or hoped for,” she said.
University students Lea Payton and Hiroka Okana are currently on the 50-day Southeast Asia trip, which visits Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The two students are receiving credit through the University and said it was easy to get.
“The international studies program at (the University) is very open and willing to oversee students who wish to gain credits while traveling,” Payton said in an e-mail interview.
Payton and Okana are among a group of 18 people currently traveling in Southeast Asia. Program highlights include climbing Vietnam’s highest mountain, rafting through limestone canyons and taking a two-day boat journey down the Mekong River.
The itineraries for both the Australia and Southeast Asia trips are designed to be both exciting and educational, according to trip leader Rachel Sanson. Sanson, a New Zealander, leads the yearly trips and said, “It’s absolutely the best job I’ve ever had.”
Sanson is enthusiastic about the design of the trip and said the bonds built between team members are lasting ones.
“They invite us to their weddings and will call and tell us they’ve had children,” she said.
Teams include participants from all over the world, and are best suited for ages 18-30. No outdoor experience is necessary, and the program is designed for people of all physical levels.
The New Zealand and Australia trip costs $5,650 for 60 days, and the Southeast Asia trip is $4,500 for 50 days. To learn more about Pacific Challenge, check out its Web site at www.pacificchallenge.org.