The variety of sections on the New Zealand Semester means you’ll get to know this land, from its steep-sided mountains to its dramatic fjords. Photo: Julie Anderson

NOLS New Zealand Facts Year Founded: 2003 Operating Season: Sep.-May Location: Christchurch In-town Staff: 4 Skills offered: Backpacking, Sea Kayaking, Canoeing, Mountaineering, and Coastal Sailing

New Zealand is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream destination—the landscape is beautiful, the plants and animal species here are found nowhere else in the world, and you can go from golden grassland to a spectacular river gorge to an alpine snowfield all in a span of days.

The island’s compact size (269,000 sq. km.) means travel is affordable and efficient and you can experience the land’s rich diversity in a shorter amount of time. Here you’ll find clear and unspoiled rivers and streams that thread through the mountains, some of which provide good opportunities for fishing. You’ll also find temperate rainforests all the way up to rugged mountains where explorers and mountaineers like Sir Edmund Hillary learned the foundations of mountain travel skills.

New Zealand’s Maori people hold a sacred connection to these mountains, and, as with all NOLS international courses, you’ll get an opportunity to learn about the indigenous inhabitants as you live and travel in the New Zealand wilderness.