SECURE YOUR PLACE
Young Adult Course
10-16 January 2026 - Tuatapere, Southland, New Zealand
The Young Adult Course is a seven-day immersive wilderness experience designed to build practical skills, confidence, awareness, resilience and a deeper sense of responsibility for yourself, for others and for the world around you.
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Standard Course Fee
NZD 2,970
The standard course fee includes the full seven-day programme, professiona instruction, accommodation in your own tent during the course and all meals.
Your contribution helps us run the programme sustainably and enables us to make participation possible for young people from a wide range of financial backgrounds.
Book your place NZD 2,970Â
IF THE FULL COURSE FEE IS BEYOND YOUR REACH
We don't want financial circumstances alone to decide who gets to participate.
We know that NZD 2,970 is a significant amount of money, especially for a young person.
That's why Wilderness Education is working to create different pathways for young adults who genuinely want to participate but are unable to afford the full course fee.
Some of these opportunities will depend on external funding, sponsors and partnerships and will be added as they become available.
One option, however, is already available directly through us.
CONTRIBUTE YOUR TIME
Volunteer Week
If paying the full course fee isn't possible for you, you can apply to spend an additional week with us as a volunteer and receive a reduction in your course fee in return.
But the Volunteer Week is about more than helping us prepare and maintain our course site.
It's an opportunity to contribute, to care for the land and to give something back through your own hands and time.
Depending on what is needed at the time, you might help with maintaining tracks and outdoor areas, caring for gardens and native vegetation, preparing firewood, restoring or improving places we use, supporting practical conservation work, or helping with other projects that benefit the land and the community around us.
Some jobs will be small. Some will be physical. Some may simply involve noticing what needs care and taking responsibility for it.
You don't need special skills or previous experience.
Whenever possible, we schedule our Volunteer Weeks during school and university holiday periods to make participation easier for young people who are studying or training.
What matters is your willingness to contribute, work alongside others and care for the place that is hosting us.
In that sense, the Volunteer Week is already part of the learning.
Learning to care doesn't begin when the course starts.
How it works
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Apply for a volunteer week place
Tell us a little about yourself, why you would like to participate in the Young Adult Course and why the Volunteer Week option would make a difference for you.
We'll contact you personally
Volunteer places are limited and depend on the work, accommodation and supervision available at the time.We'll review your application and contact you personally to discuss whether this option is suitable and what your Volunteer Week could look like.
Receive your supported course fee
Once your Volunteer Week has been approved, we'll send you your personal registration option with the reduced course fee.Only then do you need to complete your course registration and payment.
Receive your supported course fee
Once your Volunteer Week has been approved, we'll send you your personal registration option with the reduced course fee.Only then do you need to complete your course registration and payment.
2027 Volunteer Weeks
10â16 April 2027
3â9 July 2027
We schedule our Volunteer Weeks around school holidays and university breaks whenever possible, making it easier to participate alongside school, study or training.
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More support options are comming
We are currently working with supporters, organisations and funding partners to create additional ways for young adults to participate in the programme regardless of their financial circumstances.
These may include sponsored places, external funding and other forms of financial support.
As new opportunities become available, we'll add them here.
If the Young Adult Course feels right for you, don't let the course fee be the first reason to walk away. Take a look at the options available and find out what might be possible. And do not hesitate to talk to us.