COSTS AND REQUIREMENTS

COST

The total cost of the trip is dependent on the exchange rate. You can see the current exchange rate here. We estimate that the total cost of the trip will be $3600 USD. This cost includes airfare (by far the largest fraction and it will not depend as much on the exchange rate), lodging, transportation, activities costs, incidentals and a $300 food estimate (all of which depend on the exchange rate since we will be paying in New Zealand Dollars). Students are responsible for taking care of all food costs. If you prepare your own food most of the time you should be able to spend less than $300 for food. Remember, that the more people on the trip, the cheaper the cost! Adventure activities which are not part of the course (bungy, skydiving, mountain biking, rafting etc.) are NOT included in the $3600. We will have a much better idea about the total cost of the trip when we get airline tickets sometime in early February. You will not have to put a deposit down for the trip until the day after spring break so there will be plenty of time to get a better cost estimate.

The amount of extra money you should plan on spending in New Zealand will depend on how frugal you are with food and drink and how many other activities you want to do. Just to give you an idea, someone from 2006 spent ~$800 on food, drink, skydiving, souvenirs, internet (they did not stay the extra week). Probably the most frugal person spent ~$330 on the first three weeks and then ~$450 for the extra week. The most I heard was ~$2000 for the trip including the extra week (they spent a lot on alcohol and did many adventure activities). Most of the prices for activities are listed on the Others Things to Do page.

TRANSPORTATION

We will be flying out of the local airport (Lexington, Louisville, or Cincinnati) which gives us the cheapest flight. Flights to Auckland leave from Los Angeles or San Francisco and take about 12 hours. In Auckland we will use public buses and ferries to get around. Once we leave Auckland we will have a charter bus to take us everywhere. The bus will be comfortable and there will always be plenty of stops. The longest trip in the bus will be the return trip to Auckland at the end of the class (4-5 hours). We will have one 1 hour trip on the open ocean on a charter boat. During the course you may not rent any vehicles or take any unauthorized excursions.

LODGING

We will be staying in backpacker accomodations. These are similar to hostels in Europe, but much nicer. You will share a room with, usually, three other people. You will get your own bed! All of the accommodations have kitchen facilities for preparing and storing your own food. Most will also have barbeques. You will save a significant amount of money by preparing your own food and not eating in restaurants. We will always be within walking distance of a supermarket. Here are links to the backpackers we are planning to stay at in 2010: BaseBackpackers (Auckland), Kiwi Paka (Rotorua), Extreme Backpackers (Turangi).

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS

The prerequisite for the course is a passing grade in any physical science course (CHE 131, CHE 117, CHE 135, PHY 110, PHY 117, PHY 210, NSC 110, NSC 140) or permission of the instructor.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Almost all of the course will take place outside and will be physically demanding. If you are not in good enough shape to handle some of the hikes you will lose class participation points. See the descriptions of some of the hikes on the What You Will See page. We will often be out in the hot sun (it won't rain too much) and you may have to sit on uncomfortable lava rocks. You can expect to get sunburned, especially if you don't wear sufficient sun screen. On top of the higher volcanoes, the temperature can fluctuate dramatically. If you are not used to outdoor physical activity, this trip may not be the best choice for you. Of course, you can use it as an excuse to get in shape! Talk to some of the people who have been on the course before to see what they say about the physical requirements.