OZ Force - www.ozforce.org

Had an amazing first week thanks to Ultimate Oz would definitely recommend to anyone traveling alone or in a group its a perfect way to see the city and meet people. Evii is an amazing rep, made everyone feel included, lovely person.

The expedition to Thailand was amazing, definitely one of the most exciting things I have ever done! It was great to make friends with people doing the same or similar expeditions, who come from a completely different countries such as Holland, Israel or the US, and it was very easy to do so as you share accommodation with these people. Learning about Thai culture and Buddhism was really interesting as its something I had never studied before. I was impressed at the flexibility of the programme as initially I has signed up to do the introduction week and then a week of conservation. However when I got out there I changed to do the Buddism week, as I wanted to learn more about the religion that 90% of the population follow. I first heard about Greenforce just searching the internet for gap year companies. The website looked the most professional and Gapforce being involved with people who seemed to give the company better credentials that some of the others. I'm so pleased I picked Gapforce for this epic adventure!

Well where to start? The season got off to a good start with the Skiforce staff in Val d'Isere going well above and beyond to sort out any problems and get everyone settled, and before long me and the other gappies had started the course!

The course itself is well structured, giving you enough time to find your feet, and touch on any bad habits before progressively getting into some more serious skiing, with excellent world class instructors. Each week is focused on a different discipline; from race training - to freestyle, giving you a chance to improve rapidly and enjoy the (quite intense) skiing!

Luckily, Val d'Isere has excellent après and night life, a great way to wind down after a long day on the slopes, starting après with two pound a pint is always a plus and a great way to relax before hitting any of the reasonably large clubs. If this isn't enough Val plays host to a variety of excellent event and activities throughout the season. From the Frostgun Invitational and the X Games, big air comps, to the New Years celebrations, guest DJ's, and a small market every Monday!

As part of the instructor package we gained access to great experiences, like a refuge hut trip in the middle of the mountains, to a helicopter pick up after a great guided off piste morning in the expansive Espace Killy, which truly gives enough variety to last a season and still give you something new!

All in all this season with Skiforce by Progression has been more than expected, with helpful and friendly staff, great instructors and a group of friendships that'll last a lifetime, it's definitely an experience to be had, and one I hope to soon repeat.

I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity, it has been an incredible experience from which I have learnt a alot and gained a great deal of insight to the field in which I intend to make my career. Not only have I been integrated into an amazing culture and found that Fijians are just as enthusiastic at protecting their local marine environments as I. On top of that I have also learnt first hand what it is to be the one gathering the raw data.

There is so much more to it than I anticipated which you can just continue to expand. So many things are required when a project is in such a remote location with such limited resources: the organisation behind the projects, the team work, consideration of weather, the motivation, safety and so much more, particularly when your living in a completely different environment with little contact with the outside world. It's the small things such as foot care or a warm cup or tea after a dive when it's raining outside and cold that keep moral up, or considering some others maybe feeling homesick. All these things are important to make you a good team, make good group of friends and life on camp happy. Which it definitely was!

Have I gained from it?

Definitely

Would I recommend it?

Without a doubt!

Would I do it again?

I'm itching to get back!

I don't think this blog/report does it justice, what I can say it has been incredible! I feel I have given something back to the local community from which has given me so much in just allowing the GreenFORCE to be there. The things I have learnt not just by doing (aka the surveys) but also observing, say if I were the marine scientist on such an expedition in the future what I would or would not change.

A thanks also goes out to the GreenFORCE scholarship which is awarded to somebody studying in the relevant discipline, I count myself very lucky as i was offered a 20% deduction, which without I doubt I would have been able to afford to go. So thank you very much!

Val D’isere has been an amazing experience for me, from great people, great snow, incredible instructors and amazing nights out! I am know back home in the UK which compared to Val d’Isere, is a bit boring! So I’m planning to go back out for the final week of the season! I was on the Ski Instructor Pro Course, which was really good! We were trained by some of the world's best instructors, such as a 4 time Ex Olympian! During training we covered all the different strands of skiing, with new instructors each weeks specializing in those areas. One of my highlights of the season would have to be Heli Skiing which was definitely one of the best days skiing I have ever had. The X Games in Tignes were also amazing which we went to watch on a sunny afternoon right after finishing out Basi 2. But even better than the X Games, was, in my opinion, the Frost Gun Invitational, which was held in Val d'Isere. As Frostgun was a slighter smaller event, we were able to stand and watch right the bottom of the HUGE jump and enjoy the live DJ's and party after! The skiing and the great snow conditions have been absolutely amazing, but aside from that, I would have to the say that the nights out, the apres ski and socials with all the other guys on the course has been one of the best things about the season!

Since I returned from my Trekforce expedition I have become much better travelled and have lived in France (twice), Paraguay and the Czech Republic for anywhere from two months to three years. I've also become a full-time EFL teacher, with Malaysia being my tester. The expedition gave me the confidence to live in unusual circumstances, and comes in very useful in job interviews (I directly attribute my job in Paraguay to my time in Borneo). It was an amazing experience, and one which will stay with me for the rest of my life

My trip to Borneo felt like a life-changing experience. I had an amazing 6 weeks living in the jungle, learning many useful skills. I met some great people and made life-long friends. The local people were also amazing as they were so hospitable and friendly. The only criticism I would have would to be able to spend longer on the trek!!!

My three months in Belize was incredible, I met amazing people and had amazing experiences. It allowed me to push my physical and mental boundaries which was incredibly rewarding. I experienced amazing sights and wildlife every day as well as have a lot of fun! Belize is a beautiful country and thanks to trekforce I was able to see it in ways many others can’t. I can't wait to go back one day

We stand upon the temple of Talo, the tapir, admiring the panoramic view of the Mirador Basin jungle. With one sweep on his hand, Carlos (one of our guides) points to Mexico, with another sweep, Belize. The group eats fruit, takes photos and naps. The sun light is dazzling.

The morning had begun watching the sun rise from the Temple of the Tiger, the fiery orb barely breaking the mist enveloping the canopy. After breakfast, Gino (our main guide), takes us on a tour of the rest of El Mirador, a two thousand year old city that, until recently, had laid hidden by the jungle. The whole of the trip carried on being amazing and picturesque and I wouldn't change it for anything

The first impressions of the place were breathtaking, a white sandy beach, not another person on the beach for miles in both directions and the people who I stayed with, well, I don't think there could be a better group of people in the entire world. Through the whole trip everyone looked out for everyone else and there wasn’t even one argument. Now down to business, to do the surveys that we needed to do we had to learn a vast amount of fish which wasn't easy, but the staff members there made sure that it was fun, they broke it down, made up little anecdotes to help us remember and sure enough I could probably still identify around 200 fish for you even now. When we knew what we were doing everyone was trained up so we could scuba dive and sent off to do our identification work. If the views on land were breathtaking then there isn't a word to describe how amazing it was underwater. Fear not, it wasn’t all "work", the members of staff made sure that we always had fun things to do like visiting the Blue Hole, arranging treasure hunts on rainy days and even taking us on one or two Shark Dives. Coming nose to nose with a shark isn’t everyone’s cut of tea but who else in the world can say they have done that? The one thing that I hated most about this trip was having to say goodbye to all my friends at the end, if I had it my way I would still be there right now!