5-DAY DISCOVERY VOYAGE

FOR 14 - 16 YEAR OLD STUDENTS

 

 

WHAT WOULD YOU DISCOVER ABOUT YOURSELF IN 5-DAYS?

This is the perfect opportunity to jump on Spirit of New Zealand with some of your classmates and discover adventure, challenge and a healthy bit of competition all in the salty sea air in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.

Similar to what used to be called our ‘Trophy’ voyage in the past, this new ‘Discovery Voyage’ is for 5 Days on board our tall ship for a group of 5 or 10 students from a school (40 young people on board in total).

Schools from around the country can register their interest to send a group of students aged between 14-16 with the option of 10 from each school plus a teacher or 5 from each school with no teacher. School groups who come as a cohort of 5 will be assigned a Spirit of Adventure crew member to look after the group during the voyage. As a team the students will enjoy a learning experience like no other that guarantees challenge, adventure, creativity and reward.

Activities in the programme include ship-handling, teamwork, problem-solving, debating, and water sports (in and on the water). Students go ashore and complete tasks and enjoy competitive games that involve ingenuity, leadership and fun. There are typically between five and nine 5-day Discovery Voyages per year (dependent on our sailing schedule).

Spaces for participants are managed via ballot, and applications of interest are accepted by schools who manage the booking process. If you’re an individual wanting to join, you will need to speak with your school to ask if they will participate.  

The ballot for 2026 voyages is now closed. We will be in touch soon to notify schools if they have been successful. You can still enter your schools details and if a space becomes available on a voyage, we will get in touch.

Register your interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CRITERIA

Participants must:

  • be a student at a secondary school & aged between 14 - 16

  • meet the medical criteria of the voyage

  • agree to the code of conduct / terms and conditions

How to fund your voyage

10 STUDENT FEE IS $15,000 (INCL. GST)

5 STUDENT FEE IS $7,500 (INCL. GST)

When sending 10 Students schools will send 1 teacher. When sending 5 students schools are not required to send a Teacher to attend, a Spirit of Adventure Trust crew member will be assigned to the school group.

If successful in the ballot, a 10% deposit is required to secure your school’s spaces on the voyage. If we have not received your deposit within two weeks of successful ballot notification the voyage will be released to another school. Schools will be invoiced directly.

Please note that travel to and from the ship is not included in the voyage fee and must be arranged by the school group. Arrival/departure times and dates will be given to you once your school has been confirmed on a voyage.

STUDENT SELECTION

Due to the structure of the voyage, it is possible to send all male, all female or a mixed group. If the school is sending a mixed group of less than 10, we will advise the makeup of male versus females on offer. This is so we can ensure there are enough spaces in male and female sleeping areas. Schools are responsible for student selection, this can be done once a school has confirmed attendance. This avoids unnecessarily disappointing students.

Register your interest

FAQS

The main difference is that teams no longer compete for a trophy, however as always there is healthy competition throughout the voyage for the teams taking part.
We’ve also altered the age of eligibility to allow for 14-16 year olds to take part rather than just year 10 students. The age and stage of the students is a time of self-discovery and we want to help participants flourish and unleash their full potential.

Spirit of Adventure is a Recognised Activity Provider for the Adventurous Journey and Gold Residential Sections of the Award.

Residential: All Spirit of Adventure voyages of more than five days duration can be counted for the Gold Residential requirements, provided that each participant does not know more than one other person on their watch (this restriction does not apply to Adventurous Journeys).

Adventurous Journey: Spirit of Adventure voyages can count towards the Adventurous Journey activities. When you get back, specify what you want to count it towards. You can only choose two of the following Gold Practice Journey, Gold Qualifying Journey or Gold Residential Project. If you are using a voyage for your Practice and Qualifying Journeys, then all Training will be provided on the boat, and you no longer need to complete bushcraft training.

If you are using it for your Gold Qualifying Journey and Residential Project, your Practice Journey must have been on water and you will need to complete a separate Gold Adventurous Journey Training.

Read more https://dofehillary.org.nz/Spirit+of+Adventure

We strongly suggest that if bringing a camera on board, you equip yourself with a dry bag for the safe keeping of your camera – please remember you are within a wet environment. Please bring your camera charger with batteries.

No sailing experience is required. Sailing is just one part of the voyage. Each sailing has a team of experienced sailors. Be prepared to help!

Please don't bring it with you. We have an ample supply of various sea sickness medication in the unlikely event that you need it. For safety reasons, we record and administer it, so we know who has taken it and can monitor you.

Unfortunately due to the size of the galley onboard the ship, we cannot cater for young people with coeliac disease or those who are likely to have an anaphylactic reaction eg. Food, Stings, Medicines.

We can cater for vegetarians and for gluten or dairy free diets.

Participation on a voyage involves physical effort and exposure to greater than usual risk. We minimise risks by being a responsible and professional organisation with high standards of safety and discipline. You can find more about our voyage safety here.

 

 

 

Testimonials

 

I went on the Spirit over 10 years ago now. I was a shy teenager and I was scared especially jumping into the water each morning! But it did wonders for my confidence and it's something I will never forget! Awesome experience!

- Kayla, Past Trainee (2005)