Te Ata International
Global Learners, One Family!
Location: Wharekawa Lodge, Eastern Coromandel Peninsula
Length: 14 days
Group Size: Max. 25 students
Te Ata International distils the New Zealand exchange year into a focused two‑week residential program. With a 1 : 8 staff‑to‑participant ratio, each teenager tackles structured native bush‑ and coastal‑based challenges, deepens cultural understanding through Te Ao Māori workshops, and consolidates their learning via daily reflection and peer presentations. Collaborative meal preparation, cabin and campus responsibilities, and guided evening journaling foster practical independence while forging a tight international peer network. Your child returns with outdoor‑honed resilience, genuine cultural insight, and lifelong friends—fully prepared for the next stage of high school and life, and forever connected to Aotearoa.
Outcomes You Can Count On!
What Students Gain From Te Ata International
Confident Adventurers
Students spend every day in carefully managed outdoor challenges—tramping coastal tracks, paddling sheltered inlets and beaches, navigating mountain bike trails . They finish with real‑world risk‑assessment skills and the self‑belief to explore new environments safely and responsibly, with a genuine respect for the NZ landscape.
Cultural Competence
From learning basic te reo Māori phrases to engaging with local kaumātua, students gain deep respect for Maori perspectives and a toolkit for navigating diverse cultures—an asset in any global classroom or career.
A chance to slow down, connect and just BE.
Te Ata International is a chance for exchange students to press pause on the pressures of life and just enjoy being a teenager. It’s fun, social, and full of moments that matter — swimming at the beach, exploring the bush, laughing over shared meals, and sitting around the fire with new friends from around the world. Free from school demands, students reconnect with nature, with each other, and with themselves. It’s a time to relax, have real conversations, and soak up the kind of fun that only happens when you're fully present — and fully yourself.
Resilience Through Nature
Immersion in Aotearoa’s native forest, beach, and river landscapes builds grit, adaptability, and problem‑solving. Facing —and overcoming—real‑life challenges alongside supportive staff shows students just how capable they really are.
Lifelong Family
At Te Ata International, the usual noise of timetables and social media drops away. Cabin living, shared duties, and team challenges bring together teens who are all navigating the same exchange‑year highs and lows. In this slower quiet space they can talk openly, feel understood, and form friendships rooted in genuine belonging—connections that follow them home and become a global support network for years to come.
Personal Growth &
Independence
At Te Ata International, growth happens in real time. Whether it’s cooking a meal for their group, taking responsibility for daily duties, navigating outdoor challenges, or stepping outside their comfort zone to try something new, students are constantly building habits that lead to confidence and independence.
Te Ata International Program
OUR CAMPUS
WHAREKAWA LODGE
Set between Maungaruawāhine and Wharekawa Harbour, Wharekawa Lodge is grounded in the beauty of Ōpoutere on the eastern Coromandel.
From our campus, students look out across forest, harbour, and ocean — a living classroom rich in native birdlife, towering bush, and coastal energy. Kākā soar overhead, and the dawn chorus weaves through the trees, reminding us daily of our connection to te Taiao.
This place does more than inspire — it shapes how we learn. Rooted in Kaitiakitanga and reflection, the environment invites students to slow down, tune in, and carry with them a deeper connection to nature, to others, and to themselves.
Life at the Lodge: Simple, Safe, and Surrounded by Nature
Students live onsite at Wharekawa Lodge for two or four weeks, immersed in a back to basics’ unique setting with up to 25 students and staff.
Students experience community living within a Poutama whānau, consisting of 8 students and overseen by a
Poutama mentor (staff). They prepare meals, eat, and work through duties together. Accommodation is in warm, dry cabins designed for simplicity and comfort, shared by 2–6 students. Each one includes bunks or single beds, basic storage, heating, and everything you need—and nothing you don’t—to recharge, rest and feel at home.
Secure your child's spot now and finish their exchange on a High!
Spaces are limited—Reserve their place now!
