21 Aug 2024

True Young Explorer Scholarships Open for 2024-25 Season

True Young Explorer Scholarships

Explore. Inspire. Advocate.

Applications are open for 2024-25 True Young Explorer Scholarships
This is your chance to experience true expedition travel to the wildlife rich UNESCO World Heritage Sites of New Zealand and Australia's Subantarctic Islands as well as the remote Ross Sea Region of Antarctica.

About Heritage Expeditions
Every year Heritage Expeditions takes small groups of intrepid travellers on voyages to some of the world’s most unique and remote islands, coasts and shorelines aboard our purpose-built expedition ships. Founded in 1984 by the Russ family in Christchurch, New Zealand, we are still proudly family-owned and operated contributing to conservation through experiential learning, providing funds for research and management, and our ongoing legacy of creating ‘ambassadors’ through our True Young Explorer Scholarships.

Securing Your Scholarship
True Young Explorer Scholarships provide a limited number of younger people (aged 18 - 30 years) with the opportunity to join expeditions to experience our remarkable Subantarctic Islands at a fraction of what it would otherwise cost. In doing so, our aim is to create a league of ‘ambassadors' inspired to help raise the profile and protect these precious areas, and the unique flora and fauna inhabiting them, for future generations.

To secure a scholarship, we are looking for individuals who are as passionate as we are about giving a voice to, and protecting, New Zealand and Australia's Subantarctic Islands and the Southern Ocean. Whether you are studying science, an artist, in media, involved in community organisations, a teacher or ... we want to know how you will share your experience travelling aboard our expeditions on Heritage Adventurer alongside likeminded passengers and an incredibly experienced expedition team of naturalists, biologists and historians on the voyage of a lifetime.

A Few Questions to Start
If you can answer yes to the following questions, we want to hear from you.
•    Are you aged 18-30 years?
•    Can you contribute 30% of the advertised cost of the expedition?
•    Will you share your adventure within 3 months of returning?

The Next Steps
Tell us why you should receive a scholarship and how the experience will benefit both you and the Southern Ocean region (how you plan on sharing your adventure). Creativity and passion is encouraged and applications can be submitted in the medium that best suits you – just no more than 400 words or 5 minutes long.

Application checklist:

•     Full name and Date of Birth (proof of age may be required)
•     Address including daytime/after hours telephone numbers and email
•     Expedition(s) applied for (Name and Departure Date)
•     Where you heard about the True Young Explorer Scholarships
•     Your Scholarship submission (see above)
•     Name and address of one referee
•     Declaration that you have sufficient funds to pay the contribution required (funds are payable on confirmation of the scholarship berth)

Send your application to:
True Young Explorer Scholarship
P.O. Box 7218,
Christchurch 8240
Email: [email protected]

Applications close:
Monday 7 October 2024

At this time we are offering the following 2024-25 scholarships with Heritage Expeditions:

Galapagos of the Southern Ocean
22 November - 4 December 2024
Hobart, Australia to Queenstown, New Zealand

Advertised price: NZ$19,995 pp.
Scholarship price: NZ$7,500 pp.

18 - 29 December 2024
Queenstown to Queenstown, New Zealand

Advertised price: NZ$18,500 pp.
Scholarship price: NZ$7,000 pp.

Long recognised for their rich biodiversity, the Subantarctic Islands lying to the south of New Zealand are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This Southern Ocean expedition will appeal to those who are interested in birds, nature, botany and history. A vast array of wildlife including albatross, penguins, petrels, prions and marine mammals can be seen. The flora is equally fascinating; the majority of it being endemic to these islands. Galapagos of the Southern Ocean explores the three main island groups of Auckland, Macquarie and Campbell Islands and allows participants to experience the astounding biodiversity and importance of these islands as a wildlife refuge. This expedition will forever change your appreciation of the Southern Ocean and its wildlife.

Forgotten Islands of the South Pacific
28 December 2024 - 4 January 2025
Queenstown to Queenstown, New Zealand

Advertised price: NZ$9,995 pp.
Scholarship price: NZ$3,700 pp.

You won't find them mentioned in a travel brochure on your high street; you won't find them in most guidebooks, you probably don't know anyone that has ever been there and they don't even appear on some maps of New Zealand's South Pacific - these are the 'forgotten islands'. Despite their low profile, they are among the most remarkable wildlife reserves in the Southern Ocean, designated UNESCO World Heritage sites and afforded the highest protection of any nature reserves in New Zealand. Remote, uninhabited and on no regular shipping route, access is further restricted by a strict Management Plan which limits the number of people allowed ashore each year.

Beyond Fiordland: New Zealand's Wildest Islands
28 December 2024 - 8 January 2025
Queenstown to Queenstown, New Zealand

Advertised price: NZ$16,250pp.
Scholarship price: NZ$5,900 pp.

Explore New Zealand's Subantarctic Auckland, Snares and Campbell Islands along with the untamed wilderness of Fiordland's ice-carved mountains, forests and fiords. The Subantarctic Islands are the wildlife and history rich regions of Southern New Zealand, they are impossible to visit without an expedition like this. They are not mentioned in a travel brochure on your high street; and rarely will you find them listed in guidebooks, few people have been to them and they don't even appear on some maps of the South Pacific. Despite their low profile, they are among the most remarkable wildlife reserves in the New Zealand, designated UNESCO World Heritage sites and afforded the highest protection of any nature reserves in New Zealand. Encounter threatened native species flourishing on Stewart Island's Ulva Island on this iconic, 12-day expedition cruise of remote New Zealand.

In the Wake of Scott & Shackleton: Ross Sea Antarctica
2 February - 1 March 2025
Queenstown to Queenstown, New Zealand

Advertised price: NZ$53,500 pp.
Scholarship price: NZ$18,750 pp.

The Ross Sea region of Antarctica is one of the most remote places on Planet Earth and one of the most fascinating places in the continent's human history. With shipping restricted by impenetrable pack ice to just two brief months each austral summer, few people have ever visited this strange and beautiful territory, with opportunities for non-scientific personnel limited to a handful of tourist expedition ships. There is so much to do and so much to see here, from exploring historic huts and sites to visiting penguin rookeries, marvelling at the glacial ice tongues and ice shelves, and understanding the icebergs and sea ice. Then there are all the seabirds, seals and whales to observe and photograph, modern scientific bases and field camps to visit and simply the opportunity to spend time drinking in the marvellous landscape that has always enthralled visitors. Lying like stepping stones to the Antarctic continent are the little known Subantarctic Islands. Our journey also includes The Snares, Auckland, Macquarie and Campbell Island. They break our long journey, but more importantly, they help prepare us for what lies ahead, for these islands are part of the amazing and dynamic Southern Ocean ecosystem of which Antarctica is at the very heart. It is the powerhouse which drives this ecosystem upon which the world depends.

Download the brochures for the above voyage at the link below.

news_downloads/True_Young_Explorer_2024-25_NZD.pdf