Turn your passion for the outdoors into a rewarding career.
Train with industry leaders with the New Zealand Diploma in Outdoor and Adventure Education (multi-skilled) Level 5 at our Tongariro Centre, located in the heart of New Zealand’s stunning central North Island. This intensive one-year, full-time programme is designed to elevate your technical, instructional, and leadership skills across a wide range of outdoor activities. With a mix of classroom theory, hands-on learning, and both single and multi-day expeditions, you’ll gain the experience and confidence to lead others in the outdoors.
What Makes This Programme Unique?
Real-world experience: Gain at least 10 days working alongside Hillary Outdoors instructors, supporting school groups and seeing outdoor education in action.
Learn from the best: Be mentored by a diverse team of instructors with expertise across alpine, bush, river, rock, and marine environments.
Access to epic terrain: With Tongariro National Park on your doorstep, you’ll train in an incredible range of natural environments—alpine peaks, native bush, rivers, lakes, and rock faces.
Career-focused training: The programme is built around industry needs, preparing you for pathways in both outdoor education and adventure tourism.
Hillary Outdoors operates in a place of cultural significance. Each year, we offer up to two tertiary scholarships, valued at $4,500 each, to support students enrolling in our Tertiary Programme who identify as Māori.
Applications open: 1 September 2026
Applications close: 15 December 2026
Eligibility criteria:
- You must identify as Māori.
- You must provide a letter of support from your iwi, hapū, marae, Māori community leader, or another person who can confirm your connection with your iwi, hapū, or Māori community.
- You must be enrolled in Hillary Outdoors’ Tertiary Programme.
- You cannot receive both Fees Free funding and this scholarship for the same year of study.
Please complete the online application form to be considered for this scholarship.
We welcome students from all over the world to study with us. For detailed information on how to become a part of our institution and step-by-step guidance on the application process, click the button below!
Hillary Outdoors is committed to supporting the wellbeing and safety of our students. Each year we undertake and attest to a self review to ensure Hillary Outdoors’ is compliant with the expectations set out in the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021.
Further information on the Code can be viewed on the NZQA website.
Our latest self-review is published on our website here.
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