What Is The Course Schedule?
Sustainable Living classes are held Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 8:45 am -12:30 pm and 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm with breaks for morning and afternoon tea and lunch. On Wednesday classes are half days sometimes in the mornig and sometimes in the afteroon.  Field trips may make the day longer at times. 

How Much Time Will Be Required Outside of Course Time?
You should plan to work on your personal project during the week at your discretion including meeting with your mentor.  Starting September 2021, Wednesday afternoons will be time off to take care of business, relax or do research and work on your project. In the last week, 2-3 days will be provided to work full time on your project and presentations are held at the end of that week. 
Weekends are your own except for main design weekend and then there is no requirement that you put in extra time although that is recommended if you want to get the most out of the course.
 
What Food Is Included? 
We provide morning and afternoon tea and lunch on most days.  Days lunch is not included: Some Wednesdays and days students are working on personal projects as well as days off. 

Is Accommodation Provided? 
Cost of accommodation is not included in your course fees. We can assist you in finding other accommodation in the area by providing a list of people who are interested in renting to students. There are many options from private rooms in a family home to backpackers (hostel), to B & B, to camping in local campsites  You should allow between $85 and $180/week for accommodation. We highly recommend you join "Golden Bay Community Noticeboard" and "Takaka Homes for Rent of Sale, NZ" on Facebook.
 
What Do I Need To Bring To The Course?
It is our goal to make our course as sustainable as possible.  For that reason, 80% or more of the course materials will  be available digitally stored in Google Drive.  Therefore, you will definitely need your own laptop or other device to be able to access the course materials and the course calendar which is also stored online. If this is not possible, we may be able to print you a set of materials, but often materials are uploaded the day of the teaching module. The cost of printing will be the responsibility of the student. 

When Should I Plan To Arrive and Leave?
We have two events at the beginning and end of the course that you might want to attend even though they aren't officially part of the course.
Sunday Social: There will be a pot luck social mixer with students and tutors the Sunday evening before the course starts. 

How Do I Get To Golden Bay?   
The nearest large airport is Nelson & there is a shuttle available from the airport Golden Bay Coachlines. Your final destination is Takaka. 
Participants flying in from overseas - fly into Christchurch or Auckland then connect through to Nelson. You can also fly directly from Wellington to Golden Bay via Golden Bay Airlines.

What Is The Weather Like? 
You will be in Golden Bay for Fall/Autumn or Spring/Summer arguably the best times of year to be here.  Generally days stay warm enough for swimming in local rivers and at the beach from December through April.  Mornings and evenings can be cooler.  Early Spring weather is somewhat erratic and can feel like summer one day and like winter the next. So be prepared for anything. You can also expect some rainy days. For the most part though, days are warm and sunny, sometimes even hot. 

Will I Have Time To Connect With the Golden Bay Community?
Experiential tours of Golden Bay sustainable businesses, craft shops, bee-keeping, alternative buildings, organic farms and other attractions are included in the course.  On your days off and Wednesday afternoons. you will have the wonders of Golden Bay, a natural paradise of beaches, untouched bush, the Abel Tasman, and Kahurangi Parks, clear rivers, and much more to explore at your leisure.