We are really proud that we have had a record number of students sitting Scholarship Geography this year - ka pain, Anya, Clara, Aliya, Bridgette, Hannah, and Zoe! 2024 promises to be exciting with the new Level 1 programme giving even more breadth to the course, and our increased opportunity for authentic community engagement with Lincoln Coe discussing the Smooth Hill landfill proposal As always, we very much appreciate the input the John McGlashan students bring to our classes.  

2023 saw another fantastic field trip opportunity for our Year 12 Geography students learning to 'think like a geographer'. 42 Geographers headed up to Aoraki Mt Cook last week for our annual field trip.  Students use this environment for one of their external examination papers, so seeing it first-hand always enhances their understanding.  

The weather was not amazing on our first day, meaning our scheduled glacier-landing flights were canceled.  Instead, we headed up the beautiful Hooker Valley to see how the Muller and Hooker glaciers have changed the environment.  Students could see how far the glaciers had last advanced as they identified various moraines.

The Glacier Explorer boat trip on Lake Tasman is always a highlight.  This lake has only formed in the past few decades as the Tasman glacier retreats.  We were treated to some dead ice that had come out of the lateral moraine wall the night before!  Surveyors did not believe there to be any ice in the moraine, but a collapse of the ice and moraine allowed us to see this unusual sight!

The pictures do not show the scale of the Tasman Glacier.  We had to keep ourselves over 300m back, but it was still a spectacular sight and a fantastic afternoon.

Our last morning saw the group head up the Red Tarns track, finishing at over 1000 m.a.s.l.  It was a beautiful day for this hike, collecting research data along the way for an internal assessment.  The students all showed resilience and determination to reach the tarns, rewarded with an amazing view from the top and some delicious home baking!

I would like to thank Mrs Cindy Adams, Dr John Edmond, Mr Nick Moore, Mr Justin Wafer and Mr Garcia-Hernandez for helping us on our 2023 trip.  Your assistance and encouragement with the students is very much appreciated.