In Term 2, I was offered a scholarship to complete a Tākere Outward Bound course.

The Tākere course runs for 21 days, and 2 people from different schools around Christchurch get the opportunity to attend. I was quite hesitant to accept this scholarship as it seemed like a very daunting experience, but in the end I thought it would be a good opportunity to challenge myself both mentally and physically, to meet new people, and learn new leadership skills.

Outward Bound is located at Anakiwa in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds. Every morning we would wake up at 5.45am for morning PT, which consisted of warmup drills and light workouts and then onto a 3k run followed by a dip in the ocean. I never quite got used to the ocean swim though!  Outward Bound really want to install the idea of ‘living in the moment’.  To do this we were never told what our day was going to consist of and instead were always surprised with what the day's activities were going to be just before we did them.

Over the 21 days we learnt to trust our new found friends in all the crazy adventures and team bonding activities we did.  Our adventures included Kayak trips, tramping, high ropes, rock climbing, a two night solo and my personal favorite sailing. One of the biggest obstacles I faced was our group journey. Our journey consisted of tramping the Queen Charlotte Track over two and a half days (in total was 74km) which meant walking well into the night, the latest was 11pm! After finishing our tramp, we sailed on our cutter for two nights all the way back to the Outward Bound Camp. This was an extremely challenging adventure for me both metally and physically as we were walking around 30-36km a day with very little rest. But after completing the journey it really was the best feeling of accomplishment.

Overall my Outward Bound experience changed me for the better. Coming away from it I realized how strong I really am, and how I am capable of much more than I first thought. Outward Bound let me reflect on my life and helped me change my perspective and priorities in life. I highly recommend this program to anyone who has the opportunity to do it, it truly does change your life for the better. I urge everyone to take all opportunities that come your way no matter how scary it may seem as in the end you always gain so much from it.