During the recent school holidays, Fletcher and I had the opportunity to participate in Outward Bound, a three-week course filled with new adventures and lots of learning about yourself and those around you.

When we arrived in Anakiwa, Marlborough we were split into groups of 14 called Watches. Each Watch was named after a New Zealand historical figure, for example Fletcher was in Hillary named after Sir Edmund Hillary. Over the duration of the course you get to know the people in your group very well, as you spend almost every moment together. They say you make friends for life on this course and the experiences that you have together make the strangers you met on day one seem more like family by the end of it.

While on the course you do many different activities and adventures, including but not limited to tramping, kayaking, sailing and rock climbing. Initially these activities can seem quite intimidating but the instructors make it possible for you to complete all of the challenges that you face and enjoy every moment, and when everyone around you is in the same boat (both literally and figuratively) it makes everything a bit easier. One of my instructors favorite quotes that helped me through these challenges was, “If you have to eat a frog don’t look at it too long.” which really helped me to not overthink things and just give it a go.

A big philosophy of the Outward Bound course is to live in the moment so that you can get the most out of the experiences that you have. This means that when you wake up in the morning you have no idea where you are going or what you will be doing that day. It is so different from life at home and school where everyday you know what's going to happen and what classes and assignments you have weeks ahead. This is only a taste of what you’ll get up to if you go on an Outward Bound course, as we don’t want to ruin the surprise of the experience that the course has to offer.