Two of our students were lucky enough to have the experience of a life time, travelling up to Anakiwa and completing Outward Bound. Below are their stories.

  - Fraser Braid

It began on January 6th, there was a greeting ceremony, and then came the selection process, which was probably the longest amount of time I have been nervous for. So after a lengthy wait I was selected for Shackleton Watch.

The first scheme I did was navigation in the bush for 3 days, which involved a little arguing, a 3:00am start and some bushbashing when we messed up. Then came kayaking which was a huge accomplishment for me, because I managed to overcome my fear of being underwater. Then we went on a short sailing adventure, which was totally my element, especially captaining during the rough weather. The next scheme we did was solo, and at this point I was extremely tired, so most of my solo time was spent snoozing, also I failed to hear that we would be out for only 1 day, not 2, so after a day of snoozing I didn’t have much to show for and didn’t really feel enlightened by the experience. Advice to anyone else, sleeping makes you more tired, do the tasks!

Then came the real big challenge for us, Journey scheme, we planned to walk the entirety of the Queen Charlotte track (72km) in 3 days, and then sail back, but 140km winds held us up. This meant that we had to cover the same distance in 2 days, so after a very windy night we began walking at 9:00am, and finished at 10:30pm, in the rain. The next day was very much the same, so after our tiring, blisterful and hard walk we were rewarded with a nice easy tow down to a bay where we could stay in a house. Once we were back at OB and rested, the news of the half marathon came, 22.5km of up and down through the beautiful scenery of Queen Charlotte sound. Luckily it was cold and misty on the morning of our run, so overheating was not a problem for me and I was able to (just) achieve my goal time of less than 2 hours.

My time at OB had to end though, farewells were sad, but we all felt hugely changed and happy about it. My highlights on the course however were sailing, particularly in stormy conditions, because I love sailing, and I loved watching people be inspired by my confidence and losing their fear. And my other highlight was overcoming my fear of being underwater during the kayaking scheme. The second last day and the last night were awesome too.

To sum up I found my experience extremely rewarding, and it has lead me to make positive changes in my life and attitude already, I will never forget the experience.

  - Aria Nader-Turner

Outward Bound was a dream nestled in the back of my mind for much of my childhood, as my wonderful Aunty had been on it when she was younger and there was nothing that excited me more than the thought of embarking on the exhilarating adventure that I’d heard so much about… but really I’d heard so little - I knew it was full of outdoorsy stuff, but nothing could have prepared me for the most incredibly challenging, soul changing experience of my life to date.

My adventure started at the Dunedin airport. Alone and scared I triple checked that I’d brought my ticket and that I was catching the right plane and wouldn't end up on some remote island off the coast of Africa. I said goodbye to my family and stepped onto the plane, and by the end of the day I’d somehow managed to navigate my way from Dunedin to the beautiful Anakiwa (will the help of some fellow youth with a better sense of direction than myself who were also headed there, who I was very thankful to have met along the way!!)

It would feel wrong to disclose all of the secrets of Outward Bound, as everything you do is a surprise, and there is an unwritten rule about keeping it all a secret for future adventurers, but I can say that after a hard year at school, Outward Bound mended everything that was broken and put my jumbled, disorganised mind back into the clear, focused state that I had forgotten existed. It was the most refreshing, glorious experience of my life, and I loved every moment of it with all of my being.

By the end of it, many people were ready to go home (3 weeks full of physical exertion and exhaustion in bush and at sea can be a bit tiring), but I swear I could have spent my life there; leaping into the ocean after daily runs, feeling the sun’s warmth and the cool, clean breeze, the peaceful experiences and the ones that made me fear for my life... despite being a bit terrified, hungry and cold at times, it made me feel more alive than I have in a long time and it opened my eyes to what I’m capable of doing, how far I can push myself, and how strong my mind is. It is incredibly empowering to know that I can achieve virtually anything I put my mind to.

And since my Outward Bound course finished I have travelled to Wellington to stay with some of my incredible friends I came to be so close to over the three weeks. The 13 others from my watch are the only people on earth who understand what it was like for us on our unique course, the challenges we faced as a group, the fears we overcame.

We are, and always will be

Family.

Outward bound.

Would highly recommend.