Huria Watch 691, reporting for duty

Plus Est En Vous - There is more in you. The ancient Pintar motto used by Outward Bound Founder Kurt Hahn takes on more meaning when you are carrying a pack that feels like it is as big as you are, it’s pouring with rain and you are hiking through slick mud up a steep incline towards the infamous “solo” camp out spots and your toilet bucket breaks each fall. Once there you are left to erect a shelter and survive the night by yourself in some of the most picturesque (and wet and muddy) scenery.

That day, most of us had to dig very deep to find the “more” that Kurt spoke of. It was torrential rain, and we hadn’t had a moment of downtime since arriving at beautiful Anakiwa a couple of days beforehand. Just a few short hours before this trek we had been 5 metres high in trees on high wires, with a safety harness and “possum tails” keeping us from plunging to the forest floor, testing our head for heights and our grit as we made our way around various sky high obstacles.

The beauty of Outward Bound is that you face very real consequences with every challenge on your course, and that you are the decider of those consequences. From the chilly dip in the ocean each morning to the rugged terrain tramp to a spot high on the hill for a solo adventure, you are the master of your own destiny. The experienced and highly skilled instructors show you with precision and a lot of patience, the skills you need to succeed. They encourage you to change your ways of thinking to find that you can in fact do the things you think are impossible. "You do You" became a mantra for us over that week. A reminder not to compare your journey with others, but to focus on doing the best YOU can do in your own time.

Myself and 8 colleagues were lucky enough to be awarded a Marlborough Girls’ College Board of Trustees Scholarship to attend a Kaimahi Course at Outward Bound. After a few false starts - thanks COVID, we set off one wet and miserable Monday to take part in what we unanimously agree has been the best professional development opportunities any of us have undertaken. We would all agree that if you get the chance to go to Outward Bound you must take it!

We all faced various personal challenges over our 5 days, and all dug deep to find courage and tenacity within ourselves that we didn’t know - or had forgotten - that we have. You will find that indeed, there is more in you. 

Find out about Outward Bound, and their 60 incredible years of life changing adventure here. 

By Annie Thompson, Huria Watch member and MGC Receptionist