I recently received one of the Otago Community Trust Scholarships to attend a Mind, Body and Soul course run by Outward Bound New Zealand.

I travelled to Anakiwa (top of the South Island in the Queen Charlotte Sound) where I would spend the next three weeks participating in various outdoor activities that would push me so far out of my comfort zone I had to make a new one!

When we arrived at the school we were sorted into our watch groups and our phones were taken off us. We were never told what we were doing until, at most, an hour before we would leave. This kept us on our toes as we would wake up every morning not knowing what the day would bring which was a challenge in itself.

While on the course we did many outdoor activities including tramping, white water kayaking, sailing, navigating, running a half marathon, canoe paddling, rock climbing, high ropes and cliff jumping. Some of my highlights were the solo where we each spent two nights in the bush alone. For me this was a beneficial time to reflect on my life and where I wanted to head towards. Back at base we were always going full speed ahead so it was really nice just to take some time to myself. Another highlight was finishing the half marathon. Never in a million years did I think I’d be able to run a half marathon, but I did it and the feeling of crossing the finish line doesn’t match anything I’ve felt before. My final highlight was the 13 other people in my watch and our instructors that made the course the best three weeks of my life. The people in my watch group went from being absolute strangers to ‘family’. Living together for 21 days and being challenged every second of it really made us come together. I have made some lifelong friends that know me better than I know myself. The instructors saw me at my worst and at my best and never stopped encouraging me and giving me the tools to be better.

Outward Bound was truly a life changing experience for me, along with giving me a lot of life skills, it also taught me so much about myself that I would’ve never known before. I would recommend it to anyone who was interested and if you have any questions please feel free to flick me an email.