On Sunday 17 October, the Year 12 Outdoor Education class, set off for their three-day action-filled journey around their local community. We started on our bikes at Otago Girls’ High School and rode through town to Bethunes Gull. When walked up Mt Cargill to the Organ Pipes to see an amazing view of Otago Harbour. We then mounted our bikes again and enjoyed a downhill bike ride into Waitati where we stayed the night. The journey enabled the class to experience different areas in our local vicinity, including staying at Te Whare Wananga o te Whanau Arohanui, in Waitati, a night on Quarantine island, boat tours out to Taiaroa Heads and a challenging abseil at Mihiwaka, overlooking Port Chalmers.

While staying the night at the marae we were privileged to embrace our Maori culture by being welcomed onto their marae and sharing our mihi with a resident in the local area. While staying in Waitati we were treated to a trip to Doctors Point, taking part in kayaking, paddle boarding and collecting kai moana. Everyone took part in collecting tuangi/cockles to try for dinner.

On day two we started off our morning bright and early and made our way to the bottom of the ecosanctuary where we met Taylor. He then took us on a walk from the bottom of the ecosanctuary to the visitors room near the top. On the walk we heard about different species of birds, plants and wildlife that they protect in the sanctuary. We then walked to the top of Mihiwaka to complete our 30 metre abseil. For some this was a great opportunity to step outside their comfort zone. We then had a muddy slide to the bottom to get back on our bikes and ride to Port Chalmers. We met the boat at Back Beach to head over to Kamau Taurua/Quarantine Island where we stayed the night. We freshened up by jumping off the wharf and we then explored the island and learnt about the history it has.

Day three was our final day and we started with a wildlife tour with Rachel from Port to Port Ferry taking us out to Taiaroa Heads where we saw albatross and fur seals. We headed back to the island where we packed the boat to go to Portobello to jump on our bikes and do a challenging 20k bike ride back to school. A big thankyou to Karl, Mrs Clements and Mrs Matthews for providing us with an opportunity filled trip.