Tararua Epic Tramping Trip

Tararua Epic Tramping Trip of the Year 10 Outdoor Education week is the best possible outdoor tramping experience for young men to build both physical and mental strength, teamwork and perseverance. This brilliant camp follows a track over the Tararua divide from the east coast to the west coast. On a week with good weather, students have the pleasure of seeing amazing views on the top of the ranges after a hard day's walk in the rough terrain. As well as tramping, boys learn to live by the camping lifestyle, setting up and sleeping in tents, making and cooking their own food and to be self-contained and carrying all life essentials needed for the journey. 

There was much-needed preparation time in the weeks before the camp.  Much of the responsibility for being organised was put onto the students, including arranging all of their own food to nourish them for the week.  This in itself is a challenging task due to the food needing to be lightweight, nutritious and to be able to last the whole week. 

Led by Mr Calton, the Tararua Tramping group is a smaller group of up to 12 where students and teachers connect with one another outside of a school environment and learn to use team-building skills to help them along the way. In the bush surroundings, isolated from civilization, you can come to realise that technology and high-quality equipment is not a necessary part of human life where all you need is food, water and a warm place to sleep to keep the body running. 

All in all, though this camp is not for the faint of heart, with a good mindset, a bit of determination and a bit of physical fitness, it is sure to be an enjoyable week for all.

Thanks to Year 10 student Camden Woodroofe for this report.