The annual Year 13 Geography and Tourism trip to Queenstown took place at the start of Term 3.

The trip was made up of 15 students, Mr Sherborne and Ms Geddes. The first activity was the zipline and bungy at A.J Hackett Kawerau Bridge. Three students were brave enough to bungy and around 13 did the zipline so all students challenged themselves in some way. Students enjoyed the adrenaline rush to start the trip. Krystal, Ruby and Emma were brave enough to throw themselves off a perfectly good bridge and completed their first ever bungy! The seminar was interesting and many of the students identified with A.J Hackett’s motto ‘Live more, fear less'.  

From there it was off to Queenstown for a walking tour, Fear Factory and dinner. The students were nervous about Fear Factory and based on the decibel level of the screams, their fears were warranted.  A few tips for future students include; don’t volunteer to be at the front or the back of the group, don’t keep your phone in your pocket and wear a puffer jacket as it creates more room between you and the zombie/ghost actors. The first day was topped off with a Kmart trip which resulted in shelves being stripped clean by the students and Gerald the bus driver. By the time the students were dragged out, Kmart was a whopping $500 better off.

Day 2 started off with a visit to Arrowtown where we visited the Chinese miners village and the main street. Students were equally impressed with the heritage of Arrowtown and the Remarkable’s Sweet Shop. Next we were off to the Skyline Gondola and Luge. The students enjoyed racing down the Luge and appreciated the amazing view from the top of the Gondola. Next up was IFLY where students got to experience indoor skydiving in a wind tunnel that had winds of up to 200km/h. Ten students did this and the experience was described as floating above a giant hairdryer.

Gerald our bus driver was a ‘gem’ according to the students. He was a keen participant in the Kmart trip and supported our students who did the bungy. Students gave him a strong 10/10.

All in all the students had many new experiences and heard from industry leaders who proudly talked about resilience in the face of Covid and future career pathways in the Tourism industry. The student’s behaviour was fantastic and they were great ambassadors for Queen’s High School.