As you may know, I have been attending Kinross Wolaroi School in Orange, New South Wales, participating in the annual exchange between TBHS and KWS (Timaru Boys’ High School and Kinross Wolaroi School).

It all started with a flight from Christchurch airport to Sydney airport where Callum Bowmar and I were picked up by a bus driver and a South African gapper named Margo.

We drove the 4 ½ hours to Orange, stopping on the way at Bathurst car race track where we went for a lap in the van. Upon arrival at the school and boarding house, we were greeted by a house master, or as they call them, Residential Assistant named Westcott. He showed us around the boarding house and to our rooms. I introduced myself to the boys and they took me for a game of touch rugby on the field.

I soon settled in to the school work and the routine of Tower House, even though it was in another country. The routine was similar to TBHS but with Kinross being a private school, things were done slightly differently.

Also within the school grounds is an indoor Olympic swimming pool, four indoor squash courts, three indoor basketball/netball courts and a gymnastic facility.

One of the highlights of the trip was travelling to Sydney to play the St Augustine's team in rugby. It was a hard fought game, but sadly, we lost. I joined an Under 15 rugby team and played quite a few games.

The other highlights were going out to farms of new friends and exploring the Australian outback. The first farm I went to was located in the country town of Forbes where we joined in with farm work, while my second trip took me on a train to Dubbo, followed by an hour's drive out to Mendooran where I visited another friend’s house that saw us mainly pig hunt and motorbike all weekend as well as attend the local race meeting. My last trip took half an hour’s drive to Molong where I stayed with another friend, camping out with the kangaroos. All of these trips opened my eyes to how things are done on farms in another country.

Another highlight was the big annual rugby game between the day boys and boarders, an event that was so much fun and something I would recommend starting at TBHS.

My family came over and joined me and we went for a walk to the Ophir gold reserve where we saw a wild snake.

Our last day was the sports winter carnival where I participated in a touch rugby competition. After the game there were many farewells and I was away back to Sydney.

All around, it was a great trip I would definitely do again if given the opportunity and highly encourage next year’s boys to apply for the experience.

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