More Student Fun!

Two weeks ago, I took my year 12 Outdoor Education class on an overnight tramp. As expected, I got to know the students better, and enjoyed watching them expierence the wilderness together. We left on Father's Day, and came back to school the following Monday night.

The weather was crazy. We had two vans packed with students and gear, and it was so windy on the drive to the trailhead that the vans were being blown around everywhere. It even blew a piece of the van off. The entire ride, the other teacher and I, were making plan B, plan C, plan D...in case we had to change things due to the weather being too bad. Luckily the weather calmed a bit, and we were able to make it safely to the mountain hut - Just in time. As soon as we arrived to the hut, the weather packed in. Gale force winds, constant heavy rain. The hut was literally shaking and we made all the students sleep with their boots and rain jackets ready to go in case we had to evacuate. Just 10 years ago, a hut on the ridgeline near us actually DID blow off the mountain - so you can see why we had our doubts. Luckily this was a newish hut that had extra cables to stablise it in the wind, and I the roof must have been screwed on - otherwise it surely would have blown off.

Unfortunatly the weather was so bad, we didn't get to enjoy many views

The hike back down the mountain was basically a soaked mudfest - but the students all took it in stride, and I think it did make them walk a bit faster as they were keen to get to the vans, put on dry clothes and head to McDonalds! The rivers were swollen, and there was no way we would be able to do our planned river crossing - it would have been a death sentance to even attempt it.

We had no idea just how much rain had fallen, until on our drive back home we realized that many of the roads had been closed due to flooding. We were forced to take a 100km detour through windy farm roads. It was classic New Zealand. Windy roads in the middle of NOWHERE. Green rolling hills (mountains), no cell phone reception, and only farms and woolsheds.

Then the poor foreign exchange student from Hong Kong got car sick. Luckily he was in the other van. There were slips and landslides that covered parts of the road....and then we got to the scary bit. A section of the road had been flooded, and the water was really deep and flowing. If I had been driving, there's no way I would have attempted it. But we did...and I seriously thought I might have a heart attack. The revs in the van started dropping, and the vans started to drift with the current. SCARY. The road was closed right after we crossed it. If we hadn't gotten across we most definitly would have had to spend a night in a woolshed with the students. Luckily we had all the gear...but I really didn't want to have to do that.

Myself, Mike Patternson (OED teacher) and Stuewy (one of the principals of FAHS)

We eventually made it back to school, and were welcomed by many worried parents and admin staff (hey it's not our fault there was no cell phone reception)! I even made it to daycare by 5:30 to pick up the kids. Barely.

The students won't forget this trip anytime soon, and neither will I. The weather made it even more challenging, and isn't that what outdoor education is all about :-) Everytime I hear that song by Creed called 'Rain' I think of our trip. We played it over and over in the van - it was our only CD.