The West Coast Turns It On

Year 13 OED spent some days on the West Coast last week caving, climbing and rafting. Based near the old gold mining township of Charleston and right across the road from the majestic gneiss sea cliffs of the Tasman Sea, it is a remarkable place. Day one saw us heading down a hole in the darkness of Te Tahi Cave.

"High and right", was the call from the omnicheerful Willy and after a few false starts the main passageway became obvious. We were treated to some spectacular cave formations and a good dose of water before shuffling sideways down the Charlie Chaplin walk to view an ancient whale verterbrae. "What was that whale doing in a cave anyway?" - best you do some investigation Elias!



Day two was all about sunshine and climbing. The cliffs at Charleston are right against the pounding surf of the Tasman Sea and give you a real sense of exposure. Add to that the grittty rock and funky moves and it makes for adventurous climbing. There were a few pumped climbers at the top of the classic 50m Racing in the Streets, one of the best single pitch routes in the South Island.


The week finished with a great high flow rafting trip through the Buller Gorge with the crew from Ultimate Descents.

Sea Kayaking, Seals and Peter Pan

In true 2008 style, the weather almost scuppered our plans to sea kayak into Abel Tasman National Park, with high winds and accompanying swells forecast. On the day though, all was good and 22 people made it into Anchorage to set up camp before the wind blew in. Over the next four days, we kayaked around the gorgeous beaches and inlets of the world famous park. Highlights included getting up close with seal pups in Shag Harbour and a rare sighting of Tinkerbell at the final night Peter Pan themed feast.

More photos here

How to Build a House in a Day

Take 9 Year 13 students, a bunch of shovels and ice axes, a whole heap of snow, some hard labour and you have yourself a home with world class views from the front door. Central heating could do with some work though!

Record Snowfall Postpones Alpine Expedition

After a mammoth 2-3 meters of snow fell in the ranges of Nelson Lakes National Park over the weekend, the most in over 60 years, the Avalanche Advisory Service warns that the avalanche hazard remains high, forcing us to postpone our trip until next week. New dates are,

Wed - Fri 27 - 29 August
depart - 8.30am
return - 5.00pm

Upcoming Trips

The next few weeks are busy ones for senior OED students. Trip details are listed below.

13OEM - Alpine Tramp, Kahurangi National Park
Depart 11 August at 8.30am
Return 13 August by 3.20pm

13OED - Alpine Tramp, Nelson Lakes National Park
Depart 20 August at 7.00am
Return 22 August by 6.00pm

12OED Cave Trip, Golden Bay
Each class goes on their usual day for the whole day
12,13,14 August
Depart 8.30am
Return 5.00pm

Any questions, contact the school office

Year 12 Kahurangi Tramp

Discussions on the merits of FM radio, frozen mince and the occasional piece of navigation training entertained year 12 students as they traversed the ridges and valleys of Kahurangi National Park on a three day navigation and tramping assessment. Students were put under pressure to navigate through the bush to predetermined points and prove themselves worthy to be called skillful navigators. With map and compass, sweaty brows and a few false turns, most got their group to the correct locations and some discovered that limestone bluffs don't always appear on maps, eh Matt!

More photos here

Middle Earth Cave

The last trip of the Year 13OED Caving unit was completed last week with two groups descending into Middle Earth Cave. A 10 minute scramble through giant boulders brings cavers to the first pitch of the cave, a 40m shaft that unlocks the rest of the cave system. There were a few peaking students who lowered themselves into the darkness at the pitch head but everyone coped with the pressure well and 6 hours later resurfaced after a really cool adventure. Desiree confirms it with a good ol' thumbs up!

More photos here

NZOIA Cave Training

Last week 5 Year 13 OED students got to be model students on a NZOIA (New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association) cave instructors assessment. They were trained up on SRT skills on the Whenua iti tower and then taken on a guided journey through Summit Tomo on Takaka Hill. Large abseils, tight streamways and even Moa bones were the order of the day. Check out the photos here.

Greenlink Cave

Year 13 OED are fully immersed in their caving unit at the moment. The crew have been training hard to develop their SRT skills and last Friday was the first opportunity to test them out underground. Greenlink Cave on Takaka Hill is part of a network of caves that all link together, including next weeks mission: Middle Earth cave. We descended through the marble as far as the first main pitch, or vertical shaft, called Watergate, which is about 10 meters deep. The students then descended to the bottom and after a quick explore we ascended to the surface again.

more photos on flickr

Upcoming Winter Tramps

All senior OED classes will be tramping over the next few weeks

12 OED will be in Kahurangi National Park on 10-12th June being assessed for their tramping and Navigation units.
13 OEM will be overnight tent tramping on the Kahurangi Tablelands on the 16 and 17th June and 13 OED will be testing their shelter building skills somewhere in a dark valley in Kahurangi National Park as part of their survival unit on 23rd - 25th June.

Four Rivers Plain Expedition

Year 13 OED hit the road last week for a three day kayaking trip to Murchison. Students tested their whitewtaer skills on the Buller and Matakitaki Rivers. Here is a taste of the action. Check out the flickr photos too.

Rolling

Year 13OED has been learning to roll their kayaks over the past few weeks. Here are a couple of short clips of the action


The Motueka Roll




Hadley being rope dragged

Year 13 kayak trips

Year 13OED students will be spending three days kayaking in Murchison after easter. The details are;

Depart 8:00am Wed 26th March - Motueka High School
Return 5:00pm Fri 28th March - Motueka High School

Lake Sylvester Tramp

A few weeks ago Year 13OED tramped into Sylvester Lake on an exceptionally humid Thursday afternoon. The sweat was pouring off everyone as we slogged up the Cobb Valley to a camping spot with great views towards Mt Arthur. The crew made their own shelters to sleep in for the night and we awoke to a misty morning. Check out the photos by clicking on the Flickr button on the right.

Welcome to 2008

A big welcome to all of this years Outdoor Education students. Please check in on a regular basis to find out what is happening in the Outdoor Ed department. We post information on all upcoming trips and provide trip reviews and photos when we return.