Around 70,000 participants have completed the challenge of Outward Bound New Zealand since the programme first set up camp in 1962. 1News reporter Abbey Wakefield reflects on her experience as global representatives converge on the top of the South to learn how the Kiwis do it.
In the heart of the Marlborough Sounds is a place called Anakiwa.
It’s a beautiful part of Aotearoa riddled with bioluminescence, important lessons, and scenery deserving of its own National Geographic photoshoot.
Those lessons are taught at a school called Outward Bound, an outdoor education programme designed to equip students to reach their full potential through challenges.
For 21 days, I gave up my phone, the news, music, flushing toilets, and other comforts as I embarked one of the best adventures I’ve ever had.
Thirteen strangers and I formed a group called Hillary watch, named after the great Sir Edmund Hillary.
Together, we climbed mountains, sailed under moonlight, defended ourselves against possums, and overcame physical and mental challenges.
Regardless to say, we’re all pretty close now.
Here they are pictured on one of our hikes in the Richmond Ranges, which I captured on my POV film camera – strictly used to photograph important people in my life.
Seventy thousand people have been through New Zealand’s first and only Outward Bound School since it opened in 1962.
Today, schools are set up in more than 30 countries.
In Singapore, the government’s even incorporated Outward Bound into their school curriculum.
1News reporter Abbey Wakefield reflects on her experience as global representatives converge on the top of the South to learn how the Kiwis do it. (Source: Seven Sharp)
The chief executive of Singapore’s Outward Bound school, Nicholas Conceicao, said it’s part of their government’s agenda to focus on social development.
“The intention behind it is to bring students from all walks of life to come and interact in an Outward Bound experience, graduate with friends, a new sense of self-confidence, and resilience and confidence again to deal with the challenges of life,” Conceicao said.
I was 26 when I did my course, and learnt so much about connection, my weaknesses, strengths, perceived limits, and how much your environment really does make a difference.
For instance, I’ve always been in awe of my colleagues with newborns who can operate on insane sleep deprivation, and never thought I’d be capable of the same.
Whilst there are no screaming children in the bush, there are screeching possums that kept me awake all night, and hiking an entire day, in pouring rain, navigating by compass seemed impossible, until I did it.
We also had to use this archaic cooking device called a trangia, pictured below, which takes ages to heat up boiling water, and can really test the patience of a group.
Studies on the effectiveness of Outward Bound have found that for every $1 invested in a student, there is a $9 return on societal benefits to New Zealand. That includes things like more productivity and lower mental and physical health costs on our systems.
This month, Outward Bound bosses from across the globe have come to Anakiwa for their equivalent of a United Nations meeting, and to see how the Kiwis run their school.
They were welcomed by a powerful haka from the instructors.
It is an unforgettable moment.
“The welcoming and the incorporation of culture here, I haven’t seen that in a lot of the locations and I think that’s something we need to be doing more of. It was very impressive,” said Outward Bound USA CEO Ginger Naylor.
When speaking to the representatives of Singapore and the United States, they were envious of New Zealand’s environment, and wished their countries had our playground.
With bioluminescence lighting up the water in Anakiwa at night, the environment in the Marlborough Sounds is unlike anything I’ve seen before.
It’s a stark contrast to Wellington, where I live, and it’s mostly e-scooters thrown into the waterfront lighting up the water.
The environment is a key focus of the course – it is incorporated into everything that you do, with lessons on how to care for it.
One element of the course is ‘solo’ – that’s when you’re put into the bush with a ground sheet, a fly, a sleeping bag, rations, and a bucket for multiple nights.
“A lot of the feedback from students is that this can be some of the most transformational time for them at Outward Bound,” instructor Nigel Watson said.
“They’ve had a lot of reflection, a lot of time to themselves, and no other distracting things around them. There’s no cell phones, no books – it’s just them and nature.”
Another lesson instructors instil in students is to be present.
“Quite often a student will ask us ‘what are we having for dinner tonight?’, or ‘what are we doing tomorrow?’ Some of us will say ‘mā te wā’, and ‘mā te wā’ is a little bit like, ‘Just wait. Wait, In good time, we’ll tell you.'”
The international meeting at Outward Bound is also an opportunity for schools to align their values and discuss any common themes.
One similarity all schools are facing right now is a drop in donations due to the tough economic conditions.
“Young people in numbers more than we’ve ever seen before are turning around and saying, ‘Yup, I’m up for the challenge of Outward Bound’ and we actually do not have the funding to meet all of those scholarship demands.
“So, Mum and Dad donors, small and large, we survive on the generosity of Kiwis – Kiwis who have hope for young New Zealanders,” Outward Bound NZ chief executive Malindi Maclean said.
It’s not just a course for young people – the oldest person in New Zealand to complete it was in their 80s.
As for me, the lessons I learnt at Outward Bound have already made an impact on my daily habits.
My phone screen time use is down significantly, and my connection with the environment is the strongest it’s ever been.
I watch the stars at night with a hot chocolate in hand, the outdoors features heavily in my day, and the way I use my time is not wasted.
