The last couple of weeks has been busy for the students in Outdoor Education, completing their Mountain Bike tour and also their final tramp at Mt Thomas.

The Mountain Bike tour utilised Ashburton’s Mountain bike track and then carried on all the way along the river trail to Hakatere, where students camped the night and rested up for the trip back. Students got to test their ability on the mountain bike track and at the skills park before a more calmer ride to the coast. The trip was a success although Mr Martin was hopping at least one student might get a puncture to test their skills they had learnt in class, unfortunately this was not to be. The locals were welcoming and were happy to have a Ashburton students visiting their community. 

The Following week saw the students tackle Mt Thomas, the third and final hike of the year. The weather was a mixed bag and gave the students a couple of great learning opportunities. The first was Packing up your gear and tent quickly in the rain. The second dealing with a sudden change in temperature at the top of Mt Thomas. Within 5 minutes going from boiling hot to freezing cold and just how quickly you can start to struggle in the elements.

It’s now back to the classroom to finish off their written work before a spot of surfing early Term 4.

From left: Katsu Nakano, Slade Irwin, Quinn Weavers, Dom Wilson-knight and Max Schulz testing their skills at the skills park section of the Mountain Bike track.