Phoenix rising

Perversely, she had looked forward to this. “I’m quite afraid of heights but I can’t wait to have a go and try to get over that,” she says before the trip.

Caving was a different story. “It’s the idea that you could get trapped in there.” During the few hours in which her group were exploring the Okupata Caves, there were times she thought about turning back.

“There were a lot of tight squeezes. I kept going and I tried to reassure myself. It surprised me that I did it.”

Meg wants to be a mechanical engineer. She is athletic, a top surf lifesaver and a stand-out on school sports day. The physical stuff is not a problem for her but she is very shy, the quietest of the group.

That was the big change in Meg that instructor Lucy Foote noticed. “She was certainly quiet early on but by the end of the week she was one of the chatty ones around the campfire,” says. Foote. “She had some good jokes to share and a few dance moves.”

Beyond Disaster

Hillary Outdoors’ own journey is a survival story.

On April 15, 2008, six students and a teacher died in a canyoning accident on the Mangatepopo River during a flash flood. Five people managed to scramble out of the water.

Canyoning is making your way down narrow canyons by jumping, sliding, abseiling, swimming and walking.

A judge found that, given the weather, the group should not have been in the gorge and that, due to a mix up, the forecast relayed to instructors was missing the crucial word "thunderstorms".

Those in the gorge had no communication with the centre. That and bad luck saw the party jump into the torrent at what turned out to be its strongest point. The plan had been for the instructor to haul them out downstream but the flow was too powerful.

From Maxwell’s office window you can see where the trees part. That’s the Mangatepopo Gorge. It is sobering to see how close it is to home.

In the decade since, there have been reviews, restructures, audits. Faces have changed and so has the operation. The centre is in radio contact with each group around the clock.

The backbone of each day is an early morning meeting of instructors and support staff. The latest weather forecast is relayed and instructors’ plans are critiqued.

Ensuring the smooth, viable and safe running of the operation at Tongariro falls to Maxwell. “Everyone safe home every day.” He’s brought that motto from his job as a DoC manager, where duties included planning the fighting of remote bushfires.

Paul Rogers is one of New Zealand’s most experienced expedition guides and is often called on to assess adventure organisations. He’s had a long association with Hillary Outdoors and told the Herald it is in a very good space under the current leadership.

These are boom times. Strong bookings have led to planning for a third Hillary Outdoors centre to complement Tongariro and one on Great Barrier Island. It will be in Kinloch, in a northern bay on Lake Taupo, and have a sustainability focus.

“We have come a long way [and] I think in many ways we have restored its reputation,” says Hillary Outdoors’ chief executive Graham Seatter. The former Commonwealth Games race-walker, teacher and sports administrator joined in 2010, just as the global financial crisis bit.

That was another body blow following the deaths two years earlier, he says, and it was uncertain whether there would long be an organisation for him to run.

Woodford House was among many clients who took a breather. After a year or so out, it started sending groups again.

“At the time of the decision to go back, the school was open and transparent [with parents] about what happened in 2008,” says Nixon.

“Though we don’t bring it up each year, we work through with the girls all the safety information and ensure they have all the gear and then Hillary Outdoors takes the reins on safety and we feel comfortable that everything is worked through.”

A school staff member is included in each group of 10 students and instructors go through plans and logistics with teachers at a daily meeting.

Stuart: “You could see it on her face that Tanesha was not 100 per cent enjoying the tramping and camping but she hardly moaned at all.”

The thing about Tanesha is she is deadpan, funny, and more experienced than she might seem. She hiked to Crater Lake and learned to dig a snow cave on a previous trip. “That was a killer. The hike took the whole day!” she recalls. “We stayed in cabins but there was no toilet. We had to piss in the snow.”

Camp toileting facilities this time comprise a spade called “Doug”. Only the boys used Doug, Tanesha says later.

Abseiling, zip-lining, climbing on a real rock wall - she has done things that no one in her family has got the chance to do.

“I think outdoor education builds confidence.” Did you see her friend Tajah, asks Tanesha. “She just came out of her shell. She was way talkative. I saw her act around everyone else like she acts around me. It was cool.”

Tajah even developed a secret language with one of the guys. That was sweet “and annoying”, says Tanesha.

Tajah Maree Witika got her wish. She hoped the trip would help her bond with classmates she hardly knew. She had not long returned to Alfriston College from living in Australia and was new to outdoor ed.

She is capable physically and handled all of the activities well. The big transformation was in her confidence. Stuart says the change was obvious. “On day one she was very timid. She didn’t really talk a lot to me or others in the group. Later in the week she was joking and talking a lot more and she seemed a whole lot more comfortable in herself.”

Tajah, who wants to be a “cosmetologist” and work in the hair and beauty industry, says she did a lot of adventurous things she never thought she would but best of all was making new friends.

“Our class goal was to become closer as a family. I think we’ve done that. I didn’t actually want to leave. No one wanted to leave. The bus trip home was really fun. We played lots of music and everyone was being weird!”

Why bother taking modern kids into the wild?

The question, says Nixon, Woodford’s head of sport, is why wouldn’t you? “Tongariro is our backyard. For the girls who get to hike up Mount Ruapehu and camp at the top, or sleep in a cave with glow worms as their nightlight, or tube down the river and see blue ducks, it’s those experiences you hear them talk about for a long time after.”

For Carpenter, one of the most rewarding aspects of his job is seeing the penny drop about how precious our environment is. “I think there is a disconnect these days with nature. Bringing them into the environment can rekindle an appreciation for nature and maybe that will stay with them in adult life. I try to push that in my instructing, especially in those golden moments when we are in a serene place. I’ll tell them that it can’t be taken for granted, that it may not be like this in a few years’ time.”