Back on the high trail

MIDWEEK

Students from Rathkeale College and St Matthew's Collegiate have this winter been climbing mountains in the tradition of pupils past, with the resurrection of the once defunct Rathkeale Tramping Club.

The scenario is reminiscent of the classic film Dead Poets' Society, with a core group banding together to re-forge a lost school society of brothers - and in this case sisters.

In the movie, it was literature that bonded the pupils together; with midnight readings of the "dead poets" in secret clubrooms.

Here in Wairarapa, however, the adventures are decidedly more active, as some of the most difficult mountain climbs in the region have been conquered by these intrepid teenagers and their supporters.

The common theme, however, is the re-creation of traditions lost, and the attitude immortalised in the latin phrase Carpe Diem - seize the day.

"The Rathkeale Tramping Club was very strong in the '60s, '70s and '80s," says teacher Joe Nawalaniec.

"It became less popular in the '90s and by the 2000s it had disappeared.

"Now tramping is becoming more popular; the numbers are growing hugely this year."

It was students, not teachers, Mr Nawalaniec said, who this year "asked for the old Rathkeale Tramping Club to be reconstituted".

"They put it to the principal Mr [Willy] Kersten."

With the help of teachers such as Mr Nawalaniec and Alistair Barr - a tramper of some 50 years' experience - the Rathkeale boys along with senior girls from St Matthew's have taken to the Tararuas and tackled some significant tramping challenges.

Mr Nawalaniec, a science and chemistry teacher, said he has "always been into anything outdoors - tramping and mountaineering" - and is keen to share that passion.

"They're a tough bunch of boys and girls, and it's my privilege to encourage them and push them in that area," he said.

Missions included the photographed climb of Mount Holdsworth on Sunday, June 23.

"The group took an unorthodox route via Holdsworth Stream, and up a spur through leatherwood and heavy snow, direct to the summit," Mr Nawalaniec said.

"The snow was one metre deep in places, and the group encountered hard ice as well."

Other trips this year have included a descent of the mid Waiohine Gorge via Hector Forks - "the biggest gorge in the Tararuas".

There was also a "gnarly Mt Bannister crossing" which included some high-altitude tenting.

All tramps so far have included the loyal Rathkeale Tramping Club mascots Sushi the fox terrier and Floyd the spoodle.