Service to remember canyoning tragedy

Francis Fernandes misses the noise that once blared from his son Floyd's bedroom.

The 16-year-old would often play his electric guitar and keyboard, which he learned as a 3-year-old living in his native India.

But there has not been a sound from Floyd's room, which remains as it was when he left it a year ago.

Floyd was one of six students swept to their deaths on April 15 last year in a canyoning trip on the Mangatepopo River run by the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre near Turangi.

The group were caught in a rain bomb which, coupled with drought-like conditions in the area, made the river's level rise dramatically. Their teacher, Anthony McClean, 29, also died.

Mr Fernandes says the year has been very hard. "I miss him, I miss the noise, terribly."

Mr Fernandes will tonight join the other grieving parents at Elim Christian College in Howick for a service commemorating the anniversary of the tragedy.

But first he will unveil the headstone on his son's grave in a South Auckland cemetery, which has an electric guitar and a picture of a smiling Floyd on it.

Elim Christian College board of trustees chairman Danie Vermeulen said it was hard to believe a year had passed.

The families and staff were taking things one step at a time and were being offered support.

He said the school was committed to outdoor education and would "never say never" to a return to the Outdoor Pursuits Centre.

"[But] while the legal process is under way we will definitely not be returning."

Outdoor Pursuits Centre chairman Rupert Wilson said staff at its Tongariro operation were generally coping well. "Obviously it's been difficult but they're very focused on the future and have proved to be remarkably resilient."

He said the centre had been in talks with the bereaved families and the school and was planning a memorial area somewhere at the centre.

The other five who died were Natasha Bray, Portia McPhail, Tara Gregory, Tom Hsu, and Anthony Mulder. All were 16.