Hello Family and Friends,
Hope everything back in the U.S. is thriving. We Kiwis have just returned from a life changing 5 days at the Sir Edmund Hilary Outdoor Pursuits Center. To say tour time there was epic would be an understatement, to say our time there was tough would be an understatement, to say that we reached the summit of Mt. Doom in 3 hours would be dead on.
Our time at OPC was primarily spent trying to push our comfort zones and doing challenges that would help us grow as a team. Our first few days were spent on the grounds of OPC, which is a huge facility. On our first day we had a number of challenges given to us by our two leaders Mark and Ken. Some of these challenges involved jump roping, picking up a bucket surrounded by flaming hot lava a.k.a bricks, and traveling as a group from one island to another over shark and crocodile infested waters using a swinging rope. Each was difficult but in the end we just about accomplished each task. We also did some trust exercises and this all built up to one of our biggest challenges of the week the trapeze. This involved us climbing up a wobbly pole, we were on billet of course, as we reached the top we had to stand on top the pole and balance ourselves. When we were prepared we had to jump for a bar that was about 4 or 5 feet in front of us. We all had difficulties with the task, some more then others, but in the end we all made it to the top and each of us made the jump. Only Dylan, Cliff, and I were able to grab and hang onto the bar, but everyone gave it there best effort and certainly conquered some fears in the process.
The next part of our day got pretty interesting. Our leader Mark was in a good way…a bit of a wacko, let’s just say he had some interesting ways to work on our team bonding. The next challenge that he gave us involved three buckets, one was more of a barrel full of tiny little holes and the other two were regular buckets. Our task was to use the two buckets to fill the barrel with the freezing cold water from the river we were next to. The team deliberated and we decided the easiest way to complete the task would be to stick our two smallest people in the barrel to that we could take up more space inside. So as the troopers that they are Lucy and Christine hopped on in and took on the bitterly cold water as the rest of us either plugged the other holes or poured the water. It was rough, but they stuck it out and we dominated the challenge. Thinking our time at the river was over our spirits were high, but of course Mark decided to take it a step further. At the part in the river where a road runs through it he had us lay down and as a team we had to role across each other until we reached the other side of the road. It was pretty brutal and painful, but like roly polys we got through it and slowly embraced it. Feeling alive after the refreshing wake-up we were all pumped to move onto our next endeavor which was what Mark likes to call “Urban Caving.” He led us to believe that we would basically be walking through underground passages, but of course he tricked us and it was more like we crawled through a body sized tunnel with a cool stream of water flowing through it. It was a little terrifying, but most of us jumped right into it and crawled the 20 yards of tunnel. Our first day ended with Mark tying us all together with rope and having us walk the mile and a half back to OPC, while talking about how our day went.
The next day was just as awesome. We woke up early to make breakfast for ourselves and the other two groups that were at the OPC during our stay. It was fun and we got to work with our Fijian cook Joyti. After breakfast Mark and Ken took us caving. We all were extremely excited for the experience and it didn’t disappoint. For about 2 hours we walked,ducked, crawled, and squeezed through the dark caves. We stopped here and there to look at glow worms that lit the cave walls as Ryan said it looked like something out of Avatar. Our main challenge in the cave was at the end when for the last 500 feet or so we had to find our way to daylight without flashlights. So we all held hands or whatever we could grab onto and walked as one following the glow worms until we finally found our exit. It was certainly a beautiful journey and something that we will never forget. After caving we returned back to OPC’s main campus where we actually had to split up for a while. Emily and Lucy had some business to take care of concerning our transportation and living situation in Wellington. So while they did that the rest of us headed over to the high ropes course. When we were all back together we all got prepared for the Big Swing. The Big Swing is a contraption set-up at the top of the climbing wall of the high ropes course, I’d say it was about 50 feet high. It was a bit intimidating since we weren’t exactly sure what to expect until we got up there. I got up to the top first and Ken began to strap me into a harness and different ropes all of which were connected to a wire out ahead of me. He then had me step out onto a platform an on the count of three I was told to just step off. It was nerve-racking, but like everyone else I did it and it was incredible. It was basically like flying, the only hard part was getting yourself mentally prepared to step off…and maybe the pain that us guys had to endure. It was a big moment for of us as we had to face some fears and encourage/support everyone else in the group. That ended day two as we had to go back to our chalets in order to get ready for our double overnighter that waited for us the next day.
The adventure that we set out on on Thursday was a bit of an unknown to us. We knew where we were going and where we wanted to end up, but other then that we weren’t exactly sure what to expect. We loaded up after breakfast each of us caring as little personal gear as possible and tons of water, food, and equipment for the group. Mark and Ken then drove us to our starting spot in Tongariro National Park right between Mt. Tongariro (our first summit) and Mt. Doom (our second summit). We set out excited and ready to face all obstacles that came upon us. Ryan who has been our captain this week to the lead and found a nice path for us to take up Tongariro which gets steeper and steeper the more you climb. It was rough going at times we had to make quite a few stops, but after about 5 hours of hiking we reached the summit. It was a beautiful sight looking over the entire national park and for all of you Lord of the Rings fans we saw the true land of Mordor. It was a great accomplishment and extremely exhausting, but we were still ready for more. On our descent we passed by some amazing scenary. First was the Red Crater which like its name is a humongous crater that has a red tint, we hiked around it and on the other side we saw the Emerald Lakes. Which are also pretty self explanatory. They are mini lakes with a deep green hue. Both were sights to be hold and we took our time to really soak it all in. As we continued on the sun was slowly beginning to set and it was gradually getting co
oler and cooler. We still had to get to our camp site which was located a third of the way up Mt. Doom. Looking up at the mountain is quite frightening as it is just a massive object covered with black rocks and very little life. We made it to our campsite with very little daylight left and as quickly as we could some of us set up our tents as me, Kelsey, and Hannah made dinner. After stuffing ourselves with beef stew and mashed potatoes we went to bed. Sleep was hard to come by for most, but we were able to keep warm with lot’s of cuddling.
oler and cooler. We still had to get to our camp site which was located a third of the way up Mt. Doom. Looking up at the mountain is quite frightening as it is just a massive object covered with black rocks and very little life. We made it to our campsite with very little daylight left and as quickly as we could some of us set up our tents as me, Kelsey, and Hannah made dinner. After stuffing ourselves with beef stew and mashed potatoes we went to bed. Sleep was hard to come by for most, but we were able to keep warm with lot’s of cuddling.
Our ascent of Mt. Doom began at 10:00 A.M. on Friday. As a group we decided that we would keep the pace slow so that we would stick together and so no one would get tired to quickly. Ryan once again took the lead with me right behind. I was followed by Christine, then Kelsey, Emily, Kareem, Lucy, Hannah, Karen, Dylan, Gordon, Cliff, and Willem; as Mark and Ken kept a watchful eye from behind. Mt. Doom is ridiculously steep so to keep a nice pace and everyone together is rough. However we figured out that if Ryan and I dug out foot holes for those behind us as we climbed it would make for better footing and thus an easier climb. It worked like a charm, our pace was much quicker and after 2 hours of climbing through the clouds we could finally see the top. We had reached a rock ledge that would take us right up to the summit. It took some navigating and patience after another hour we finally reached the top. As exhausted as we were, smiles were all you saw on our faces. The view was un explainable. On one side was the crater of Mt. Doom and on the other was the vastness of the land below and the clouds that we were looking down upon. We enjoyed a quick lunch at the top and then began our walk around the crater until we reached our descent point. Looking back I think most of us would agree that the descent of Mt. Doom was much harder then the ascent. Getting down involved something called Scree Running, which in a sense in skiing down the gravel that covers Mt. Doom’s surface. Mark gave us tips on how to do it, but we all took tumbles on our bums here and there. Slowly but surely however we reached the bottom and looked up at what we had conquered. A team meeting had to be called however to decide what our ext plan of action was. We were supposed to reach the top of another small mountain by nightfall, but Doom had taken its toll on quite a few of us, so as a team we decided it would be better for us to just head to the campsite.
We spent out last night in the shadow of Doom, still in awe of what we had just accomplished. We feasted on all of the food we had left, beef casserole, mac and cheese, Raman noodles, and delicious cake, and candy. It was a great way to end the day and we all went to bed proud of the job we had done. The morning was wet and we were all sore, but we finished up the last mile of our hike in no time and got to our bus excited to get out of the rain and back to OPC where warm showers awaited.
Our week was all in all the experience of a life time. We accomplished something that people only dream of doing. We did it as a team and we all grew leaps and bounds. Our team which I already considered strong is now even stronger. I know personally this week has taught me many things about myself and I think everyone has similar feelings. But now we head to Wellington this morning as our free week is about to begin. Hope all is well, until next time.
-David Horwitz
