The course consisted of tramping, physical training, rock climbing and sailing, and included a three-day bush solo experience. There was also an element of psychological assessment, or what Te Wana calls "the mental stuff". Then there were the early-morning runs.
"After we had done the run we had to jump into the water of the Sounds and it was freezing!" he said. But the discipline has stuck and since returning to Moerewa last week, Te Wana is still running every morning and trying to get his four sisters to go with him - although he admits that plan hasn't always been successful.
What he got from the course was more confidence and to realise he needs to spend more time with his family, he said.
He currently works at Affco's meat processing plant in Moerewa but would like to work outdoors, and if the right opportunity came up he would take it.
Te Wana will pass on the baton. Graduates from Outward Bound receive a certificate inside a casing that sets out all the achievements of the course, and Te Wana wants to give that to younger Moerewa kids he thinks might benefit.
Suz Te Tai, one of the facilitators from Pou Herenga Tangata, said a bond based on common experience has been formed between the three young men at Outward Bound.
"Te Wana has been supported and encouraged by Te Kauri and Padray," she said, "and that will impact on their community because they are positive role models."
