Located in Anakiwa, the courses are aimed at encouraging individuals to realise their full potential through outdoor challenges — where nature is the classroom.
Sabine was joined by 13 students from different parts of the country.
“None of us knew each other. We were complete strangers.”
The group were taken to Anakiwa at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound in the Marlborough Sounds.
Sailing was their first activity.
“They chucked us on this 30-foot cutter boat for four days.
“We had to learn how to row the boat when there was no wind and then sail it when there was, and I had the opportunity to captain the boat for a lot of the time.”
Sabine has had sailing and rowing experience so was a natural candidate for captaincy.
“I kind of grew my skills as well.”
With two instructors on board to guide them, Sabine and the crew of teens travelled 80km while carrying out various sailing duties.
“There were definitely some challenges that came with it. We slept two of our three nights on the boat, sleeping on the benches and on the floor.
“Covering such a distance sailing and rowing was physically challenging as well.”
The first few days were “hard” because they were new as a group so it took some time to familiarise themselves and adjust to working together.
“Some of them are my best friends now. When you spend weeks with them doing challenging things, you tend to get close.
“I learned a lot about leadership and how we can communicate well and lift others up so that we can all succeed,” she said.
The next adventure was a solo camping mission in the bush.
“We were told one afternoon that we would be going solo. We all had to hike to the bush as a group but got dropped off at different spots.”
While not distant from each other's camping sites, the students had to camp by themselves with no contact or electronic gadgets such as phones, as these are not allowed while at the school.
“We got a little bit of food, some clothes, water and stuff,” Sabine said. “We had a bucket to go to the toilet in and a tent to sleep in.”
Their activities were cut short by a day due to a major storm that hit Marlborough.
The group of adventurers returned to the school site and helped the local community dig trenches and clear up the mess at nearby homes.
“When it hit us it was quite bad. There was a little bit of anxiety but we rallied together to clean it up and help the community. A really cool sense of togetherness formed out of it.”
Their Outward Bound journey ended with a tramp which required navigation by compass and maps.
Other activities over the duration of the Outward Bound course included kayaking, rock climbing and high ropes.
The sailing experience was the highlight for Sabine
Travelling through the deep blue water surrounded by native trees with occasional sightings of dolphins and blue penguins was “beautiful”, she said.
“You learn a lot from putting yourself out there and stepping out of your comfort zone . . . you can do so much more when you do that.
“When you are out there all by yourself with your little group, you look around and realise how small you are in the grand scheme of things.”
